A Defense of the Reality of Christ’s Death

Introduction

In a recent exchange on Facebook between a believer I know and a Christian friend of this believer, the believer’s friend wrote the following concerning what he believed (emphasis mine): 

“Only God is eternal past, present, and in the future. Man (as I understand, is a soul that never dies) is eternal now and in the future.” 

According to the belief affirmed by the believer’s friend (which has been commonly-held among Christians throughout most of “church history”), every human being is an “immortal soul” that, although temporarily residing within a mortal body, never dies. Rather than dying, people are thought to simply leave their lifeless bodies and continue to consciously exist somewhere else.

Of course, if it’s true that every human being is “an eternal soul that never dies,” then this would necessarily include Jesus Christ. And this would mean that Jesus Christ never died. 

Thus, if one believes that every human being is “an eternal soul that never dies,” then one cannot, at the same time, also believe that Christ died (despite what one may profess to believe). At most, anyone who believes that every human is an eternal soul “that never dies” can only affirm that it was Christ’s body (and not Christ himself) that “died for our sins.” But this, of course, flies in the face of the straightforward scriptural fact that Christ died for our sins. And not only this, but it flies in the face of the equally-clear scriptural fact that Christ (and not “merely” his body) was entombed and subsequently roused from the dead. Consider, for example, the following words that a celestial messenger declared to the women who came to the tomb where Christ had been placed after his death:

“Fear you not! For I am aware that you are seeking Jesus, the Crucified. He is not here, for He was roused, according as He said. Hither! Perceive the place where the Lord lay. And, swiftly going, say to His disciples that He was roused from the dead, and lo! He is preceding you into Galilee. There you will see Him. Lo! I told you!” (Matthew 28:5-7)

According to the messenger, it was Christ (“the Lord”) – and not just his body – who lay in the tomb. In other words, the lifeless body that occupied the tomb prior to Christ’s resurrection was, during this time, all that remained of Christ. 

In accord with this fact, when Paul reminded the saints in Corinth of the essential elements of the evangel he’d brought to them, he included the related historical fact that Christ “was entombed” (1 Cor. 15:4; cf. Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; Matt. 26:12; John 12:7). I believe this fact concerning Christ contradicts what most Christians believe concerning Christ’s death and resurrection. Not only does Paul’s inclusion of the fact of Christ’s entombment emphasize the fact that Christ died and remained lifeless for three days, it also serves to shed light on what it means for Christ to have died. The fact that Christ is said to have been entombed means, at the very least, that Christ’s body was an essential part of him.

We know that, when Christ died, his spirit returned to God (Luke 23:46). However, it’s significant that Christ is always said to have been wherever his dead body was between the time of his death and resurrection, and never where his spirit went (Matt. 12:40; John 19:33, 40, 42; Acts 2:39, 13:29; cf. John 11:17, 43-44). Although this doesn’t mean that Christ’s spirit isn’t also essential to his existence (I believe that it is), it does mean that Christ’s body was (and is) no less essential to his existence as a living being than is his spirit.

Now, all Christians will agree that Christ’s body was entombed. However, like the friend of the believer who I quoted above, the vast majority of Christians also believe that all humans – including Christ himself – are immortal souls who continue to exist in a “disembodied state” after their body dies. In fact, most Christians actually hold to two beliefs that are completely incompatible with the truth that Christ died. In addition to believing in the “immortality of the soul,” most Christians also hold to the doctrine of the “deity of Christ.” According to this belief, Jesus Christ is the same eternal being (or is a person who possesses the same eternal essence/nature) as the One whom Christ referred to as “the only true God” in John 17:3 (i.e., the Father), and is thus just as immortal in his “divine essence” as the Father himself.

According to both of these doctrinal positions affirmed by the majority of Christians, Christ himself never really died. Rather, it’s believed that, during the time of his body’s entombment, Christ himself was present somewhere that his dead body was not. In my article “Paul’s Gospel and the Death-Denying Doctrines that Contradict It” (http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2019/11/pauls-gospel-and-death-denying.html), I shared some reasons why I believe the mainstream Christian view is wrong, and responded to a few of the verses that are commonly believed to support it. What I want to do in this article is further defend the truth that Christ was, in fact, dead (i.e., lifeless) between the time of his death on the cross and his resurrection on the third day.

