parable of the wicked tenants

The LORD’s Anointed

Old Testament references to Israel’s Messiah, Jesus Christ, are not always easily identifiable because the terminology that is used to distinguish him is sometimes applied to others. For instance, the Messiah is referred to as the king in Psalm 21, which was written by King David and could be applied to the writer also. Psalm 21 is one of the psalms referred to as Messianic (other examples of Messianic portions would include Psalm 34:20; 40:6-8; 41:9; 45:6, 7; 69:21; 72:8; and 118:22). Psalms are classified as Messianic based on one or more of the three following criteria. First, consider the testimony of the writers of the Old Testament. When other books, in the context of discussing the Messiah, contain quotes or wording very similar to lines from the psalms (e.g. Psalm 72:8, cf. Zechariah 9:10), it is a clear indication that a psalm is Messianic. Secondly, there are the citations from psalms that Christ applied to himself (e.g. Psalm 41:9, cf. John 13:18) or that New Testament writers identified as depicting Christ (e.g., Psalm 118:22, cf. Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7). Finally, there are statements in the psalms that, while never specifically identified as such in the Scriptures, clearly point to Jesus Christ, (e.g. Psalm 22:1, cf. Matthew 27:46). It should be noted that within the ‘Messianic’ portions of individual psalms, some passages refer exclusively to Christ while others seem to also address a situation faced by the human writer” (note on Psalm 22:1-31).

Psalm 2 is one of the psalms that is identified as Messianic. In this psalm, Christ is referred to as the LORD’s Anointed, as well as, my Son. One of the well-known lines in this Psalm is found in verse 7, “The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’” The Apostle Paul quoted this verse in a message he delivered at Antioch. After reciting a brief history of the people of Israel (Acts 13:16-25), Paul stated:

“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

“‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.’” (Acts 13:26-33)

Paul’s comment about the good news that was promised to the Israelites had to do with their Messiah not being recognized as the Son of God. Paul said the Jews living in Jerusalem and their rulers did not understand the utterances of the prophets, in particular that the verse he quoted from Psalm 2 was Messianic.

The title of Psalm 2, The Reign of the LORD’s Anointed, points to an event that was expected by the Jews at the time of Christ’s birth, but was largely misunderstood because it didn’t apply to the nation of Israel. The book of Revelation tells us that Christ’s reign will take place after a worldwide system of government is established that requires allegiance to one man, Antichrist who will rule over all the earth (Revelation 13:1-8). At the end of Antichrist’s 42 month reign, Christ will return to earth and will, “strike down the nations, and will rule them with a rod of iron” (Revelation 19:15). Psalm 2 begins with the question, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” (Psalm 2:1), referring to the rebellion against God that elicits Christ’s return. The psalmist states, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us’” (Psalm 2:2-3).

People’s attitude toward God when Christ returns will be one of complete disdain, which is why it will be necessary for him to rule with a rod of iron. In response to the world’s antagonism toward him, Christ will appoint judges to rule with him over the people on earth for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4-5), but when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be given one last opportunity to oppose Christ’s authority (Revelation 20:7-9). It says in Revelation 20:9 that fire will come down from heaven and consume Satan’s army. God’s rationale for a swift and decisive defeat of Satan is conveyed in Psalm 2:4-7. It states:

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.

A decree is an official order issued by a legal authority. God’s decrees must be observed and by virtue of his divine authority, are like the laws of nature which cannot be broken. God’s statement, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6) implies that a decision was made at a particular point in time that determined Christ’s sacrifice for our sins would result in him becoming the individual who was given the power and authority to rule over God’s kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:4-16). Before Jesus was born, God said of the coming Messiah, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (2 Samuel 7:14).

The reign of the LORD’s Anointed is depicted as a period of harsh judgment. It says of the LORD’s Anointed in Psalm 2:9, “You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” “The ‘rod’ mentioned here is not an emblem of a royal office but a rod of correction in the hand of the King. The fact that it is made of iron indicates the severity and harshness of the judgment that will be meted out by Christ at his return (Revelation 19:15). This harsh judgment is not inconsistent with the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Meekness does not exclude anger but simply means that one is angry for the right reasons and at the right time (John 2:13-17). Jesus could truthfully claim to be gentle without contradicting his claim to be the Judge (Matthew 11:28-30; John 5:26-30)” (note on Psalm 2:9). The Hebrew word that is translated break in Psalm 2:9, raʿaʿ (raw-ahˊ) means “to spoil (literally, by breaking to pieces)…The root of the word indicates breaking, in contrast to the word tamam (8552), which means to be whole” (H7489). Tamam has to do with something being complete or finished, “to conclude. At its root, this word carries the connotation of finishing or bringing closure” (H8552).

