O. Palmer Robertson On The Meaning Of The Death Of Christ

I thought this section by Dr. O Palmer Robertson on the meaning of the death of our Lord Christ to be particularly edifying and enlightening. I hope you find it as comforting as I did.

“The second major moment in which Jesus personally explains the meaning of His death is at the Passover meal. Jesus takes the remnants of the Passover and institutes the ‘Lord’s Supper.’ The Passover lamb was given in substitution for the life of the firstborn male of every Israelite household. Jesus now connects the two rituals by saying, ‘This is my body given for you’ (Luke 22:19). He then took the remnants of the Passover wine and said, ‘This is my blood of the covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (Matt. 26:28; cf. Mark 14:24).

What is Jesus doing? He is explaining by word and by the symbol the meaning of his death. He positions himself in the place of the covenantal sacrifice represented in the Passover celebration.  The entirety of redemptive history up to this point he interprets as fulfilled in His death. As Abraham ‘cut the covenant’ at God’s command witnessed the two theophanies ‘pass[ing] between the pieces’ (Gen. 15:17), so Jesus will allow His body to be torn apart as recipient of the curses of the covenant. As Moses ‘cut the covenant’ at Sinai and sprinkled the people all altar with the blood that opened the ‘new and living way’ into the Most Holy Place (Ex. 24:6-8; Heb. 10:19-20).  As Jesus had earlier presented himself as the ‘ransom for many’ (Mark 14:24; Matt. 26:28). The covenant sacrifice has moved from an animal, to a prophesied ‘servant of the Lord,’ to the Son of God in his sacrificial body. The words of Jesus at the supper reflect once more on the ‘many’ for whom he gave his life as a ransom, the ‘many’ for whom he poured out his life unto death (Isa. 53:12-13).

What more do we need, what more could we ask, to enable us to understand the meaning of the death of Jesus? In these two critical passages of the Gospels, Jesus himself explains the meaning of His death. He points directly to the focal elements of the redemptive processes of the old covenant Scriptures. In the ransom price for the redemption of ‘many’ as well as in the blood of the Passover lamb as the climatic covenant sacrifice for the ‘many’ — in these old covenant images along with his explanatory words, Jesus declares the intent of his death. In the context of the dynamic perspective of the progression of redemptive history, we are not talking in the lingo of a stagnant dead theological system. We are wondering and marveling at a divine plan for the redemption of many, many, sinners from every nation, tribe, and tongue. We are speaking of the crux, the cross, the crucifixion, the consummation of the ages at Calvary. That ‘place’ at Mt. Moriah, solemnly marked  even before Israel’s national arrival as ‘the place’  by Abraham’s offering of his ‘only beloved son’ (Gen. 22:1-2); that ‘place’ mentioned repeatedly in Deuteronomy as the ‘place’ where Israel would offer its sacrifices for decades, even centuries, to come (Deut. 12:5-7, 14, 18, 21, 26; 14:23, 25; 16:2, 7, 11, 15-16; 17:8, 10; 10; 26:2; 31:11); that identical ‘place’ of Mount Moriah where David offering his atoning sacrifice to stop the plague (2 Sam. 24:18-25; cf. 2 Chron. 3:1); that very same ‘place’ where Solomon built and Ezra rebuilt the temple for perpetual sacrifice (2 Chron. 3:1; Ezra 3:8-13); that hallowed ‘place’ ‘outside the city wall’ — it was the very ‘place’ where our Lord was crucified (Hebrews 3:12).

As the poet, though imperfectly, says it:

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time.

And again;

God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Gal. 6:14 KJV)

And again;

I determined to know nothing about among you
except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (I Cor. 2:2 NASB) …

Do you see the centrality of the cross of Christ? All history flows toward it, and all history flows from it. Give God the glory for the cross of Jesus Christ. From eternity past He planned it. In ancient days he moved all history toward it. From the moment of Jesus ransoming sacrifice for ‘many’ he has advanced history.”

O Palmer Robertson
A New Testament Biblical Theology; Christ of the Consummation – The Testimony of the Four Gospels Vol. 1  – pg. 137 – 139

Author: jetbrane

I am a Pastor of a small Church in Mid-Michigan who delights in my family, my congregation and my calling. I am postmillennial in my eschatology. Paedo-Calvinist Covenantal in my Christianity Reformed in my Soteriology Presuppositional in my apologetics Familialist in my family theology Agrarian in my regional community social order belief Christianity creates culture and so Christendom in my national social order belief Mythic-Poetic / Grammatical Historical in my Hermeneutic Pre-modern, Medieval, & Feudal before Enlightenment, modernity, & postmodern Reconstructionist / Theonomic in my Worldview One part paleo-conservative / one part micro Libertarian in my politics Systematic and Biblical theology need one another but Systematics has pride of place Some of my favorite authors, Augustine, Turretin, Calvin, Tolkien, Chesterton, Nock, Tozer, Dabney, Bavinck, Wodehouse, Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Schaeffer, C. Van Til, H. Van Til, G. H. Clark, C. Dawson, H. Berman, R. Nash, C. G. Singer, R. Kipling, G. North, J. Edwards, S. Foote, F. Hayek, O. Guiness, J. Witte, M. Rothbard, Clyde Wilson, Mencken, Lasch, Postman, Gatto, T. Boston, Thomas Brooks, Terry Brooks, C. Hodge, J. Calhoun, Llyod-Jones, T. Sowell, A. McClaren, M. Muggeridge, C. F. H. Henry, F. Swarz, M. Henry, G. Marten, P. Schaff, T. S. Elliott, K. Van Hoozer, K. Gentry, etc. My passion is to write in such a way that the Lord Christ might be pleased. It is my hope that people will be challenged to reconsider what are considered the givens of the current culture. Your biggest help to me dear reader will be to often remind me that God is Sovereign and that all that is, is because it pleases him. View all posts by jetbrane