Auxano Ministry
By the grace of God I am what I am:
1 Cor. 15:10a
The Two-Fold Death of Jesus Christ
Sometimes when you study God’s Word the answer you seek is not available in the verse you are reading or in the immediate context.
Isaiah 53:9
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Most Bibles that have a center reference will have a letter, or number, next to the word death to indicate that there is a reference in the center of the page concerning this word.
The reference indicates that death is actually “deaths”. Checking other reference materials or texts will show you that the word death is indeed plural.
If you study every verse from Isaiah 53:9 to Revelation 22:21 you will not find an answer as to why death is plural. In order to answer this question you have to go back to Genesis.
When the Bible does not interpret itself in the verse or in the context then looking at how it was used before can provide you with the understanding you seek.
Genesis 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
This is the very first reference to death or dying in the Word of God and this is where we will find an answer to “deaths”.
The phrase “thou shalt surely die” is the figure of speech polyptoton, which elevates the verb to the superlative degree. So the phrase “thou shalt surely die” should be translated “in dying, thou shalt die.”
God told Adam, in dying spiritually, you will then die physically also, (for a complete study of Genesis 3 and 4 see the Fall of Mankind.)
Before Adam could die physically, he had to die spiritually. Due to perfect blood, both Adam and Jesus had no death in them because neither had sinned. Jesus maintained his sinless state and became the payment for all sin, beginning with Adam’s.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Before Jesus could lay down his life physically, he had to give up his holy spirit.
Luke 23:46
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
The word “spirit” is the Greek word pneuma and the word “ghost” is the Greek word ekpneo and should be translated breath.
Both Adam and Jesus had fullness of life for they had growth life, breath life, and spiritual life. But the greatest of these is spiritual life. It was with the loss of spiritual life in Genesis 3 that sickness and death enter the picture. When it comes to Adam and Jesus they were immortal until sin, and its cost, enter.
Sin entered for Adam when he deliberately disobeyed the Word of God. Sin never entered for Jesus because he deliberately obeyed the Word of God. Jesus always did the will of the Father, he lived a sinless life and then allowed himself to be the sacrifice for all of mankind’s sins, just like the Old Testament lamb that was without spot or blemish.
John 19:30
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Here the Greek word for “ghost” is pneuma and should have been translated spirit.
Jesus said, “It is finished.” Then he gave up the spirit and he died. What was finished was the redemption of mankind. His sinless life was offered in payment for the sins of the world.
He became the sin offering and took the consequence of sin, which is death, so that mankind could live eternally.
Into thy hands I commend my spirit. It is finished. He let out his breath.
The crucifixion of Jesus the Christ was a spectacle for devil spirits put on by the Devil. But on Saturday, late afternoon or early evening, God raised Jesus from the dead and the most powerful weapon the Devil has was overwhelmingly defeated by the power of God.
