Samson's Death, Christ's Death

“And Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines.’ Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.” – Judges 16:30

Samson’s death was not like Christ’s in a few major ways. His death was the result of disobedience, which we see throughout his life in patterns of impulsive recklessness, sexual addiction, vindictive violence and pride. He died to redeem himself. Christ’s death was a result of his obedience, and he died to redeem us.

But there are striking similarities as well. Both were betrayed by those they loved and handed over to Gentile oppressors. Both were mocked, chained, and became weak. Both acted alone.

This latter point is an interesting one. The cycles in Judges are really more of a downward spiral: judges become more and more flawed. Repentance becomes less and less genuine or even present. The last five chapters of the book break the chronological flow of the story to go back and demonstrate just how far the Israelites had strayed from covenantal faith. But as the cycles become darker and darker, there are elements that increasingly point to Christ, like this one. Othniel rallied all of Israel (3:7-11). Deborah rallied part of Israel (5:15-18). Gideon fought with 300. Samson fought alone. As Edmund P. Clowney writes, “God had shown that He could deliver Israel with an army of willing volunteers; He had also shown that He could save with as few as three hundred… But when the Spirit of God came upon Samson, the Lord showed that He had no need for even three hundred. He could deliver by one.”

Samson killed at least over one thousand men (15:16) through his one act of death, creating a permanent rift between the Philistines and Israelites. God used Samson to bring Israel out of a place of profound and complete capitulation to Canaanite culture, paving the way to restoring their identity as people of God. Like Christ, Samson’s death opened the way to new life—despite his unprecedented flaws. And so we see that, in the midst of the darkening spiral, there is also a movement towards God, towards the Christ who dies, the Spirit who counsels, the Father who rules with justice. As the Psalmist wrote, “Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness” (Psalm 96:13).