Other New Testament Teaching on the Death of Christ

Now that we’ve looked at what Paul and the Epistle to the Hebrews say about the death of Christ, it’s time to compare that with what Christ Himself says about His death in the four Gospels.

One of the most striking moments in the Synoptic Gospels appears in the account found in Matthew 16:13–28, Mark 8:27–9:1, and Luke 9:18–27. Jesus takes His disciples away from the busy centers of life — to the remote regions near Hermon — so He can share deeper truths with them. But before introducing anything new, He checks what they’ve already understood. He asks, “ Whom do men say that I am?” Peter speaks for the group: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The Gospel of Christ

Our next question is a crucial one: Did Christ Himself actually teach the doctrine of justification by faith — the doctrine Paul so clearly proclaims? Or did Paul, however sincerely, reshape Christ’s message through his own way of thinking and the world he lived in?

Put differently, did Paul truly understand and faithfully represent the mind and purpose of the One whose messenger he claimed to be? And to what extent might Paul’s own background and habits of thought have influenced the way he expressed Christ’s teaching?