Why Did Jesus Have to Die?
"On the Cross We See God Doing Visibly and Cosmically What Every Human Being Must Do to Forgive Someone, Though on an Infinitely Greater Scale." - Timothy Keller
It's crucial to consider what it means to forgive. When somebody seriously wrongs us, when we experience the ravages of tremendous evil, we have two options: we can either seek revenge and make the perpetrator suffer for his transgression - or we can forgive him. Either way, a debt has been incurred and someone has to pay the price. It doesn't just go away.
Forgiveness, the second option, requires us to absorb the debt; we pay the price, we refuse to make the person pay for the evil he perpetrated against us. If the offense is heinous enough, this is an extraordinarily painful process. But, ultimately, the process leads to renewal and rebirth - for both us and the perpetrator. As Timothy Keller notes, "everyone who forgives great evil goes through a death into resurrection, and experiences blood, sweat, and tears (emphasis added)."
Jesus Christ experienced blood, sweat, tears, and unfathomable pain and suffering- both physically and spiritually - on the Cross. He absorbed our sin-debt; He paid it in full, He died in our place. Again, Timothy Keller says it well:
"On the Cross we see God doing visibly and cosmically what every human being must do to forgive someone, though on an infinitely greater scale."
Through the person of Jesus Christ, God cloaked himself in human flesh and took the punishment we deserve. He absorbed humanity's sin debt and it cost Him dearly. As it is written in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, emphasis added).
Due to our sinful nature - everyone either lies, covets, steals, lusts, blasphemes or idolizes on a daily basis - there is a huge gulf that separates us from God, who is perfectly holy. Indeed, a debt has been incurred and someone has to pay the price. Christ paid the price for us; He bridged the gap and has restored our broken relationship with the Lord.
You see, there is no greater symbol of life than blood. That's why the Bible says that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22) The Jews in Old Testament times offered unblemished animal sacrifices repeatedly in order to temporarily atone for their sins. Clearly, these blood sacrifices anticipated and foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice - the sacrifice of Christ, the only unblemished person who ever lived.
In an act of unparalleled mercy and love, Jesus shed his precious blood so that we wouldn't have to experience eternal separation from God.
That's why He had to die.
Published by Hartley Engel
I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada but raised in Los Angeles, California. I have a BA and MsEd degree from USC. View profile
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7 Comments
Post a Comment@ Saul: With all due respect, you are making a fallacious argument, my friend. The first accounts of the Resurrection, empty tomb and the eyewitnesses are found in the letters of Paul. And most historians agree that these letters were written just fifteen years after Jesus died and rose. See 1 Corinthians 15:3-6; here Paul lists many eyewitnesses -- including a group of five hundred people who saw the risen Jesus at the same time. Most of these people were still alive at the time Paul wrote the letter (the letter was a public document, by the way) and could be contacted for corroboration. Thus, Paul was inviting skeptics to talk to the eyewitnesses if they so desired. This just scratches the surface; there is much, much, more cumulative, solid evidence that proves that Jesus is God. :-D
According to many historians, Jesus died for sedition against the state of Judaea. According to many of these historians, the rest is myth created during and after Jesus' death, the books of the 'four gospels' finally being written decades, even a couple hundred years, after Jesus lived and died. Much of the attributed sayings of Jesus, therefore, amount to hearsay and the inaccuracies of human remembrance, sagas being what they are. I think Jesus was a heretic rabbi preaching a Buddhist brand of Judaism, a radical that Jewish leaders conspired to be crucified as an enemy of the state. I could be wrong, but the entire divinity aspect is a bit of a stretch. Jesus was different, preached a new brand of religion, tantamount to heresy, but still a man. Men die. Some die when they piss off the wrong people... Like JFK, MLK, Julius Caesar... Somebody wrote their stories down as well, including eyewitnesses...
Wonderfully done my friend.
He suffered and died for me, and for you. But, he got up again :) and that made all the difference! cheers :)
Great word Hartley! I think I'll preach it tomorrow! ;-)
Great article - well written.. In the last part when you brought in the verse from Hebrews 9:22, check a a great supporting verse for that from Leviticus 17:11, you might already be familar with it. ("For the Life of the Body is in the Blood, therefore I have given to you (as a sacrifice) on the altar to atone for your souls."
thoughtful article. :) jeffrey