“You will not abandon my soul to Hades”

Among the verses that are sometimes appealed to by Christians in support of their belief that Christ existed in a conscious, “disembodied state” during the time of his entombment are those in which we’re told that Christ’s “soul” was in “Hades.” In Acts 2:25-31 (ESV), we read that the apostle Peter – while addressing a large crowd of Israelites on Pentecost – quoted Psalm 16:8-11 as follows:

25 For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,

    for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

²⁶ therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

    my flesh also will dwell in hope.

²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

    or let your Holy One see corruption.

²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;

    you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

Peter went on to explain that this prophecy was fulfilled through the resurrection of Christ:

28 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

The Greek term translated “soul” in v. 23 is “psuche,” and is the inspired Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term “nephesh” (which is the original term that appears in Psalm 16:10). Based on how these two terms are consistently used throughout Scripture, I believe we can understand them to denote the sentience of living beings – that is, their sensation (broadly speaking) or sensory experience (Gen 1:30; 19:17; 35:18; Ex 4:19; 21:23; Lev 17:11-14; 1Sam 22:23; Job 12:10; Esther 7:7; Prov. 12:10; Jonah 4:3), or the seat of the desires and sensations of sentient beings (Ex. 15:9; Deut. 23:24; 2 Kings 4:27; Ps 27:12; Prov. 6:30, 23:2; Eccl 6:7, 9; Jer. 22:27; Micah 7:3; Zech. 11:8; Hab. 2:5). By extension, the terms were also frequently used to denote any being that has (or had) sentience/a capacity for sensory experience (Genesis 1:20-21, 24-25; 2:7; cf. Rev. 16:3). 

Genesis 35:18 is a good example of the first (and most basic) meaning of nephesh (or “soul”): “And as Rachel’s soul [nephesh] was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.” Notice that we’re not told that Rachel was departing at this time (which would’ve been the case if, in accord with what most Christians believe, people are actually “immortal souls” who leave their bodies when their bodies die). Rather, we are told that something (i.e., Rachel’s nephesh) was departing from her. And after it departed, we then read (vv. 19-20), “So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb.”

It is evident from these verses that Rachel was not thought to be that which was departing from her as she was dying. Rather, Rachel was understood to be wherever her body was, and not where her “soul” went after it departed. This fact tells us that Rachel’s existence was not separable from her body. When Rachel’s body died, Rachel died, and when Rachel’s body was buried, Rachel was buried. So what was the nephesh or “soul” that was said to be departing from Rachel as she was dying? Answer: it was simply Rachel’s sentience (her capacity for sensation/sensory awareness) that was “departing” from her.

According to the second Scriptural usage of the words translated “soul,” the words refer to that which is (or which was, when alive) in possession of sentience – i.e., a physical, embodied being, whether human or animal (see, for example, Acts 2:41-43; 3:23; 7:14; 27:37; Rom. 2:9; 13:1; 1 Cor. 15:45; James 5:20; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:14; Revelation 18:13). In Lev. 5:1-4, a soul (nephash) can see, hear, touch and speak with lips. In Deut. 14:26, it is said that souls can hunger and thirst. In Jer. 2:34, souls are said to have blood. In Lev. 7:20-27, it is said that souls can eat and be killed. Frequently, the Law of Moses commanded that any soul which disobeyed certain laws should be “cut off” or killed (e.g. Ex 31:14; Lev 17:10; 19:8; 20:6; Num. 15:27-31). Through the prophet Ezekiel, God warned the Israelites that “the soul that sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20; cf. James 5:20). We are further told that souls can be strangled or snared (Prov. 18:7; 22:25; Job 7:15), torn to pieces by lions (Psalm 7:2) or utterly destroyed by the sword (Lev. 23:30; Josh. 10:30-39; 11:11; Ezek. 22:27; Prov. 6:32). 

