What does the common phrase “we crucify Christ with our sins” mean? How can this be understood if Christ was crucified once, long before our time? #

When the Lord Jesus Christ began His public ministry, St. John the Forerunner, who was calling people to repentance and baptizing them in the Jordan, pointed to Christ and said:

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

The idea that the Savior of the world, God’s Anointed One, would come to suffer for the sins of humanity was proclaimed by the prophets from ancient times. This truth was also reflected in the entire Old Testament worship system, centered around blood sacrifices, where the blood of sacrificial animals was used to purify people, objects, and dwellings. For this reason, St. John the Baptist referred to Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God—the sacrificial lamb who takes upon Himself the sins of the world.

The prophet Isaiah speaks vividly about Christ’s suffering for the sins of humanity:

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; 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 hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”

While on earth, Jesus Himself foretold His crucifixion, comparing it to the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up on a pole in the wilderness—a foreshadowing of the Cross. Those who had been bitten by snakes and were dying were healed by looking at it:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Thus, Christ’s suffering on the Cross for our sins brought healing and salvation to those who turn to Him. For this reason, believers in Christ, who wish to remain with Him, strive to avoid sin and not grieve the Lord, who suffered on the Cross for us.

Although our sins today do not cause physical pain to the Lord, as He has already suffered, died, risen, and ascended into heaven, they still grieve Him. Therefore, it can be said metaphorically that we participate in the crucifixion of Christ with our sins. His crucifixion was not only the result of the Pharisees betraying Him or the Roman soldiers nailing Him to the Cross but also because of our sins.

—Priest Mikhail Rodin