Interpreting Interpreter: Timing Christ’s Death

The Takeaway

Black argues that Christ specifically timed his death to coincide with the evening tamid offering taking place at the temple, with Atonement-based symbolism and Jehovah-oriented prayers that would have punctuated his fulfillment of the law of sacrifice.

The Summary

In this article, C. Thomas Black follows up his previous article on the physiological implications of Christ’s suffering, arguing that Christ not only chose to give up his life, but that he chose to do it at a specified moment: at 3:00pm, the time of the second tamid sacrifice. For the tamid, lambs were slain twice daily as a continual burnt offering, one representing a communal atoning sacrifice. Animal sacrifice of all kinds has been treated as a foreshadowing of Christ’s atonement, but the tamid offering may be particularly meaningful in that context, symbolizing the continuing covenant that Jehovah had with Israel.

In the tamid, the lamb is entirely burnt, representing complete submission to God’s will and God’s all-encompassing nature. It started and ended the day’s sacrificial schedule, and its cost was borne by the whole of Israel. Its observance was accompanied by ritual prayers called the Eighteen Benedictions, which were directed toward Jehovah (i.e., Jesus) and involve begging for his forgiveness as their Redeemer and asking to be healed. The word that Christ uses at his death, tetelestai, “it is finished”, was commonly used by merchants to indicate “the price is paid”, and by Shepherds when they found a perfect sheep for sacrifice. It could have comprehensively expressed a number of things that Christ finished with the act of his death, including Israel’s sacrificial rites and the purpose behind them.

Black suggests that the timing of this final act required two kinds of intention: one to prolong his life in the face of otherwise fatal physical extremities, and one to hasten his demise, given that those who were crucified would often suffer for days before expiring. Scripture maintains that Christ voluntarily gave his life, and it would make little sense for the timing of that choice to be accidental. As Black concludes:

“Christ had power of his own life and death, his body had been mortally wounded, all prophecies had been fulfilled, and ‘all things were now accomplished’… It is therefore appropriate that Christ intentionally timed his death to occur at the moment of the second tamid sacrifice on the evening prior to Passover, thus ending the 1,500-year practice of sacrifice by the shedding of blood… Christ had always been fully aware of the prophesied manner in which he must die, but he proceeded willingly regardless. We have a clearer understanding of why he did so, but we now also have a clear understanding of how he may have accomplished it and when it could have occurred.”

The Reflection

Once one accepts that Christ voluntarily laid down his life, the likelihood that the timing was intentional and meaningful becomes almost certain. The main question is what that meaning would be, and Black’s answer is a compelling one. I keep imagining a “Passion of the Christ” remake that cuts Christ on the cross against a montage of the final burnt offering, with a dramatic reading of lines from the Eighteen Benedictions. It’s a hard image to ignore.

One question I still have is whether Christ’s decision to hasten his demise potentially undercuts the argument that he was supernaturally sustaining his life. If those undergoing crucifixion generally lasted for days, you’d have to argue that 1) Christ’s mistreatment at the hands of the Romans was unusually severe, and/or 2) the suffering in Gethsemane was necessarily enough to put him over the threshold of mortality, in combination with his other experiences. I’m not sure I’ve seen a clear argument for #1, and I see enough uncertainty on the details for #2 that the outcome is in doubt. Perhaps I can look forward to more from Black on these points in the future.