Jesus took on both kinds of death. His flesh suffered and died. Also, His soul was torn by the cruelest pain because God “For our sake [God] made him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The death of Jesus was not simply a Roman execution. It carried with it huge meaning for us human beings. Jesus died for a reason.
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3).
This means that Jesus took the sins of all of us into Himself. He suffered in our place (Isaiah 53; 1 Peter 2). Sin’s terrible penalties, both fleshly and spiritual, have been fully paid. Therefore all of us can be free from our worst enemies: sin’s guilt and death as its punishment. This is Good News! Look again at how great the results of the cross are for us:
… upon him (Christ) was the chastisement [punishment] that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
[Christ died] in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him (Colossians 1:22).
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24).
For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Never, by our own efforts, could we measure up to God’s perfection. Yet God gives us this fantastic gift: His own level of purity and goodness. In Christ, we “become the righteousness of God”! That is how completely effective Jesus’ sacrifice is for us. He makes us “holy and blameless and above reproach before Him” (Colossians 1:22). In God’s eyes, where it counts, we enjoy perfect innocence. When we enter this new reality, we enjoy a truly fresh start. “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Therefore, with clear consciences, we “draw near [to God] with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22).