Did Jesus Really Die?

The Important Question

The central belief of the Christian faith is that Jesus was crucified and rose again. It is important, therefore, that we are clear that Jesus really died. This might seem obvious but right from the beginning there were suggestions that Jesus did not die. Perhaps he only appeared to die. Perhaps somebody - maybe Barabbas or Simon of Cyrene - died in his place. Perhaps he only fainted on the cross and the coolness of the tomb revived him. The hope that someone had overcome the "last enemy" was unthinkable to many.

What the Scriptures say

The gospel writers went to great lengths to convince us that Jesus was really dead. Luke Ch. 23 v 46-49 says "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' When he had said this he breathed his last." Matthew, referring to the same event, says "he gave up his spirit." (Matt. Ch. 27 v 50) Mark continues the story with the testimony of the centurion. "When the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how Jesus died, he said 'surely this man was the son of God.'" (Mark ch. 15 v 39)

Witnesses

In his Pentecost speech, in Acts Ch. 2 v 23, Peter declared, "This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross." Not long after this, Peter told the crowds, "You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this." (Acts Ch. 3 v 15) John also claimed to be an eye-witness to Jesus' death in John Ch. 19 v 34. "They . . . found that he was already dead. . . . One of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true." Finally, Paul insists, in I Corinthians Ch. 15 v 3, that the reality of Jesus' death is of vital importance. "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."

The Creed

The Apostles' Creed also goes to great lengths to make it clear that Jesus was really dead. It states that Jesus "was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hades." There are here four statements, each having a slightly different part of the truth but all pointing relentlessly to the fact that Jesus really had died.

Death - Defeat or Victory?

Next, it is important to see that Jesus' death was not defeat but victory. Jesus' last words, "It is finished", were not the cry of a disillusioned idealist whose dream was now shattered, but a shout of triumph from the Son of God who, in order to defeat death, was now going into the last stronghold of his enemy in order to deprive the enemy of power. The words were not, "It is over" but "It is complete": not, "I have failed" but "I have accomplished it! "

Psalm 16 v 10 is a promise to the Messiah that death would not defeat him but that he would defeat death for he would not remain in hades. What Jesus actually did when he "descended into hell (or Hades)", is not entirely clear. Suffice it to say that to do so was a necessary part of God's strategy for the defeat of Satan.