Cross-over
knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. Romans 6:9 NASB
Is master – “Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of sin.” This common Christian belief might not be quite accurate. Even Paul suggests something just a bit different. We have investigated Yeshua’s claim about the meaning of the cross (see the work on John 3:14 and Numbers 21:9), but we haven’t looked deeply into Paul’s declarations. We can start with this one. But before we do, we need to make something clear. The cross is at the very heart of the gospel. The cross represents an action of YHWH that changes the world. It is possible to draw a connection between what happened on the cross and the forgiveness God offers. But that doesn’t mean that the cross is directly about forgiveness. Let’s look deeper.
Notice the emphasis of Paul’s remark. Yeshua’s death and resurrection are directly related to the power of death. Death no longer “is master.” The Greek is ouketi kyrieuei. This is a very strong statement. First, it employs the combination of ou (ouk) and eti, meaning “it is not ever any longer the case.” In other words, there will never again be a time when this occurs. What is it that will never ever occur again? The rule of death! The dominion of the grave. Here Paul uses the word kyrieuei (from kyrieuo – to rule). You might recognize one of the cognates, kyrios, the title used often in the New Testament for Yeshua as “Ruler” or “Lord.” Paul’s point is obvious. The death and resurrection of Yeshua conquers death. It is determined that every man will die once and Yeshua did die once. Therefore, He will never die again. And since He nevertheless lives, He demonstrates that God has power over even death. In this way we know that forgiveness is complete for death is the result of sin. Now the Son has guaranteed that death no longer reigns supreme over men. The final stranglehold on men has been removed. As a result of this public demonstration, we now are assured that death’s dominion over men is finished. If it could not hold Yeshua, it also cannot hold all those who have been sanctified in Yeshua.
What is the meaning of the cross? The cross is the first century cultural symbol of the power of death. No other symbol carried such a clear and unmistakable message. The cross was death itself and the hideous rule it had over men. Today we might substitute another symbol. Perhaps an atomic mushroom cloud or a gas chamber or the killing fields. In the first century in Israel, the cross represented this terrible power in the hands of a pagan empire. And YHWH used this vehicle to bring about a sign of eternal, never to die again, life. What is the meaning of the cross? It is the sign that death is done! Fear is finished. The long wait before the dawn is over.
Hallelujah!
Topical Index: death, rule, kyrieuo, Romans 6:9, John 3:14, Number 21:9
I readily admit that these word studies make me wonder. And then my mind wanders. Even though I read the explanation that the cross is a cultural symbol for the first century, I wonder.
Sometimes I look at the cross as the tree of life. And I know that is what the Torah is called also. I just can’t help but see it that way. Many connections we probably won’t know until He explains it to us.
Thankful for the sacrifice of the Savior!
Yes, it can be quite confusing, but remember we are trying to understand the text FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE FIRST CENTURY JEW, and I can guarantee you that they didn’t think of the cross as a “tree of life” symbol. Whatever it meant to the first century Messianic believer is what the text is about. So we need to put aside our cultural symbols and concentrate on the clues in the text.
Skip, you’ve stated that death was conquered by the cross, but forgiveness, before the foundations of the earth.
But, you wrote several days ago, “if we read the New Testament passages as they were written by believing Jews, the text doesn’t actually say ‘the law was nailed to the cross.’ it says that the certificate of debt was removed…not the law.”
So…was the certificate of debt removed “before the foundations of the earth,” in reality…and just symbolically when Yeshua was crucified?
Here’s what I wrote 2 years ago:
aving canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Colossians 2:14 NASB
The Certificate
It – What is “it”? What is nailed to the cross? According to the Greek text in this verse, it (autos) is the cheirographon, the hand-written certificate of debts. Isn’t that clear enough? What Yeshua nailed to the cross (metaphorically) is our debt accounting record, the record of all our sins that condemns us. Yeshua took away that piece of paper that said, “You owe.” But if you read this verse in the NIV, there is a significant change. The NIV says, “having canceled the written code with its regulations.” According to the NIV, the Torah was nailed to the cross, not the debts we accumulated due to disobedience but the regulations themselves! This mistaken translation (or was it deliberate?) finds its way into popular Greek lexicons too. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon suggests that Paul applies cheirographon metaphorically for “the Mosaic law.” In other words, some Christian theologians and translators simply converted a document that specified our debts into the entire legal system of rules. That’s like going to traffic court with a speeding ticket and claiming that the ticket in your hand is the equivalent of all traffic regulations, and then telling the judge that none of them are valid. What do you think the judge is going to say? The ticket might not be correct but that doesn’t imply that the rules of the road are worthless. The fact that you hold a ticket in your hand means that the rules do apply. The only question is whether or not you are guilty of breaking them.
