The passage of Matthew 27 begins and ends with suicide. Shortly after Judas had betrayed Jesus for a reward of thirty silver coins, he began to realize the gravity of the situation. Judas felt so remorseful that he couldn’t bear the idea of living another day. After returning the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Judas retreated to a place of silence and hung himself. As you can see, the first suicide mentioned in this passage is dark, unfruitful, and (as most suicides are) irreversible.
Further into the passage is the mention of another suicide and this particular suicide doesn’t fit the traditional description. However, the term “suicide” rightfully applies because it involves a man taking his own life. The difference in this specific case is that this man intentionally died so that we could live. And this man is no other than our celebrated Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus took His own life so that, unlike Judas, we wouldn’t need to face each day thinking that our only answer is hopelessness and death. Jesus became sin so we wouldn’t need to face the gravity of our own sin. He treated His life as currency by exchanging it so that you and I could have the reward of salvation. That’s worth far more than thirty pieces of silver.
In contrast to the first suicide mentioned in the passage, Jesus’s suicide was the opposite of dark, unfruitful, and irreversible. Although He endured a horrendous death as a result of charges He did not commit, I believe the last word Jesus would use to describe His death is “dark.” On the contrary, the death of our Lord brought an irreplaceable light into our hearts- one that also penetrates the world. Our hearts no longer need to suffer the dark torment of captivity to fear, anxiety, lust, pain, and evil. Jesus is light and His death was the perfect manifestation of light. “Unfruitful” is another term that is absent from this case of suicide. Rather than having a precious life go to waste, Jesus’s precious life was used to revive mankind. His loss of life translated into our gain of Heaven. For that, His death was and will remain the most fruitful.
Lastly, and more importantly, Jesus’s death was not the end. Judas’s decision to take his life resulted in an irreversible action. But Jesus’s decision to take His life resulted in His resurrection. Jesus rose again. Death’s one duty of creating irreversible damage had no place in this situation. Jesus conquered the grave. God pulled the sting out of death by completely defeating it. And He did so by playing the game.
And that, dear friends, is what I call a glorious suicide.
Grace and Glory 
This is powerful. To God be the glory.
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I suppose I’m a little confused. How do you consider that Jesus killed Himself? He didn’t nail Himself to the cross. How was His death “suicide”? I find the idea/concept of Jesus committing suicide to be veering in the wrong direction of the message of the Gospels. Can you explain your point of view a bit more on why you use that term?
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Hello friend! Although Jesus didn’t physically nail himself to the cross, He consciously gave up his own life. His main mission on earth was to die (to atone for our sins) and He chose to do so. That’s what I mean by suicide. Like I mentioned in the post, Jesus’s case may seem less traditional because it’s not in the context that society often uses in this day and age. However, the definition of suicide is “the act or instance of taking one’s life voluntarily and intentionally” (Merriam Webster). I think most would agree that these two requirements are what define suicide. Jesus’s case meets these requirements because he (A) voluntarily ended his life so we could have ours and (B) came down to earth with the intention to die. I hope this clarifies some things for you! Have a blessed day!
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Joanna, I appreciate your explanation. To be absolutely honest, I have to say I disagree with this. I am certainly not one to make definitions, and certainly different people will see this in their own light, but I don’t see it that Jesus “took” His own life but that He “GAVE” His own life; the two cannot intertwine and they never connect. Per your own example, if suicide is “taking” one’s own life, I believe the sole purpose and power of Christ’s death is that it was a sacrifice, Him GIVING His life in place of ours, not taking His own. If we glorify Jesus for a suicide, then we may be glorifying the suicide (which, if you think about it, is selfish, the idea of taking one’s own life), rather than the selflessness of His giving Himself for our sakes. Does that make sense? Perhaps we see things differently here, but I hope with my explanation, my perspective makes sense to you. I understand the message of your post was meant to be that Jesus death is beautiful because of what it meant that His later resurrection saved us who believe. So, again, the overall message of your post I do not disagree with, but that He committed suicide, I strongly disagree with. Again, just my opinion. I think as long as we agree that He rose again for our sakes, we are still on the same page with the most important matter of the Christian faith.
God bless!
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I understand where you’re coming from. The sense in which I mean ‘suicide’ isn’t supposed to be completely literal. But like you said, everyone will see this in their own light. And that’s the beauty of it all: that we can use different views and perspectives to glorify God since He knows our hearts. God knows my intentions with this post and He knows your intentions with commenting on it. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your opinions, I truly appreciate it! Have a blessed day!
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