Predictions of His Death The Old Testament is filled with prophecies concerning the death of Jesus Christ. It should have come as no surprise to the people who saw and heard Him, but it did. The Scriptures spoke of the great pain he would experience: physically and emotionally. Death on the cross was one of the cruelest ways of killing another human being known to the world at the time of Christ. That is the death the prophets spoke about in great detail centuries before that form of death was even created. Here are just a few examples from their ancient wrtings.   "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers: he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:15   "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?" Psalm 22:1   "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads." Psalm 22:6-7   "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." Psalm 22:14-18   "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of man, and made intercession for the transgressors." Isaiah 53:3-12     What Jesus Did On The Cross Jesus accomplished great things on the cruel cross. We know about them because God inspired the Apostles to tell us. The following is a list of more than 50 things the Apostle Paul said Jesus did for us on the day He died voluntarily on the Cross. Consider, prayerfully, the Love and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ as you read each one. I pray God will touch your heart deeply and show you the Great Love He has for you. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."   He redeemed us and forgave our sins   Acts 20:28 "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." Ephesians 1:7-8 "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." Colossians 1:13-14 "For he [God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." He justified us freely by His Grace and saved us from God's wrath Romans 3:22-24 "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 5:9 "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! He saved our lives by atoning for our sins (Romans 5:10-11) "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." He gave us the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:12-21) "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken in account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made siners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." He freed us from sin by placing us under grace (Romans 6:1-14) "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." He died to free us from sin (Romans 6:6-7) "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." He gave us the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23) "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." He will rescue us from the sin nature (Romans 7:21-25) "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." He removed us from the condemnation of God and set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1) "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." He made us joint-heirs in the inheritance of God (Romans 8:16-18) "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffereings in order that we may also share in his glory." He gave us every good spiritual thing (Romans 8:31-34) "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." He gave us an unbeatable love (Romans 8:35-39) "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." He showed us the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23-24) "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God...but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." He became the foundation of all Christian service 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." 1 Corinthians 3:11 "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." He died for our sins according to the Scripture ... He fulfilled all Old Testament prophecies about the suffering Messiah (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." He placed all His enemies under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:24-26) "Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." He gave us victory over sin (1 Corinthians 15:55-57) "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." He became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." He made us rich (2 Corinthians 8:9) "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." He delivered us from this present evil world (Galatians 1:3-4) "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." He gave us the Holy Spirit and freedom from the law (Galatians 3:1-3) "You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" He redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13) "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.'" He made us spiritual sons (Galatians 4:4-7) "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." He gave us freedom and liberty from the law (Galatians 5:1-4) "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." He crucified the world to us and us to the world (Galatians 6:14) "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." He blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3) "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. He gave us His glorious Grace in Christ (Ephesians 1:6) "...to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. He sealed our salvation with the Holy Spirit of Promise (Ephesians 1:13-14) "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory." He became the Head of the Church, His Body Ephesians 1:22-23 "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Ephesians 5:23 "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior." He opened the way for the spiritually dead to come to life (Ephesians 2:1-2,4-5) "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient...But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." He made a place for us to sit with Christ in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:6) "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus..." He demonstrated the exceeding riches of His Grace (Ephesians 2:7) "...in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." He empowered us to do good works (Ephesians 2:10) "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." He made a way for the Gentiles to come to God (Ephesians 2:13) "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." He abolished the law of commandments in ordinances and blotted them out Ephesians 2:14-15 "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility..." Colosians 2:13-14 "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross." He made the Jew and Gentile fellow citizens in the family of God Ephesians 2:15-19 "...by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household..." Ephesians 3:6 "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." He demonstrated His love for us (Ephesians 5:1-2, 25) "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God...Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..." He made us spiritual lights (Ephesians 5:8) "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light..." He gave us weapons to fight spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18) "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." He became our example of obedience and service to God (Philippians 2:5-8) "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!" He provided a way to guard our hearts and minds from worry and anxiety (Philippians 4:6-7) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." He gave us strength to face the difficulties of life (Philippians 4:12-13) "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." He supplied all our needs (Philippians 4:19) "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." He made us fit to be partakers of the spiritual inheritance (Colossians 1:12) "...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." He delivered us from the power of darkness (Colossians 1:13) "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves..." He earned pre-eminance in all things (Colossians 1:18) "And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." He made peace and reconciled us to God (Colossians 1:20) "...and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." He presented us holy to God (Colossians 1:22) "But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation..." He delivered us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10) "...and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." He became our mediator with God (1 Timothy 2:5-6) "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time." He called us with a holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9a) "...who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace." He abolished death (2 Timothy 1:9b-10) "This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." He redeemed us from all iniquity and purified us as a special people (Titus 2:14) "...who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." You are VERY special! Look at what God has done for you through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. God did all of this because He loves you, deeply and eternally. Don't ever doubt it. Don't let anyone make you think you're not special in this life. You are! God thinks the world of you. He gave you His greatest Gift. He'll give you everything you need to succeed. Believe in Him. Believe in yourself. "Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION