Crucified for the Sins of the World

Today Christians around the world celebrate Good Friday. One article describes it this way: “Good Friday commemorates the day the Savior was crucified. That may not sound ‘good,’ but it comes from the definition of ‘good’ that means holy. It’s a Holy Friday, the day the Savior gave His life for the world.” Since it is the day we remember His crucifixion, I thought it would be fitting to read what the Doctrine and Covenants teaches about this singular event. Some references teach us in third person about what happened. In one section we read this summary of the life of the Savior: “He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them. He was crucified, died, and rose again the third day; And ascended into heaven, to sit down on the right hand of the Father, to reign with almighty power according to the will of the Father” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:22-24). In the revelation about spiritual gifts, we learn that it is a gift to have a witness of His resurrection: “To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:13). The Prophet Joseph F. Smith described how knowledge of the Savior’s crucifixion would come to the spirits of the dead in this passage: “And so it was made known among the dead, both small and great, the unrighteous as well as the faithful, that redemption had been wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:35). And in another revelation the Savior spoke about Himself in third person as He described the role of the Comforter: “For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with a mighty blessing, and they shall believe on his words, which are given him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was crucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the remission of sins unto the contrite heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:9). It is a gift of revelation that comes from the Holy Ghost to have our own personal witness that Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world. And that knowledge is meant to go to all, both living and dead, who will receive it.

               In four other sections of the Doctrine and Covenants the Savior spoke in first person about His crucifixion. He declared, “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:2). He emphasized again that He was crucified for our sins in this verse: “Behold, I, the Lord, who was crucified for the sins of the world, give unto you a commandment that you shall forsake the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 53:2). In another revelation two days later, He introduced Himself this way: “Behold, thus saith the Lord, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, even he who was crucified for the sins of the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 54:1). Clearly He wanted us to understand not just that He was crucified but that it was for a purpose: our sins. In a revelation about when He will come again, the Savior described the future poignant scene when He meets the Jews at Jerusalem: “And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet? Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:51-52). He will declare with power that He who was crucified was and is the long-promised Holy Messiah. Along with the New Testament and Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants is a powerful witness that Jesus was crucified and that He did it for the sins of the world. And as we remember His cross this Easter, we should likewise remember that He invites us to follow Him with these words: “You must take up your cross” (Doctrine and Covenants 23:6).