Because the words translated “soul” commonly denote a breathing, sentient creature when human persons are in view, it is frequently used interchangeably with the human “self.” Hence, the term is often employed emphatically to refer to the human persons themselves. For example, in Psalm 89:48 it’s rhetorically asked, “What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of the grave?” The expression “his soul” here means “himself.” Similarly, Job’s statement, “My soul is weary of life” (Job 10:1) was simply an emphatic way of saying “I am weary of life.” When Samson declared, “Let my soul die with the Philistines” (Judges 16:30), it was an emphatic way of saying, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And when the prophet Jeremiah declared, “They have dug a pit for my soul” (Jer. 18:20), this was an emphatic way of saying, “They have dug a pit for me.”

Thus, when we read the expression “my soul” in Psalm 16:10 (“you will not abandon my soul to Hades,”), we can understand it as an emphatic way of saying, “me.” But what, exactly, is “Hades?” The term translated “Hades” in Acts 2:27, 31 (as well as in the LXX translation of Psalm 16:10) is the inspired Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “Sheol” (she'ohl'). Based on how this word is consistently used in the Hebrew Scriptures, I believe it can be reasonably inferred that Sheol (and thus Hades, its inspired equivalent) simply denotes “the grave” in a general sense (i.e., the domain of the dead). That is, it refers to wherever the dead reside and return to the dust of the earth (Job 17:16), whether this takes place in a keber (a tomb or place of burial; Gen 23:7-9; Jer. 8:1; 26:23) or elsewhere (Gen. 37:35; Isa 14:9, 11, 15, 19).

That Hades/Sheol refers to wherever the dead reside is especially evident from the fact that, in the Hebrew Scriptures, the physical remains and belongings of those who have died are said to be in Sheol. We read, for example, of gray hairs as being in Sheol (Gen 42:38; 44:29, 31), gray heads (1 Kings 2:6, 9), bones (Psalm 141:7; Ezekiel 32:27), material possessions (Numbers 16:32-33), and swords and other weapons of war (Ezekiel 32:27). Worms and maggots are also spoken of as if present in Sheol (Job 17:13-14; 24:19-20; Isaiah 14:11; cf. Job 21:23-26). Even sheep are referred to as being “appointed for Sheol” (Psalm 49:14). And it is noteworthy that Korah and his company were said to go down to Sheol “alive.” This would make no sense if Sheol denoted a realm of “disembodied spirits.” However, when Sheol is understood to denote the domain of the dead, what we’re told in Numbers 16:32-33 makes perfect sense. Korah and his company simply went down alive to the place where their corpses ended up residing (and where they ultimately returned to dust). Although their resting place was much deeper in the earth than most other places of burial, they were in Sheol, nonetheless.

Because burial was the typical way in which the Hebrews disposed of their dead, Sheol is appropriately described as being beneath the surface of the earth (Ps. 63:9; 86:13; Prov. 15:24; Isa. 7:11; 57:9; Ezek. 26:20; 31:14; 32:18; Prov. 15:24). The dead descend or are made to go down into Sheol, while the revived are represented as ascending or being brought and lifted up from it (1 Sam. 2:6; Job 7:9; Ps. 30:4; Isa. 14:11, 15). And like the caves and other burial places used by the ancient Hebrews, Sheol is described as a place with gates (Job 17:16, 38:17; Isa. 38.10; Ps. 9:14) and as having a “mouth” or place of entrance: “As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol” (Ps. 141:7). Sheol is also described as marking the point of greatest possible distance that humans could be from the heavens (Job 11:8; Amos 9:2; Ps. 139:8) – hence the expressions “depths of Sheol” (Deut. 32:22; Ps. 86:13; Prov. 9:18) and “depths of the pit” (Ps. 88:6; Lam. 3:55; Ezek. 26:20, 32:24), which denotes the lowest possible places of burial.