Jesus told his disciples before he was crucified that he was going to prepare a place for them (John 14:2). Jesus said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). In his Parable of the Ten Minas, Jesus explained that it was necessary for the LORD’s Anointed to go away in order for him to receive his kingdom. Luke tells us, “As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately: (Luke 19:11). Luke 19:12-27 states:

He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

Jesus indicated the citizens of the kingdom hated the LORD’s Anointed and did not want him to reign over them. At the end of the parable, Jesus spoke as though he was the one who was hated and said to those who were listening, “I tell you that everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me” (Luke 19:26-27). A couple of days later, in his Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Luke 20:9-18), Jesus revealed the people’s motive for being hostile toward the LORD’s Anointed. Jesus stated:

Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” (Luke 20:13-18)

When Jesus returns, he intends to judge those who have rejected him as the LORD’s Anointed. Jesus told his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). The Greek word that is translated new world, paliggenesia (pal-ing-ghen-es-eeˊ-ah) refers specifically to Messianic restoration. “In the sense of renovation, restoration, restitution to a former state; spoken of complete eternal manifestation of the Messiah’s kingdom when all things are to be delivered from the present corruption and restored to spiritual purity and splendor (Matthew 19:28)” (G3824).

God’s restoration of the world will be similar to the spiritual rebirth that believers experience when they are born again. Paul explained in his letter to Titus, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration (paliggenesia) and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7). Paul used the phrase washing of regeneration to describe the cleansing that takes place at salvation (G3067). This cleansing is done through Jesus Christ, the Word of God. Revelation 19:12-16 tells us that when Jesus, the LORD’s Anointed returns, “His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which his is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” The nineteenth chapter of Revelation concludes with the beast and the false prophet being captured and “thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur” and the rest who made war against the LORD’s Anointed, “were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged on their flesh” (Revelation 19:20-21).

Psalm 2 concludes with a warning to the rulers of the earth to not contest the supremacy of the LORD’s Anointed. Psalm 2:10-12 states:

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The Hebrew word that is translated blessed, ʾesher (ehˊ-sher) is “used to describe a person or nation who enjoys a relationship with God (Deuteronomy 33:29; Job 5:17; Psalm 33:12; 146:5)” (H835). Having a relationship with God means that you have access to him on a continuous basis. After he told his disciples he was going to prepare a place for them (John 14:3), Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus referred to himself as the way, “the way of access, e.g., into the direct presence of God (Hebrews 9:8)” (G3598). Christ’s sacrifice opened the way for everyone to enter into God’s presence. Because of this, all who take refuge in him will be blessed and Jesus will rule over God’s kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:4-16)

God’s Vineyard

Jesus used metaphors to help his disciples understand his spiritual qualities and also to grasp the meaning of parables that would otherwise be confusing to them. One of the central themes of Jesus’ teaching was bearing fruit. So that his disciples could understand how the process of bearing spiritual fruit worked, Jesus used the metaphor of a vine and branches to explain it. Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). Jesus went on to say, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:6-8). Jesus’ use of the word abide was intended to convey the idea of remaining in or with someone, “i.e. to be and remain united with him, one with him in heart, mind, and will” (G3306).

Jesus’ parable of the wicked tenants focused on the broken relationship between God and the people of Israel. In this parable, the owner of a vineyard leased his land to tenants who were expected to give him the fruit that the vineyard produced in exchange for being allowed to live on his property. Jesus told the people listening to him:

“A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

The servants that Jesus referred to who came to get some of the fruit of the vineyard were the prophets of the Old Testament. In his final rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus blamed these religious leaders for the deaths of God’s servants. Jesus said:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah,whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:29-39)

Jesus’ remark about Jerusalem being the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it seems to suggest that the wicked tenants in Jesus’ parable were residents of Jerusalem. Rather than pointing an accusatory finger at all of Israel, Jesus singled out Jerusalem in his prophetic messages about the end times. Jesus warned his disciples, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near” (Luke 21:20).

Jesus concluded his parable of the wicked tenants with a citation from Psalm 118. Luke tells us that after Jesus told the people that the owner of the vineyard would come and destroy the tenants, “They said, ‘Surely not!’ But he looked directly at them and said, ‘What then is this that is written:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him”’” (Luke 20:16-18). The book of Daniel, which was written during the southern kingdom of Judah’s exile in Babylon, contains a dream that was interpreted by Daniel for King Nebuchadnezzar. In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw a vision that dealt with four world empires. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then, the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:31-35).

