"And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst" (John 19:17-18, KJV).
Loved ones, the world of today (especially during the month of December) stresses the birth of Jesus; however, the Bible emphasizes His death. Truly the cross of Christ is the pivotal point in human history.
A study of the events surrounding the crucifixion of the Savior will but magnify the importance of His death. The early Christians met for communion each first day of the week to remember the Lord's death in the memorial of His Last Supper (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:26). When one considers the glorious life of perfection Jesus portrayed, it seems nothing short of tragedy that His life was violently taken from the earth.
1) Why did the Son of God need to die? 2) Why did He die? 3) How did He die? 4) What lessons do we learn from the Master's demise? With the help of the Sword of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), it shall be the purpose of this brief series to notice each of these points.
1. WHY DID JESUS NEED TO DIE?
A. Jesus Needed To Die To Save Us From Death.
Was this cruel Roman execution necessary? Yes! Following the fall of the first pair, Jehovah warned the devil in the Garden of Eden that one day the seed of woman would crush the power of evil (cf. Genesis 3:15). This promise was fulfilled when Christ (the seed of Mary) “died for our sins,” was buried, and then arose from the grave on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
These events took away sin, "the sting of death” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57), and removed the power of death that Satan had over mankind (Hebrews 2:14). Without the death of our Lord Jesus, we would be hopelessly in the power of the Evil one.
The Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
B. Jesus Needed To Die And Shed His Blood So That Man Could Have The Remission Of Sins (Matthew 26:28).
In Hebrews 9:22 we learn of the necessity of "the shedding of blood" that our sins may be forgiven. That means there is no substitute for blood. We MUST have “the blood” that was shed for us. The Bible clearly teaches that man by himself could never be good enough to enjoy the favor and fellowship of a holy, sin-hating God (cf. Jeremiah 10:23).
For this reason, preaching the cross is at the heart of God’s eternal message and purpose (1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-24; cf. 1 Peter 1:18-20; Revelation 13:8). The cross will continue to be to each person either the “stone of stumbling” (1 Peter 2:7-8) or the “Rock of Ages” (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:4; Ephesians 3:21).
The prophet Zechariah had foretold that a fountain would be opened “for sin and for uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1). When the Roman soldier with a spear pierced the gentle side of Jesus as He was hanging on the cross, that fountain was opened (cf. John 19:34).
No wonder Paul would write, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14; cf. 1 Corinthians 2:2). Jesus said, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
The preposition “for” means “in order to obtain” remission of sins. The same use is seen in Acts 2:38, “Repent, and be baptized…for the remission of sins.” This shows that the blood of Jesus forgives a believer’s sins WHEN he repents and is baptized. Jesus "washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Revelation 1:5; cf. Acts 22:16).
Christ was indeed “the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Paul informs us that "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). Through our Savior we are delivered from death and forgiven of our sins – we are saved (cf. Luke 1:77).
Up to the time of Golgotha the finest hour in Jewish history had been the Day of Atonement (you can read of this important annual occasion in Leviticus 16). Yearly, after offering a sacrifice “for his own sins, and then for the people” (cf. Hebrews 7:27; 9:24-25), the high priest would figuratively send the sins into the wilderness on the head of the scapegoat.
However, not until our Redeemer died could anyone literally be forgiven (cf. Hebrews 9:15-17; 10:4). Jesus needed to die for the remission of sins.
C. Jesus Needed To Die So That We Might Be Justified.
In Romans 5:9, Paul says, “Being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” The word “justified” means to be acquitted. It is a term that is used in a court of law when it is found that the accused is not guilty. When one is acquitted he is rendered guiltless; he is “justified.” In practical terms, “justified” means “just as if I’d never sinned.” Jesus needed to die so we could be “justified freely by His grace…that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
In Ephesians 1:7, Paul writes, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Peter said, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
How can those of us in Christ ever forget we have been bought with a price? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; cf. Acts 20:28). We are His – mind, muscle, money, time, tongue and talent – because Jesus “was slain, and hast redeemed us to God” by His blood (Revelation 5:9; cf. Ephesians 1:7).
Still the question may be asked, “Why Did Jesus NEED To Die? Why was such a sacrifice necessary for our redemption from death, forgiveness of sins, and justification?”
D. Jesus Needed To Die To Fulfill God’s Eternal Purpose
God being who He is; sin being what it is; man being the sinner that he is – someone who is qualified had to do for man what he could NOT do for himself. God, the Lord of hosts, is holy (Isaiah 6:3). Growing out of His holiness is His intense hatred of sin. The Bible says Jesus (God), “…hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity” (Hebrew 1:9). God hates iniquity because He loves righteousness (cf. Psalm 119:172).
God, then, being who He is (a holy sin-hating God), and sin being what it is (spiritual leprosy, anarchy against God, “the transgression of the law” – 1 John 3:4), and man being the sinner that he is (we have all “sinned, and come short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23), required someone who was innocent and thus qualified to act in man’s stead.
Because of the sinfulness of man, Christ Jesus needed to die to pay the price (death) for man’s sins (cf. Romans 6:23). It is NOT by human attainment but by Divine atonement that we are saved. It is NOT by humanly achieving, but by obediently believing in the Christ and His cross that we have our forgiveness.
God saw the problem of man from before the foundation of the world. He had a plan that Bible writers call “the eternal purpose” (Ephesians 3:10-11). At the heart of that planned purpose was the cross. It is often difficult for finite minds to grasp infinite truths, even when those truths are revealed unto man (cf. Deuteronomy 29:29).
Yet, we must understand that Jesus needed to die to fulfill God's Eternal Purpose. Jesus said, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me" (John 6:38). What was the Father's desire for the Son? In 1 Peter 1:18-19 we learn that it embraced the sacrifice of Jesus as the sin-offering for lost humanity. Notice that the lamb was “without blemish and without spot.”
His sinless life was vital to His saving death (cf. Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22). Jesus through His death, in effect, is saying, “Man is not able to bear the punishment due for his sins, so I’ll take it for him.” The Lord, Jehovah, laid upon Jesus “the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4-6).
E. Jesus Needed To Die To Reconcile Man To God And Mankind.
When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden mankind was separated from Jehovah (cf. Isaiah 59:1-2). The perfect harmony and beauty of the creature with the Creator had been broken. It took the death of Christ on the cross to reconcile him (bring man back) to God (cf. Ephesians 2:16).
Notice the comparison between a beautiful Messianic prophecy and a verified statement from the pen of Paul. Isaiah said, "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" (Isaiah 53:5).
Paul later said, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" (Romans 5:8-10).
In Ephesians 2:12-17, Paul makes it clear that NOT only does the cross reconcile man to his Maker, but it is the cross of Christ that brings together the two great warring segments of humanity, Jews and Gentiles. In Ephesians 2:16, Paul writes, “And that he might reconcile both (Jew and Gentile) unto God in one body (the church of Christ) by the cross (the blood), having slain the enmity thereby.”
Therefore, we conclude that Jesus needed to die because man was alienated (separated) from God and each other due to sin. It was heaven's eternal purpose that Christ's death should make it possible for reconciliation to be accomplished.
Jesus Christ, the God-man, hangs suspended at Golgotha. He reaches up to the Father who in His holiness has been offended by the anarchy of man, and He reaches down to man, deeply marred and scarred by sin, and He brings the two together in His death – bringing about reconciliation.
Lord willing, to be continued in Part 2:
2. Why did Jesus die?
3. How did Jesus die?
4. What lessons do we learn from the Master's demise?
The God of Heaven and Earth is so good. We love you. Samuel - 13 April 26
