Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, “Why did Jesus have to die?” Maybe you’ve heard the gospel and how he died for our sins, but you’ve found yourself wondering why he actually had to die in the first place. After all, this is a valid question. Death does seem outrageous for a loving God to require.
To answer this question, we must first understand who God is: God is a holy and just God, meaning that God is perfect and so holy that sin separates us from Him. And sin is all of the things we do that do not honor Him; it may look like lying, cheating, gossiping, disobeying, cursing, or seeking the approval of others rather than seeking to bring glory to God. In essence, sin is living a life for ourselves rather than for God.
And because God is not only holy but also just, he has to punish sin because sin deserves death. In fact, according to Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death”.
Imagine you and your friends set up a lemonade stand in your neighborhood, and you charge $1 for a cup of lemonade, meaning that the price customers have to pay for your cup of lemonade is $1. The same is true for sin and death. Sin has a price, and it is death and separation from a God who is just and holy; He is just in that He is fair and upright and demands proper payment for sin, and holy in His very presence of perfection cannot be in the presence of sin.
But here’s the problem for you and me: we all sin. Romans 3:23 tells us that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. No one is safe. We all fall short. Every human ever created has sinned, which means that we all deserve death, and this payment for sin originated at the very first sin of Adam and Eve and throughout the Old Testament.
For example, in the Old Testament, when the Israelites sinned, they would have to sacrifice a lamb without defect as a sin offering to God. This death and shedding of blood of a spotless lamb earned them forgiveness of sin.
However, in Isaiah 53:6-9, Isaiah foreshadowed a new spotless Lamb who would come to earth and pay the price of sin once and for all: Jesus.
Though Jesus lived a perfect life without sin, He chose to die on the cross for our sins, and by the blood of the “lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19), our sins are covered. In John 1:29, John refers to Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
See, God is holy and just, but He is also loving. God created us to have a relationship with Him, but sin separates us from Him and leads us to death and a life and eternity apart from Him. So, Love made a move: He came to me and you. He came down to earth in the flesh as Jesus to reconcile you to Him. He, being fully God and fully man, lived a perfect life and died a death on the cross that we deserve, but He didn’t stay dead. He rose again from the grave, defeating death forever and paying the price for our sin. The perfect Lamb had you in mind when He shed His blood on the cross. He wants a relationship with you, and by His resurrection, He overcame death and offers eternal life for all who place their faith in Him.
In fact, John 3:16 tells us that “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
It was love. Love motivated God to move. Love took action and came to the rescue. Love didn’t wait until you stopped sinning or came searching for Him. Love came to you- right in your brokenness. In fact, in Romans 5:8, Paul shares, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
He didn’t turn His back; He gave His life. And He offers all who come to Him eternal life.
In fact, in Romans 10:9, Paul illustrates this picture clearly and demonstrates this path to salvation: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Sin left humanity hopeless and deserving of death, but God, through Jesus, who is the Perfect Lamb of God, offers forgiveness and eternal life.
Jesus didn’t have to die; He chose to die so that you might not have to die. Who else is worthy? The spotless Lamb of God who takes away our sin!
Written by Megan Jewell