Jesus’ conquest of the four world empires and restoration of God’s vineyard is outlined in the book of Revelation. We’re told in Revelation 21:1 that a new heaven and a new earth will replace the first heaven and the first earth. John went on to say, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people’” (Revelation 21:2-3). The reference to Jerusalem being prepared as a bride adorned for her husband is related to the marriage supper of the Lamb that is described in Revelation 19:6-8. It says about the bride in Revelation 19:8, “’it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.” The term saints is spoken of those who are purified and sanctified by the influences of the Spirit. “This is assumed of all who profess the Christian name” (G40). In his parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus said the owner of the vineyard would “come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others” (Luke 20:15-16). According to John’s Revelation, Christians are the others that will be given God’s vineyard and will dwell with him throughout eternity in the New Jerusalem.

Mission accomplished

Jesus was born for one specific reason, to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Apostle Paul noted in his letter to the Ephesians that Jesus’ mission was launched before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Paul tells us:

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:4-10)

God’s plan was launched in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve committed the first sin. Speaking to the serpent that had enticed Eve to rebel against him, God said, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:14-15).

Jesus’ first encounter with Satan took place shortly after he was baptized and was identified as the Son of God (Matthew 3:17). Matthew’s gospel tells us, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread'” (Matthew 4:1-3). The Greek word that is translated tempter, peirazo (pi-rad’-zo) is derived from the word peran (per’-an), which comes from the word peiro (to “pierce“); through, i.e. across:- across, away, beyond, other side (G4008). The idea that temptation is something that causes us to cross over or go to the other side was first introduced in the Old Testament and was associated with the term Hebrew or Eberite (H5680). Abraham was the first person to be referred to as a Hebrew (Genesis 14:13). Joseph was also identified as a Hebrew when he was a slave in Egypt (Genesis 39:14, 17; 41:12). The word that Hebrew is derived from, ‘abar (aw-bar’) which means “to cross over” is used figuratively to signify “going beyond, overstepping a covenant or a command of God or man. Moses uses the word when charging the people with disobeying and overstepping the Lord’s commands (Numbers 14:41; Joshua 7:11, 15).

The Israelites’ journey through the wilderness included several transitions that required them to cross over or pass through territory that was forbidden to them. The Hebrew word ‘abar (H5674) appears ten times in Deuteronomy chapter two, Moses’ account of the wilderness years. Moses said:

“Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward and command the people, “You are about to pass through (H5674) the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir…So we went on (H5674), away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir…So we went over (H5674) the brook Zered…until we crossed (H5674) the brook Zered…‘Today you are to cross (H5674) the border of Moab at Ar’…‘Rise up, set out on your journey and go over (H5674) the Valley of the Arnon.'” (Deuteronomy 2:1-24)

When the Israelites reached the border of the Promised Land, they were prevented from passing through (H5674) the land of Sihon the king of Heshbon (Deuteronomy 2:26-30) and so the LORD gave him and his land over to the Israelites and they defeated him and devoted all of his cities to destruction (Deuteronomy 2:33-34). Moses concluded his account with with the statement:

From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. The Lord our God gave all into our hands. Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us. (Deuteronomy 2:36-37)

The Hebrew word that is translated forbidden in Deuteronomy 2:37, tsavah (tsaw-vaw’) has to do with God’s sovereignty over his creation. “The word means to give an order or to command, to direct someone; it indicates commands given to people in various situations. The Lord commanded Adam and Eve to eat from certain trees but to refrain from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16; 3:17)” (H6680). Therefore, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, it was considered to be a sin or you might say rebellion against God’s sovereign authority.

Jesus told his disciples that it was his duty to go to Jerusalem and suffer and die there. Matthew tells us that after Peter made his profession that Jesus was the Christ (Matthew 16:16), “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man'” (Matthew 16:21-23). Jesus’ single-minded focus on dying for the sin of the world was the result of a divine appointment that made his death on the cross unavoidable (G1163). Jesus recognized Peter’s interference as a direct assault from Satan and immediately rebuked him with the command “Get behind me Satan!” (Matthew 16:23). The Greek word that is translated hindrance, skandalon (skan’-dal-on) means “the trigger of a trap on which the bait is placed, and which, when touched by the animal, springs and causes it to close causing entrapment” (G4625). The Greek word skandalizo (skan-dal-id’-zo), is where the english word scandalize comes from (G4624). skandalizo is derived from the word skandalon and was used by Jesus when he warned his disciples, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered'” (Matthew 26:31, emphasis mine).