Sheol (i.e., the grave in a general sense) is further described as a place of silence (Ps. 3:17, 6:6, 30:10, 88:13, 94:17, 115:17). It is called the “land of forgetfulness” (Ps. 88:12), where all who reside there are without any memory of the past, as well as forgotten by the living (Ps. 31:12). In Job 40:12-13 we read that God declared, “Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand. Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below.” Here “the world below” (literally, “the hidden places”) undoubtedly refers to Sheol, and (as elsewhere) is associated with “dust.” Job referred to this silent resting place of the dead as “the land of darkness and the shadow of death: a land of darkness as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order; and where the light is as darkness” (Job 10:20-22; see also Ps. 88:12; Job 3:5, 16; 12:21-22; 17:13; 1 Sam. 2:9; Ps. 44:19, 107:10, 14, where similar statements are made). This is, of course, fitting imagery if Sheol refers to those darkened places concealed from mortal eyes where corpses return to dust. 

In accord with all of the verses referenced and quoted above, Sheol is also described as a state of corruption and destruction (see Job 26:6, 28:22; Ps. 88:11, 16:10; Job 4:18-20; Ps. 49:9-20; Prov. 15:11, 27:20; Acts 13:26) where one’s form is said to be “consumed” (Ps 49:14). As noted earlier, David prophesied that God would not abandon the Messiah’s soul (i.e., the Messiah himself) in Sheol/Hades, or let him see corruption (Psalm 16:10; cf. Acts 2:27). Since David was employing Hebrew parallelism here (i.e., where the writer expresses the same thought in slightly different words), it follows that for God to abandon Christ in Sheol would mean to let him “see corruption” (which is a reference to Christ’s body, which would have begun to decompose had God not preserved it and then roused his Son from among the dead on the third day).

In Ecclesiastes 12:5, Solomon tells us that, at death, “man goes to his age-abiding home.” This is undoubtedly another reference to Sheol. Previously he had declared, “All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all return to dust again” (Eccles 3:20). And since, as a matter of course, death naturally comes to all, Sheol is appropriately referred to as “the appointed house for all the living” (Job 30:23; 17:13; Eccl. 11:5). It is here that the dead meet (Ezek. 32; Job 30:23) and rest from their earthly toil in silence without distinction of rank or condition – the rich and the poor, the pious and the wicked, the old and the young, the master and the slave (Job 3:11-19; cf. Isa. 57:2). 

In accord with the fact that Sheol is occupied by the physical remains of those who have died (i.e., corpses), it’s affirmed elsewhere that those in Sheol are in a state of utter oblivion:

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going” (Eccl 9:10).

“For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who can give you praise?” (Psalm 6:5)

“For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness” (Isaiah 38:18).

Moreover, keeping in mind that Hades is the Greek equivalent of Sheol in both the Septuagint and the New Testament, the same inspired truth would be communicated if we replaced the term “Sheol” with “Hades” in these verses:

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Hades, to which you are going.” 

“For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Hades who can give you praise?” 

“For Hades cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.”

Thus, while Christ was in “Hades” (or “Sheol”) during the time between his death on the cross and his resurrection three days later, Christ could not think or know anything. He could neither remember his God and Father nor praise his God and Father. Although Christ undoubtedly trusted in God’s faithfulness before he died, he was unable to do so while he was dead.

Christ was once among “those who are reposing”

In 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul wrote, “Yet now Christ has been roused from among the dead, the Firstfruit of those who are reposing [or “those who sleep”].”

The figurative “sleep” imagery used by Paul in this verse is fairly common among the inspired writers of Scripture (see, for example, Deut. 31:16; 2 Sam 7:12; 1 Kings 2:10; 1 Kings 11:43; 1 Kings 14:31; 1 Kings 15:8; 1Kings 15:24; 2 Chron. 28:27; 2 Chron. 33:20; Job 3:13; 7:21; 14:21; Ps 13:3; 17:15; 76:5; 90:3-6; Jer. 51:39; Isa. 26:14; Dan. 12:2; Matt 9:24-25; Matt. 27:52; John 11:11–14; Acts 7:59–62; Acts 13:36; 1 Cor. 11:30; 1 Cor. 15:6, 16-18, 20, 32, 51; 1 Thess. 4:13–16; 5:10; 2 Pet 3:4). To better understand this figurative language, let’s consider Job 14:10-12. In these verses we read the following:

“But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he? As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.”

