Weird Ideas: Crucified, Dead, and BuriedНамуна

The Apostles’ Creed doesn’t say much about Jesus’s life. But it does say this: “He was crucified, died, and was buried.” Other than the crucifixion part, that doesn’t seem too out of the ordinary. Just about everyone dies and is buried. But the early Christians wanted to impress how significant this is. They were saying: “Jesus, the one we put our hope in and look to as the King of the universe, was killed in the most degrading and horrible of ways.” Yes, the Lord of life died. Jesus’s death is central to everything Christians find hope in and believe.

In explaining this phrase in the Apostles’ Creed, Martin Luther writes in his Small Catechism: “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man… has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil… with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death…”

Jesus’s crucifixion and death is not just the story of someone dying. It is the way God saves us and the world.

Today, read the story of Jesus’s crucifixion, death, and burial, as told by Luke. Luke tells it simply, assuming you know a lot of the gory details of what this entailed. But even if you don’t, more important than the details is that Jesus died for you.