In his High Priestly Prayer, shortly before his death, Jesus said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:1-5). Jesus indicated that he had already accomplished the work that he had been given to do even before he died on the cross. The work that he was referring to was reconciling man and God. Paul talked about this work in his letter to the Ephesians. Paul said:

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Ephesians 2:11-16)

The Greek word that Paul used that is translated reconcile, apokatallasso (ap-ok-at-al-las’-so) means “to reconcile fully…to change from one state of feeling to another” (G604). The change that Jesus was able to accomplish through his death on the cross was a change in God’s relationship to mankind. God’s hostility toward people because of the sins they’ve committed against him was changed to a state of peace.

The brutal death that Jesus suffered would seem to have had the opposite effect. John tells us:

Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” (John 19:1-7)

According to the Jews, Jesus “made himself the Son of God” (John 19:7). The Greek word that is translated made, poieo (poy-eh’-o) refers to “external acts as manifested in the production of something tangible, corporeal, obvious to the senses.” Figuratively poieo is “spoken of a state or condition, or of things intangible and incorporeal, and generally of such things as are produced by an inward act of the mind or will” (G4160). The Jews accusation that he made himself the Son of God may have been intended to imply that Jesus was merely acting like God and that he was not who he claimed to be, but there is ample evidence to suggest that the Jews believed Jesus was the Son of God and wanted to get rid of him because of that fact. One of Jesus’ parables in particular, the parable of the wicked tenants, revealed the religious leaders’ motive for killing him. Jesus said:

Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. (Luke 20:13-20)

In spite of the treachery that was used against him, Jesus was not a victim of his circumstances. When Pilate asked him, “Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you” (John 19:10), Jesus responded, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11).

Jesus described himself as the good shepherd and said, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Jesus went on to say, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:16-18). The charge that Jesus referred to was an authoritative prescription and was equivalent to the precepts of the Mosaic Law. Jesus was not only required to lay down his life, but also to take it up again; therefore, Jesus’ resurrection was necessary for his act of redemption to be complete.

John’s account of Jesus’ death on the cross states, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’ A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:28-30). Jesus’ declaration, “It is finished” just before he gave up his spirit, indicated that there was nothing more that he needed to do at that point in time. The Greek word that is translated finished, teleo (tel-eh’-o) means “to end” (G5055) and is derived from the word telos (tel’-os) which means “the point aimed at as a limit” (G5056). The point aimed at or goal that Jesus was working toward was the redemption of mankind. What had been going on up until then, was Jesus making payment for our redemption, paying the penalty for our sins. It says in Matthew 20:28, that Jesus came not to be served, “but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The Greek word that is translated ransom, lutron (loo’-tron) means “a redemption price (figurative, atonement)” the “‘loosing-money,’ i.e. price paid for redeeming captives” is used “metaphorically for the ransom paid by Christ for the delivering of men from the bondage of sin and death” (G3083).

Paul’s letter to the Romans explained is detail the process of redemption that Jesus completed. Paul said:

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

According to Paul, believers are justified by grace (Romans 3:24). The Greek word that is translated justified, dikaioo (dik-ah-yo’-o) means “as a matter of right or justice: to absolve, acquit, clear from any charge or imputation…spoken especially of the justification bestowed by God on men through Christ, in which he is said to regard and treat them as righteous, i.e. to absolve from the consequences of sin and admit to the enjoyment of the divine favor (Romans 3:26, 30; 4:5; 8:30, 33; Galatians 3:8)” (G1344). The mechanism of our justification is God’s grace, “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude…Also spoken of the grace which God exercises toward us, the unmerited favor which he shows in saving us from sin” (G5485).

Paul described Jesus as being a propitiation by his blood (Romans 3:25). Propitiation is associated with the mercy seat, “the lid or cover of the Ark of the Covenant, where the high priest would make propitiation once a year by sprinkling blood upon the mercy seat (Exodus 25:17-22; Leviticus 16:11-15)” (G2435). Propitiation is what makes it possible for God to forgive our sins. The Greek word hilaskomai (hil-as-kom-ahee) means “to reconcile to oneself, to be propitious, gracious” (G2433). Paul explained that our belief in Jesus is what tips the scales of justice in our favor. Paul stated:

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:5-8)

Paul’s explanation of justification by faith concluded with the statement, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The Greek word that is translated peace in this verse, eirene (i-rah’-nay) is being used metaphorically to represent “peace of mind, tranquility, arising from reconciliation with God and a sense of divine favor” (G1515). From that standpoint, peace with God means that we have nothing to worry about, we are good to go.