I once overheard two children talking about a movie in which the hero drank from a certain cup and received eternal life. And they commented that they supposed that he lived forever and
never died. I told them that the only way to receive eternal life was to believe that Jesus died for them. Their reply was 'I know that!'
Of course I was happy with their reply, but it begs a question
that is so often asked and that is 'why?' Just why did Jesus have to die? People, adults as well as children, often ask that question. We believe that Jesus
went to the cross and died for us, but we wonder why. We bring up a vision of Jesus on the cross; we picture the agony that he suffered; we realize the horrible death that he suffered, and
we ask why? And we wonder whether there was not some other way that God could have saved us.
Don't ever be afraid to ask questions like that. To ask such a
question does not show a weak faith—in fact it shows the reverse. If someone does not believe that Jesus died for him or her, then they are not going to ask why he did that. It would be
a nonsense question. But to begin to understand the pain that Jesus felt, and to then ask why it was necessary, is to show that the belief is very real; so real that we are almost feeling
some of the pain ourselves and so are led to ask why it had to happen.
To help us understand why Jesus had to die, we can approach the question from two perspectives. And the first is to
understand that Jesus was the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament prophecies. The third part of our study will show how he came into Jerusalem fulfilling the prophecy of the
Messiah. Jesus came to save the world - John made that clear in what is perhaps the most well know scripture, that God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, (John 3:16) but as Messiah, Jesus came
first for the Jew. He was the fulfillment of all of their expectations.
But was the Messiah supposed to die for the people? We come close to our question here.
Blood was life to the people of the Old Testament. Tradition had held that only the blood of a sacrificial animal could somehow bring sufficient cleansing of their behavior and put them back
into a good standing with God. And so in the Old Testament we find a pattern where priests would deliver an animal sacrifice on the altar. This was the sacred act of atonement.
But such was the behavior of the people and such was the depth of sin, that a one time sacrificial act was not sufficient. As sin continued and as people continued in their disobedience
to God, so the act of atonement had to be repeated—year after year and for each new generation. From Moses; through the period of Judges; through the time of David; through the
period of exile and return, the act of atonement was continued over and over again, as the people waited for Messiah; men going into a man-made place to seek atonement.
And then came Jesus! The only man who ever lived without sin, he was the Word made flesh, God in the flesh. So with the coming of Jesus, was there now a way for the Messiah to once and
for all time save the people and allow their sins to be forgiven now and forever? Yes there was a way, and that was for Jesus to do the ultimate—to give his life.
Perhaps you recall John the Baptist, on seeing Jesus, calling out "look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
Or perhaps you remember the words of the Book of Hebrews that say "...when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more
perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once and for all by his own blood..."
(Hebrews 9:11-12)
Jesus was the priest and the sacrifice. Only the blood of Jesus, of the Word made flesh, could bring about a perfect atonement forever. Goats and calves and lambs were partial but Jesus was
whole. Through his sacrifice, all who would believe would be forgiven and saved to eternal life. Jesus had to die. There was no other way.
The second way to approach the question as to why Jesus had to die is to understand why the New Testament is so full of references to eternal life and to our Lord's resurrection.
We can begin this with the words from our 1 Corinthians passage: "...Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, he was buried and he was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 3-4)
We should also consider the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John: "...I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds..."
(John 12:23-24)
And again we must recall the words of Jesus in John 3:16
"...whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
And later "...whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me, has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has already crossed over from death into life " John 5:24
What is scripture telling us in those passages?
- First scripture tells us there is no doubt; Jesus died and was buried and rose from the dead on the third day.
- Secondly that just as a kernel of wheat has to fall into the ground in order to produce more seed, so it was that Jesus had to die and be buried—before being raised again.
- Thirdly that whoever believes in Jesus, will also not perish but find
eternal life.
Jesus had to die in order to be raised again, the kernel had to go into the earth. There was no other way.
We see then, that eternal life is not found in never physically dying—as the children I overheard
thought, but it is in believing in Christ so that our inevitable physical death is but a transition. The eternal life is to follow, but the kernel has to first go into the earth.
And the kernel that is afraid to die cannot produce life. And the person who is afraid to die cannot live—cannot find the good and abundant life now and the eternal life to follow. My friends
let that not be said of us! Do not fear death as a great and final battle; do not see death as the final enemy that must be defeated. Jesus has already fought that battle and has won. He has
won the prize for us—he had to die to provide us with a forgiven life now and an eternal life later. Believe that and live!
I hope that you can see that approaching the crucifixion from the Old Testament people's
perspective we see the only way to salvation was in the blood of Jesus.
And approaching and understanding the crucifixion from the New Testament perspective, we see
that the way to eternal life is in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Perhaps Daniel Towner's old hymn "At Calvary" can help with our feelings: "Years I spent in
vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified, knowing not that it was for me He died on Calvary. Mercy there was great, and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied for me, and
there my burdened soul found liberty—at Calvary."
Jesus had to die in order that we might be saved.
"Why Did Jesus Have To Die?"