Answer
After reminding the Corinthians of the supreme importance of the good news of God’s saving grace, the apostle Paul briefly sketches out the fundamental elements of the gospel message he preached: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
“Christ died for our sins” is the gospel in a nutshell. The fact that Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross, was buried, and then rose from the dead to satisfy the penalty for our sins is the essential message of the gospel and the central theme of the entire Bible. If not for Jesus Christ’s death in our place, His forgiveness of sin, and His resurrection to life, we could not be saved and restored to a right relationship with God (Romans 4:25; 5:6, 18; 1 Corinthians 15:17).
Paul asserts that every element of the gospel happened just as the Scriptures said. He repeated the phrase according to the Scriptures to punctuate this point: the Old Testament speaks as a witness to the reality and centrality of Christ’s death and resurrection.
When Paul wrote, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,” he was likely referencing Isaiah’s messianic prophecies of the Suffering Servant (see Isaiah 52:13—53:12). Isaiah foresaw the Messiah “pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:5–6, NLT). The prophet envisaged Jesus “unjustly condemned, he was led away. . . . He had done no wrong . . . But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. . . . His life is made an offering for sin” (verses 8–10, NLT).
Perhaps Paul also recalled Gabriel’s prophetic message to Daniel: “The Anointed One will be killed” (Daniel 9:26, NLT). Or he may have had in mind the striking down of the shepherd in Zechariah 13:5–9. Or the description of an excruciating death in Psalm 22, with its many details fulfilled in Christ’s crucifixion.
Paul not only affirmed Christ’s death but also His resurrection according to the Scriptures. Messiah’s destiny to come back to life from the grave and bring salvation and blessing to God’s children happened just as the prophets foretold and the Scriptures testified (see Isaiah 53:10–12; Psalm 16:10; cf. Acts 2:25–32; 13:33–35). Moses also bore witness that the Messiah would suffer, die, and rise from the grave to become our Savior (see Acts 26:22–23; Luke 24:27; John 3:14–15).
Besides actual prophecies of Christ’s death and resurrection, the Old Testament Scriptures give us types and pictures that point to these events. The images begin in the Garden of Eden, with God covering Adam and Eve’s nakedness with sacrificed animal skins (Genesis 3:21). We see a picture of Christ in the Jewish sacrificial system and feasts, such as the Day of Atonement and Passover (Leviticus 23:9–14; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:23). So many things in the Old Testament illustrate Christ’s offering of His life as our Substitute, Savior, and Redeemer (Hebrews 10:1–23).
The message of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is threaded through the story of Moses as a baby floating in a basket on the Nile and then growing up to be God’s chosen deliverer of His people. It is in the life of Joshua—whose name is a variation of Jesus—the one who leads the people of God into their eternal inheritance. Joseph’s experience of going from a high position to enslavement and then to an exalted ruler who saves his people (Genesis 50:20) also foreshadows Christ’s mission. We also see Christ’s resurrection in the story of Jonah, who spent three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish (see Matthew 12:38–41).
These are just a few examples of the types and shadows demonstrating how Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. The gospel message—that God sent His Son to die in our place so that we might have resurrection life in Him—is the overarching theme of both the Old and New Testaments. From Genesis to Revelation, the Word of God testifies to the Father’s gift of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life in Jesus Christ His Son.
