Jesus, the Scripture says, was crucified between two criminals. The religious authorities were not satisfied to simply remove or murder Jesus, they wanted to publically denounce Him as a common criminal. They held a fake trial in the middle of the night and accused Him of blasphemy, then they coerced the Roman officer, Pontius Pilate, to crucify Jesus on a Roman cross, the most common and demeaning form of state execution in those days.

When Pilate refused to have any part in killing an innocent man (Jesus had not offended Rome or Pilate), the religious leaders threatened to accuse him of treason before Caesar. In the end, evil seemed to win the day, and Jesus was beaten, mocked by Roman guards, paraded through the streets of Jerusalem, and finally nailed to a cross, where He died a few hours later.

There would be no Christian faith if Jesus had merely died on a cross. What makes the death of Jesus unique in human history is the miracle of His resurrection from the dead on the third day after He was buried. Although Jesus had repeatedly told His closest followers that He would be put to death and that He would rise again on the third day, the disciples were as shocked and confused as anyone when He conquered death. Some found it very difficult to believe that Jesus could be alive after such a horrible death. Their memories were still filled with His suffering. He soon put their doubts to rest.

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is foretold in the ancient Hebrew Scriptures by the prophets of God, beginning with Moses in the book of Genesis. Jesus was put to death by the decisions and actions (or inactions) of ordinary men, sinners, who were obedient to the darkest elements of human nature: greed, jealousy, envy, fear, selfish ambition, rage and hatred. But above, behind and eternally before those men and their choices was the planning and purposes of God, who had determined in eternity past to save human beings from the consequences of their sinful nature and their sinful behavior.

The Bible states this amazing truth in many beautiful, eloquent and forceful ways throughout its pages. Certainly, one of the Bible’s most famous and clearest statements of God’s work of saving grace in Jesus Christ is found in John 3:16, where the Spirit of God declares that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This passage is by no means the only place in Scripture where God reveals His purpose in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, but it is all anyone needs to know in order to be saved.

If you are a stranger to the message of God’s saving grace in Jesus, then I urge you to get a copy of the Holy Bible, and begin reading in the New Testament portion where the life and work of Jesus in history is detailed. Don’t rely on religion alone or on the traditions of a church or on the popular media for the most important information you will ever receive about life, death and eternity. Get the facts. Go directly to the pages of Holy Scripture where God’s Spirit provides the truth that will set you free. Learn the facts about who Jesus was and is, what He did and what He is doing now, and decide for your own self if He is worthy of your faith. Your place in eternity depends on that knowledge and that decision.

Jim Sutton