Did the Lord Jesus give His life for sinners? If so, was it a suicide then?
Isa 53:12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, BECAUSE HE POURED OUT HIS SOUL UNTO DEATH, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Ga 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME
Ga 1:4 WHO GAVE HIMSELF FOR OUR SINS, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and GIVEN HIMSELF FOR US, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Heb 9:14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit OFFERED HIMSELF without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Tit 2:14 WHO GAVE HIMSELF FOR US, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ DIED for our sins according to the Scriptures,
The word "died" here in the Greek is in the active voice. Active voices are actions in which the subject himself produces the action. He actively died for our sins.
Joh 10:17 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I LAY DOWN MY LIFE that I may take it again.
18 "No one takes it from Me, but I LAY IT DOWN OF MYSELF. I HAVE POWER TO LAY IT DOWN, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
No one could take His life from Him. It takes power on His part to go through death. For sin has no power over a man who is sinless. Those nails and thorns penetrated because He allowed it.
* Was it a suicide then?
Suicides are based on self-interest. They have an eye on self. Nobody commits suicide to increase their suffering and pain. To spare themselves from shame, misery, and agony, they kill themselves. Christ had others in view in His death. The good of others at the expense of His life. This changes the picture altogether. We have a word for this --- it's called a sacrifice.
A policeman who drops to the ground and falls on a pulled grenade to shield others is not a suicide. Nobody in his right mind would say: "He committed suicide for us!" No, rather, they would say: "He sacrificed himself for us! He gave himself for us!"