Notice that it is “man” who, in death, is figuratively spoken of as if he were asleep and in need of being “roused.” Similarly, in Daniel 12:2 we read, “From those sleeping in the soil of the ground many shall awake, these to eonian life and these to reproach for eonian repulsion” (CVOT). Here, the “sleep” metaphor obviously applies to that which returns to “the soil of the ground” – i.e., the human body. And since it is human persons who are said to “sleep” after they die, then it can be reasonably inferred that our body is essential to our existence and personal identity. In other words, the lifeless body that returns to the “the soil of the ground” after a human being dies is, in a very real sense, the remains of the individual who died. And this means that those who have died are no more conscious than their lifeless, physical remains.

It’s likely that the dead began to be figuratively described as if they were “asleep” (or “reposing”) because of the close resemblance between the appearance of the recently deceased and those who are asleep. Because those who have died appear, to the living, as if they’re sleeping, it was only natural that sleep-related terms begin to be used in reference to death and those who have died. In any event, it must be kept in mind that this figurative language presupposes that what can be observed after a person dies (i.e., the lifeless body) is the remains of the person who once lived. And this means that the person who died cannot be considered any more alive than the person’s lifeless body.

Among those who believe that the dead are not really dead (and that those who have “died” remain conscious in a “disembodied state”), some have argued that the Greek word translated “reposing” in 1 Cor. 15:23 (koimao) does not necessarily mean that those who have died are unconscious. Rather, it’s argued that the term koimao can simply denote a state of rest from labour and troubles. It’s further suggested that the Greek word “hupnos” would be more appropriate if Paul had wanted to convey the idea that the dead are unconscious. In response to this view, it must be kept in mind that those to whom the term koimao is being figuratively applied by Paul are dead. Thus, however one understands the term koimao when figuratively used in reference to those who have died, the use of the term must be consistent with what Scripture elsewhere reveals concerning the state of the dead. And according to what is revealed elsewhere, those who have died are not engaged in any kind of conscious activity (Eccl. 9:5, 10; Psalm 6:5; 88:11-12; 115:17; 146:4; Isaiah 38:18). 

But what, then, about the word koimao? The fact is that this word can and does apply just as naturally to a state of unconsciousness as the word hupnos. In the LXX, for example, the word koimao was used to convey the same meaning of “sleep” as hupnos (e.g., Judges 16:14, 19, 20; 1 Kings 19:5; Ps 3:5; 4:8; 13:3; Prov. 4:16). Job 14:12 is especially relevant, for in this verse both koimao and hupnos were used in reference to the “sleep” of the dead. In Psalm 13:3 hupnos is used in the expression “sleep of death,” and in Psalm 76:5 the word appears yet again in reference to death. The same goes for Jer. 51:39 (“sleep a perpetual sleep”). Moreover, in the Greek Scriptures, koimao seems to have been used and understood to convey the same general meaning as hupnos. For example, in Matt. 28:13, we read that the unbelieving chief priests said the following to the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb: “Say that ‘His disciples, coming by night, steal him as we are reposing’” (cf. Luke 22:45 and Acts 12:6). It would be pretty strange if, in this verse, the term koimao (translated “reposing”) didn't denote an unconscious sleep! Consider also John 11:11-12, where we read the following:

After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep [koimaō], but I go to awaken him [exupnizō, “to awake out of sleep”].” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep [koimaō], he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest [koimēsis] in sleep [hupnos].

Notice that when Jesus told his disciples that Lazarus had “fallen asleep” (koimaō) they thought he was talking about literal sleep (hupnos). Jesus then has to tell them plainly that Lazarus was dead (and when he spoke of “Lazarus,” Christ was clearly talking about the dead occupant of the tomb who he was soon to visit, not an “immortal soul” that was relaxing somewhere in a conscious state of existence). So while it’s true that the term hupnos is the more specific word for “sleep,” koimao was often used to communicate the same meaning. And when applied to the dead, it can be understood as carrying the same idea (since those who are dead appear to the living to be “resting” or “reposing” in a state of sleep).

