This is a 2000-year-old question: why did Jesus have to die? Seriously, Jesus died a horrible death. And for what? He didn’t do anything! He was sinless. The problem was, that the world was not. Humans were not. People were not. Why Jesus, why then, why not? Let’s dig in…
God’s Love for Us Humans
It all started back in the Garden of Eden. God gave us a perfect world to live in, we had the perfect vegan diet, and lots of animals to play with. He only gave us one rule. Unfortunately, Satan came along and tempted Adam and Eve with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Basically, it feels good, tastes good, it’ll feel good, you’ll gain knowledge, and be like God! Oh, and by the way, you won’t really die. What we got, was paradise lost — a fallen world. It was all downhill from there.
The Prophet Isaiah Wrote…
4 For since the world began,
no ear has heard
and no eye has seen a God like you,
who works for those who wait for him!
5 You welcome those who gladly do good,
who follow godly ways.
But you have been very angry with us,
for we are not godly.
We are constant sinners;
how can people like us be saved?
6 We are all infected and impure with sin.
When we display our righteous deeds,
they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,
and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
7 Yet no one calls on your name
or pleads with you for mercy.
Therefore, you have turned away from us
and turned us over to our sins.8 And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
Isaiah 64:4-9, 12 NLT
We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We all are formed by your hand.
9 Don’t be so angry with us, Lord.
Please don’t remember our sins forever.
Look at us, we pray,
and see that we are all your people.
12 After all this, Lord, must you still refuse to help us?
Will you continue to be silent and punish us?
God Laid Down the Law
Clearly, God gave us the 10 Commandments and detailed rules on how the people were to worship Him, honor Him and sacrifice in order to atone for their sins. The problem was that as the generations progressed, they disobeyed. Simply, all God wanted was obedience. In fact, He told the people if you obey, you’ll be blessed, but if you disobey, you’ll be cursed — it was that easy! Yet, they sinned, the worst was their worship of the false gods and idols of their pagan neighbors. That so separated them from God, that there really was no way that they could sacrifice enough to redeem their sins.
Prophet after Prophet
Still, God sent His prophets to the people. Every single one of God’s prophets proclaimed His anger at the disobedience of the people. Over and over again, they warned the people to turn from their evil, wicked, and idolatrous ways and turn back to God — or else! Overall, the prophets covered the…
- Separation from God
- Promised Solution – Messiah
- New Covenant (Testament)
- Miraculous Birth
- Rejection at the Messiah’s 1st Coming
- Suffering
- Sacrifice
- Victorious 2nd Coming
Consequently, many Old Testament prophecies have been fulfilled and there are many that are yet to be fulfilled. But, God keeps His promises!
The Truth About Sin
Furthermore, Paul wrote in the Book of Romans, chapter 3…
10 As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous—
not even one.
11 No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16 Destruction and misery always follow them.
17 They don’t know where to find peace.”
18 “They have no fear of God at all.”19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
Christ Took Our Punishment
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
Romans 3:10-26 NLT
Jesus Compared to Adam
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:12-17 NLT
And, finally…
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 NLT
Jesus told us…
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave (sacrificed) his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
John 3:16-20 NLT
Peter told us…
17 “Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. 18 But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. 19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. 21 For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.
Acts 3:17-21 NLT
Related: Have you Rejected the Invitation to Jesus’ Wedding Feast?
Do you now understand WHY Jesus had to die?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
