By Anthony Minh Mai, CSJB
The Meaning of the Death of Jesus in the Bible
After the death of Jesus, the mystery of the cross has become the fundamental belief of Christians. The Gospel of John employs many Biblical mentions to reflect its spiritual depths. First, Jesus’ suffering and death is “the royal victory and enthronement of Jesus, the promised messiah-king (19:19).” Second, with his death, Jesus becomes “the
new Passover lamb, sacrificed in the new exodus (John 1:29; 19:36).” The cross fulfills the prophecy of the bronze serpent in the desert (Numbers 21:9). In the past, the victims of serpent’s poison could be healed when they looked to the bronze serpent. Sinners now can look to the suffering Jesus on the cross to gain God’s merciful healing for eternal life (John 3:14-15).1 John (19:24) shows us the fulfillment of psalms 22:18. Jesus embodies the servant of the Lord in Isaiah: The servant who is tormented, the servant who through his suffering brings about the light for those who are living in darkness can see the way to salvation (Isaiah 50:5-8).2 Jesus becomes “the new dwelling of God among humanity, the new temple, from whose opened side flow the life-giving waters of mercy and spiritual life”3 (John 19:34,37).
For John, when looking into the crucified Jesus we recognize that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Jesus’ death discloses that God gives up everything to assist sinners in reaching salvation. “The Father gives his Son, and the Son, out of love lay down his life so that sinners ‘might have life and have it more abundantly'”4 (John 10:10). This is the greatest love that Jesus announces: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
On the cross, Jesus knew that “everything was now finished” (John 19:28). Every work of salvation of the Father was now fulfilled with the obedient cooperation of Jesus. The Greek word teleō (finished) is related to the word teleioō (fulfilled). John, through the usage of the verb teleioō, wants to express Jesus’ accomplishment of his Father’s work (John 4:34; 5:36; 17:4).
When sacrificing his life, “Jesus loves his disciples to the ‘end’ (telos)” (John 13:1) and fulfills the work of salvation in the task assigned him by the Father. With his death, “Jesus reveals the utmost depths” of the love of God for human beings5 (John 3:16).
On the cross, Jesus utters the word “thirst,” which assists us in recalling Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4:7-42. Jesus asks the woman for water to quench his thirst first, and then he arouses her thirst of the “‘living water, the Holy Spirit which only Jesus can give” (John 4:10,13-14). Jesus shows his desire for his fulfillment of the promises of God in the Bible6.
John told us that when the soldiers “came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs” (John 19:33). He continued to cite the scripture prophecy: “Not a bone of it will be broken.” This citation come from the LXX text of Exodus 12:10, 46 and Number 9:12, which commands the Jews not to break any bone of the Passover lamb. Francis Martin believes: “Jesus is the Passover lamb of the new exodus,” whose blood liberates us from the spiritual bondage of sin and death.7
John tells us that the water and blood flowing out from Jesus’ pierced side implies the baptism with the testimony of the Holy Spirit and the death of Jesus (1 John 5:6). The Spirit is present at the baptism (Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22; Jn 1:32, 34). The divine witness confirms “the testimony to Christ as the Son of God. This testimony (1 Jn 5:11) reveals us that the gift of eternal life must be granted only through the Son of God. “To possess the Son is not acceptance of a doctrine but of a person who lives now and provides life.”8 John combines Jesus’ pierced side with Zechariah 12:10, “they will look on him whom they have thrust through.” This verse is put within the prophecies referring to God’s work to sanctify and redeem God’s people on the day of the Lord (Zech 12:1-13:6).9
Zechariah then continues with the prophecy: “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to purify from sin and uncleanness” (Zech 13:1). For David L. Peterson, the fountain is opened, possibly within the temple, and water flowing from it brings about purification and remission of sins.10 Additionally, John noted that the Roman soldiers “found a vessel filled with common wine.” The phrase common wine evokes our memory about the prophecy of Psalm 69: 22 sayings, “for my thirst they gave me vinegar.” This alludes to the passion of Jesus (Jn 2:17; 15:25). John wants to prove that the prophecy in Psalm is fulfilled in the suffering of Jesus. Moreover, the narrative describing the Roman soldiers “put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth” (Jn 19:29) reveals a spiritual meaning. Hyssop is an important thing using in liturgical ritual in the Bible. In Exodus, to avoid the punishment of God, the Jews followed the instruction of using hyssop to smear the blood of the Passover lamb on their lintel and two doorposts to save their firstborn from death (Exod 12:22). Hyssop is also used in the priestly rituals to purify a person from the scaly infection (Lev 14:4-7,49-53) and purify the one who is unclean because of his/her contact with the bone, the slain person or the other corpse, or the grave (Num 19:6,9,11-12,18-20). This purification is required for those who want to come into the presence of God in the tabernacle or temple. Hyssop is related to John’s testimony of Jesus, “the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). It reveals that the blood of the Lamb of God redeems us from spiritual death and assist us in cleansing ourselves in order that we can merit for being in the “Father’s house” (Jn 14:2)11.
The pouring out of God’s Spirit prophesied in Zechariah 12:10 was fulfilled through the death of Jesus. With his pierced body, Jesus “handed over the spirit” (Jn 19:30; see also 20:22). Looking into the prophecies of Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah about “the life-giving waters of mercy and regeneration flowing from God’s temple on the day of salvation, we can understand that the water flowing from Jesus’ side, “the temple of his body” (Jn 2:21), contributes to the new life in the Spirit. “These waters flow in the sacrament of baptism, through which people are ‘born of water and Spirit” (3:5) and receive a new, spiritual life from heaven.” The blood of Jesus shed on the cross and the glory of the resurrection is granted to the faithful through the Eucharist. The adherers who receive Jesus’ blood move into a deeper communion with Jesus and “share in his eternal, resurrected life12 (Jn 6:54). Jesus continues to call all of us to join with him in Eucharistic celebration for our better communion with him and our salvation.
Citation for this writing
Minh Trong Mai, John the Baptist and Jesus: History and Theology (Chicago, Catholic Theological Union, 2018), 44-48.
5 Cf. Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV, 322.
6 Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV, 323.
7 Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV, 325.
8 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bible. See footnote 1 Jn 5:6-12.
9 David L. Peterson, Zechariah 9-14 and Malachi (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995), 109–10, 120–21. See also Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV, The Gospel of John, 326.
10 Cf. David L. Peterson, 123–24.
11 Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV, The Gospel of John (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture). Kindle Edition, 323–24.
12 Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV, 327.