Thus, while the word koimao doesn’t, by itself, necessarily suggest an unconscious state (as does hupnos), it is completely consistent with it. And there is good reason to believe that an unconscious state is implied by this word when used in reference to those who are dead. While in a state of death, the dead are “reposing” in the sense that they are no longer engaged in conscious thought or vital activity, as are the living. Any objection that the scriptural metaphor of sleep refers “only” to our physical bodies presupposes an erroneous (and unscriptural) understanding of human nature.

Christ’s death the ultimate demonstration of faith in God

Faith in the evangel of the grace of God (the elements of which are described by Paul in 1 Cor. 15:3-4) necessarily involves faith in the fact that Christ “died for our sins” (i.e., that Christ died for the elimination of our sins). And believing this fact necessarily involves believing that Christ died. But why is it so important to believe that Christ actually died (as opposed to believing that Christ continued to exist as an eternal, undying soul while his body was entombed)?

We know that, rather than being something over which he had no control, Christ’s death was a voluntary act of obedience to God (Rom. 5:18-19; Gal. 1:4-5; Eph. 5:1-2, 25; Phil. 2:8; 1 Tim. 2:6; Titus 2:14). The voluntary nature of Christ’s death is a fact confirmed by Christ himself in John 10:17-18:

Therefore the Father is loving Me, seeing that I am laying down My soul that I may be getting it again. No one is taking it away from Me, but I am laying it down of Myself. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to get it again. This precept I got from My Father.

And Christ’s tearful and heartfelt yielding to God’s will while praying in Gethsemane Matt. 26:36-44) cannot be understood as anything other than a voluntary act of obedience to God, apart from which the prophecies concerning him would not have been fulfilled. In Luke’s account Christ explicitly acknowledged that what he was about to do would fulfill prophecy (Luke 22:37), which means that Christ was very much aware of the fact that his actions were completely necessary for the fulfilling of prophecy (and apart from which prophecy wouldn’t have been fulfilled). We’re also told in this same account that, while praying to God to let the “cup” pass by from him, our Lord came “to be in a struggle,” and that “His sweat became as if clots of blood descending on the earth” (:44). Evidently, Christ’s struggle involved the decision to exercise his God-given right to “lay down His soul” and thus be “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8), rather than avoiding the cross (which, in Matt. 26:52-54, Christ acknowledged he had the authority to do).

Clearly, everything that Christ did and allowed to happen to him during his earthly ministry involved his faith in God and his faithful obedience to God’s will. This necessarily included the time from his betrayal and arrest in Gethsemane to the moment he committed his spirit to God and breathed his last on the cross. Everything that Christ allowed to happen to him during this dark time fulfilled prophecy and was done in conscious and active obedience to God. Christ had to die in the exact way and in the exact circumstances he did in order to remain obedient to God and fulfill all that was written concerning him. 

Moreover, since Christ undoubtedly knew what death was (and what it involved), he would’ve known that dying would result in his entering into a completely unconscious and insensible condition. Christ knew that, after he breathed his last on the cross, he would be completely helpless and powerless, and that only God would be able to save him from the lifeless condition into which he was going to be entering (Heb. 5:7-8). We also know that, apart from faith, it’s impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Since Christ’s obedience unto death was undoubtedly pleasing to God (Phil. 2:8-11; Eph. 5:2), it’s evident that Christ’s death was an expression of (and in fact the supreme demonstration of) his faith in God. That is, Christ’s death on the cross was the visible manifestation of his trust in God, and his conviction that God would rouse him from among the dead (as God, in his word, had promised to do). And according to Paul, it is on the basis of this faith – i.e., the faith that Christ had when he died in obedience to God and in fulfillment of prophecy – that God is able to justify and save sinners (Rom. 3:22-26; 5:9; Gal. 2:16, 20-21).