The idea that God instructions are “nailed to the cross” or discarded is based on ignoring the meaning of cheirographon, the debt certificate. My traffic ticket is a debt certificate. It is not a copy of the traffic laws of the state of Florida. I have the ticket because the laws are in place. If someone comes into the court and pays the fine for me, I am no longer held liable under the law, but that doesn’t mean the rules went away. It only means that I didn’t pay the fine! As long as a debt certificate isn’t equivalent to the legal determinations it stands on, voiding the debt certificate will not erase the legal structure. And in the Bible, my sin is not the same as the Law that tells me I have sinned.
In the NIV, you are actually reading the interpretation and theological position of the translators. Unless you could read the Greek, you would never know this isn’t a translation. Thousands of Christians have been taught that the Law was nailed to the cross when Jesus died. They have been taught that the Law was replaced by grace and that no Christian has any obligation to the Torah. How could they know anything different when the translators change the meaning of the verses? We are called to correct this. We must take a stand on cheirographon. The Law, the Torah, matters. God’s instructions are firmly in place, written so that you and I and all the nations will know how to live. Grace is insufficient! Grace is completely sufficient for our redemption, our deliverance, but it is insufficient for instructions for living. We need God’s instructions in spite of our sins. And fortunately, He provides them.
Now, let’s update. If the certificate of debt is nailed to the cross, what precisely is that? Isn’t it the verdict that results in our death, the punishment for disobedience? So, isn’t this the same as saying, “Death was nailed to the cross,” and, or course, it was, literally and spiritually.
Ha, I thought you were missing the question up until the last three lines.
So if I’m following, then in Galatians 3:13:
“Christ did redeem us from the curse of the law, having become for us a curse, for it hath been written, `Cursed is every one who is hanging on a tree,'”
This seems reminiscent of Deuteronomy 11;26-28:
“26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:
27 the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you this day;
28 and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. ”
So even beyond wiping out the penalty (curse/death) for prior disobedience, Yeshua re-establishes a clear path of obedience. Kind of like when a parent re-clarifies the house rules, so that now the children can be held responsible for them again. In this way, the past is the past and holds no penalty – but the future holds a renewed covenant expectation for Kingdom behavior?
Remember Paul is a rabbi of OBSCURE connections. The context of “hanging on a tree” is completely different than the application Paul uses. So that raises the question, “Why does Paul even mention this verse since it is about a CRIMINAL who is already DEAD?” Go sort out that one for awhile.
I am constantly challenged in my western thinking, though I must admit change is difficult.
I have been trying to sort through all of what you are declaring. I get that death was conquered through the cross, what I am stumbling over is the statement that forgiveness was before the foundation of the world and also; “Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of sin.” This common Christian belief might not be quite accurate
Hebrews clearly states that the sacrifice of Jesus was essential for redemption.
“he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing/obtaining an eternal redemption” Hebrews 9:12 ESV
“so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:20 ESV
Are you saying the sacrifice of Jesus was before the foundation of the world but fulfilled at the cross?
Notice the PLACE where the sacrifice occurs in the account in Hebrews. In a Temple not made with human hands. Therefore, it cannot be “on the cross” since that is no only made with human hands but also isn’t a temple. So, if the sacrifice occurs before the foundation of the world, what happens on the cross? Hang on. There is more to come. But this much is clear. Abraham and you and I are all “saved” in exactly the same way, by the sacrifice of Yeshua before the world began.
“I get that death was conquered through the cross”
Hi Jim,
I don’t get how death was conquered through the cross
The cross as I understand it is a symbol of death and resurrection
Are we saying that before Jesus, people were not resurrected
Or that Jesus was resurrected before the foundation of the world?
You are confusing the sacrifice for forgiveness with the execution on the cross. Not the same thing. Just hold on. More is coming.
“As is the earth, so also are those who are earthy…and as we have borne the likeness of the earthy, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenlies…..neither does corruption inherit incorruption….For this corruptible has to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immmortality… then shall come to be the word that has been written, “Death is swallowed up in overcoming” “O Death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your ovecoming.” And the sting of death is the sin, and the power of the sin is the Torah.” HalleluYAH Scriptures.
So first, there is the overcoming of transgressions against YHWH and His Torah;
second, there is the requirement of bearing fruit of repentance, and of the Spirit/Ruach to manifest the transformation of our nature/s to YHWH’s, that is, putting on the heavenlies in incorruptibility.
third, there is the immortality, being changed in a twinkling of an eye, and being raised from death-ressurection.
Then, death has no hold over us.
So, there is a dying to the earthy nature first, as being carrying the death symbol that Meshaich carried.
HalleuYAH! Shalom!