The Passive Obedience of Christ

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15

— Dr. Marcus J. Serven

Each week when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper at Redeemer Presbyterian Church here in Austin, I am reminded of how our Lord “laid down his life” for the sake of sinners. This great truth becomes even more precious to me as we get closer to Good Friday. For it was on that day roughly two thousand years ago that Jesus went to the Cross as a sacrifice for sins. Contrary to common opinion, Jesus was not caught up in a calamitous swirl of events that he could not get out of. Instead, he willingly and purposefully went to the Cross, giving up his life for the sake of others. He put himself forward as a substitute; taking our place on the Cross. Such striking images as these were designed by God to remind us of the passive obedience of Jesus Christ. He was given a mission by his Father, and that mission was to become “a curse” on behalf of God’s people (Gal. 3:13). Jesus was obedient to that mission, despite the injustices of his experience. Prof. Louis Berkhof gives a detailed analysis of Christ’s passive obedience. He thoughtfully writes,

“Christ as Mediator also entered the penal relation to the law, in order to pay the penalty in our stead. His passive obedience consisted in His paying the penalty of sin by His sufferings and death, and this discharging the debt of all His people. The sufferings on Christ, which have already been described, did not come upon Him accidentally, nor as the result of purely natural circumstances. They were judicially laid upon Him as our representative, and were therefore really penal sufferings. The redemptive value of these sufferings results from the following facts: They were borne by a divine person who, only in virtue of His deity, could bear the penalty through to the end and thus obtain freedom from it. In view of the infinite value of the person who undertook to pay the price and to bear the curse, they satisfied the justice of God essentially and intensively. They were strictly moral sufferings, because Christ took them upon Himself voluntarily, and was perfectly innocent and holy in bearing them. The passive obedience of Christ stands out prominently in such passages as the following: Isa. 53:6; Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 2:24, 3:18: 1 John 2:2, while His active obedience is taught in such passages as Matt. 3:15, 5:17-18; John 15:10; Gal. 4:4-5; Heb. 10:7-9, in connection with the passages which teach us that Christ is our righteousness, Rom. 10:4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9; and that He secured for us eternal life, the adoption of sons, and an eternal inheritance, Gal. 3:13-14, 4:4-5; Eph. 1:3-12, 5:25-27.”

Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 381

Jesus succeeded in accomplishing the mission given to him by his Father. This truth is patently evident with the words Jesus uttered on the Cross, “It is finished!” (Jn. 19:30). Meaning that the redemptive work of Jesus has been fully accomplished. There is nothing more to be added.

Consider now these additional comments by Dr. Anthony Hoekema that explain the meaning of the term passive obedience:

“The term “passive obedience” is often misunderstood; many think that it means an obedience in which Christ was “passive” and not active, and “obedience in passivity.” But this is not what the adjective “passive” in this expression is intended to convey. The term “passive obedience” originated in the Latin writings of the seventeenth century Lutheran and Reformed theologians. One of these Johannes Wollebius, used the expression passiva obedienta (“passive obedience”) as equivalent to passio (“suffering,” here used of the suffering of Christ). By “passiive obedience,” therefore, we must understand the sufferings of Christ, culminating in his death on the cross; to avoid misunderstanding, however, I prefer the term “suffering obedience.” By “active obedience” we must understand Christ’s perfect keeping of God’s law; here I prefer the term “law-keeping obedience.”

hoekema, saved by grace, 181

Thus, Anthony Hoekema gives us a clearer picture of passive obedience. The term refers to how Jesus gave up his life for the sake of others. He suffered (Lat. passio) on the Cross for the purpose of providing redemption for sinners. For this sacrificial action we should all be extraordinarily grateful!

It must also be acknowledged that the passive obedience of Christ refers to all of the indignities he suffered here on the earth during the course of his life–his birth, his family background, his life experiences, his betrayal, his shameful trial, and the awful circumstances of his death. The Westminster Shorter Catechism addresses this fact by speaking of the “Humiliation of Christ.” Here is Question #27 and its answer:

Q. 27 Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist? A. Christ’s humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

westminster shorter catechism, #Q. 27

And so, it must be concluded that all of Jesus’ life on the earth represents his passive obedience. He obeyed the wishes of his Father by being born amongst men and enduring all of the travails of the human condition–yet he does so without sin. In this way, he is able to fulfill the mission of redeeming the people of God from the penalty of sin. He becomes sin for us. Dr. R. C. Sproul puts it this way,

“The cross represents the passio magnum, the great suffering of Christ. The suffering far transcends physical pain. It is more than a human death; it is an atonement. Christ is the sacrificial lamb. He must bear the weight of divine displeasure. He must feel the wrath of the Father poured out against sin. He must not only be executed by man, He must be forsaken by God.”

Sproul, The Glory of Christ, 149-150

Such clear and forceful words as these demonstrate that the passive obedience of Jesus Christ signifies that his death on the Cross was entirely purposeful. He died for the sake of others. Or, to quote Jesus’ own words, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:14-15). Thanks be to God!

Key Bible Passages:

Here is a brief selection of passages from both the Old and New Testaments that teach about the passive obedience of Jesus Christ. All Bible quotations are from the English Standard Version, Good News Publishers, 2001.

— “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:4-6

— “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matt. 20:28 (See also Mark 10:45)

— “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” Rom. 3:23-26

— “Jesus our Lord…was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Rom. 4:24b-25

— “He who knew no sin, became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God” 2 Cor. 5:21

— “…our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Tit. 2:13b-14

— “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” Heb. 9:11-12

— “And just as it is appointed for a man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time, not to deal with sins but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Heb. 9:27-28

— “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver and gold , but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” 1 Pet. 1:17-19

— “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Pet. 2:24

— “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” 1 Pet. 3:18

— “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2

If you want to know about the active obedience of Jesus Christ, then follow this link to an article I have written on that subject: https://thegenevanfoundation.com/the-active-obedience-of-christ/

Resources for Further Study: 

Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. 4th Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 1939.

Boice, James Montgomery and Philip Graham Ryken, The Heart of the Cross. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999.

Hoekema, Anthony A. Saved by Grace. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989.

Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1955.

Murray, John. Redemption: Accomplished and Applied. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1955.

Reymond, Robert L. “Obedience of Christ” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Walter A. Elwell, ed. Second Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.

Sproul. R. C. Essential Truths of the Christian Faith. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992.

Sproul, R. C. The Glory of Christ. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1990.

Stott, John R. W. The Cross of Christ. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986.

The Confession of Faith and Catechisms. American Edition (1788). Jointly published by Great Commission Publications (PCA) in Atlanta, GA, and the Committee on Christian Education (OPC) in Willow Grove, PA, 2005.

Warfield, Benjamin B. “Christ Our Sacrifice” in The Person and Work of Christ. Samuel G. Craig, ed. Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1950.

Rev. Dr. Marcus J. Serven, ThM and DMin

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