Jesus Christ's approach to His own death, as recorded in Matthew 16:21, reveals a purposeful and dispassionate resolve. He informed His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised on the third day. Despite the intense emotional pain He endured the evening before His arrest, anticipating the torture, crucifixion, and the absence of the Father, His attitude at this earlier point in His ministry remained calm and focused on fulfilling God's will. When Peter rebuked Him, expressing fear and hostility toward the idea of His death, Jesus sharply responded, identifying such resistance as an offense and influenced by satan, for it disregarded the divine plan. He saw His death as a necessary work of God, a major event in the plan to pay for humanity's sins and ensure eternal life through His resurrection. Additionally, in John 11, Jesus demonstrated a unique perspective on death through His response to Lazarus' passing. Despite His close bond with Lazarus and knowing the illness was fatal, He deliberately delayed His arrival for two days, showing calm and confidence. Upon plainly stating that Lazarus was dead, He expressed gladness for the disciples' sake, not out of morbid joy, but from a righteous outlook, knowing the resurrection He would perform would strengthen faith, provide a powerful witness, and set the path to Calvary. Even when He wept, it was not for Lazarus but out of frustration at the unbelief and lack of hope among those mourning, revealing His mastery over death and His view of it through a lens of hope and the good that lies beyond.

The principle of death and denial, as exemplified by Jesus Christ, is a central theme in the journey of faith. Romans 6:5-7 speaks to this, stating that if we have been united in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing that our old self was crucified with Him to free us from the body of sin. Galatians 2:20 further emphasizes this, declaring that we are crucified with Christ, and it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us, through faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. Additionally, Galatians 6:14 urges us to boast only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to us, and we to the world. This principle of death is not one we naturally embrace, yet it is essential for victory in the Christian life. Like Thomas, who declared in John 11:16, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him," we must be willing to turn our backs on worldly desires and follow Christ, even to the point of giving up our own lives. To become a Christian means to reject anything contrary to God's way and accept by faith what God has done through Christ. Jesus Himself is the supreme example of self-denial, having relinquished the glories of heaven to become human and die for our salvation. As John 12:24 illustrates, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain. Jesus indicates that it was only through His death that He would be glorified and honored, as seen in Hebrews 2:9, where He, made lower than the angels, suffered death to taste it for everyone, being crowned with glory and honor. Philippians 2:8-9 reinforces this, noting that He humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross, and therefore God exalted Him with a name above every name. Hebrews 12:2 adds that He endured the cross for the joy set before Him, despising the shame, and now sits at the right hand of the throne of God. Practically, this means that when we surrender our attempts to control our lives or cling to things we deem indispensable, we find the true joy of living God's way. As Jesus states in John 12:25, he who loves his life will lose it, but he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life, emphasizing the need to value God above all else, even to the point of sacrificing everything for Him. This principle of death, followed by resurrection, transforms us, enabling us to live free from past obsessions and to experience the joy of new life in Christ.

About a month before His own death and resurrection, Jesus visited Bethany and performed His third miracle of resurrection, raising Lazarus from the dead. This extraordinary act, the most remarkable of His works in the flesh, foreshadowed His own resurrection and profoundly impacted Jerusalem, while also inciting the Sanhedrin's wrath, leading them to plot His murder. After this miracle, He withdrew to the wilderness of Ephraim for private time with His disciples before the Passover and His final hours. The raising of Lazarus was intended to reveal Christ as the resurrection and the life, demonstrating the glory of God. Jesus stated that Lazarus' sickness was not unto permanent death but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified through it. This event, though a display of His power and obedience to the Father, ironically led to His own death, which was His true glory due to what it accomplished. Jesus foresaw this outcome, understanding that the resurrection of Lazarus would be the final spark to ignite the hostility of the religious leaders, propelling them toward His crucifixion. Jesus Himself spoke of being glorified through His impending death, often using the term "glorify" in reference to His crucifixion. He noted that the hour had come for the Son of Man to be glorified, likening it to a grain of wheat that must fall into the ground and die. The raising of Lazarus thus not only showcased His divine power but also set the stage for His own sacrificial death, through which He would triumph gloriously, offering encouragement that, as He suffered and rose again, so too will His followers.

The concept of being conformed to Jesus Christ's death is a vital part of knowing Him and attaining the resurrection of the dead. In Philippians 3:10, the desire is expressed to personally know Him, to experience His resurrection power, to share in His sufferings, and to be more and more conformed to His death. This conformity does not necessarily imply a literal martyrdom, though it remains a possibility, but rather a deep identification with His representative act of dying for all. As stated in II Corinthians 5:14, if One died for all, then all died, indicating that Christ's death is not only substitutionary but also representative, uniting all Christians with His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. This representative death is further illustrated in Romans 6:1-6, where baptism into Christ Jesus signifies being baptized into His death, buried with Him, and raised to walk in newness of life. Legally, God considers us dead through the sacrifice of Christ, as our sins, which should have brought death, have been paid for. Thus, we are seen as crucified with Him, satisfying the penalty of the law, as echoed in Galatians 2:20, where it is declared that we have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. Moreover, being conformed to His death involves a personal obligation to put to death the deeds of the body, as urged in Romans 8:13. This act of mortification, from the Greek word thanatoo, is a duty in response to God's declaration of our righteousness and forgiveness. It requires us to deny ourselves and resist sin, a painful process that mirrors the fellowship of His sufferings, yet it is essential for spiritual growth and to avoid living according to the flesh, which leads to death. In Colossians 3:5, the call to put to death earthly members—such as fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness—uses the term nekroo, suggesting a vigorous and urgent act of personal determination to deprive sin of its power. By not feeding sinful desires, their strength diminishes, though this often involves prolonged and agonizing struggle. This process of dying to sin is crucial for being renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created us, ultimately leading to a deeper knowing of Christ. Finally, the purpose of this conformity to His death, as seen in II Corinthians 5:15, is that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died and rose again. This shift from self-centered living to a life centered on Christ aligns with the ultimate goal of knowing Him, experiencing the power of His resurrection, and being prepared for the Kingdom of God through the transformative process of sharing in His sufferings and death.