Jesus Christ Why Did Jesus Have To Die ?

Book of Hebrews

Scripture Lesson   Hebrews 9:1-28         Hebrews 10: 1-39

Foundational Understanding - Salvation Part II

We have this understanding

Acts 20:28, I Peter 1:18-19, I John 1:7, Titus 2:14, Revelation 5:9

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

To receive the understanding of, Why Jesus had to die requires a breakdown of Two important facts expressed by God. The blood of man and animal are sacred to God. It is the most highly valued substance in the entire universe to God, counted ever so precious. Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:11. God values the blood so highly:

1) The blood is the substance of life, the very source of life that God gave to man. Blood represents, stands for, the life of man. And remember: God loves man. He created man to shower the riches of His grace and the fullness of life upon man. Therefore, God values the very substance (blood) that gives man his life.

2) Since the Flow of blood was associated with life, it also True that the Shedding of blood meant death. Therefore, the substance that God highly valued was used by God to make atonement or in other words bring about a payment for the cleansing of sin. Thereby the sacrificial system was established by God for man to fellowship in right standing with Him. In the old covenant, blood was for sacrifices—a life for a life—not for eating.  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. Hebrews 9:22  The blood of goats and bulls was a temporary solution under the old covenant. The blood of these sacrificial animals had to be shed again and again to accomplish forgiveness. However, when Jesus Christ came, He shed His blood once for all: Justice and Judgment

As much as it is true that God is love, it is also true that God is justice and judgment. We may initially have a negative view of this quality, for it comes with the image of God high in the clouds, watching our every move and sending fire and brimstone to consume those who step out of line. In reality, justice is what makes it possible for there to be a sharp line between good and evil. It's what makes the distinction real, for without it, the two will blur and become meaningless. Without justice, we will fail to even comprehend what goodness is. Psalm 89:14 , Isaiah 9:7, Isaiah 56:1, Isaiah 58:2 , Jeremiah 23:5

If there is no consequence for sin, then how can we truly repent? If God redeems us for a time until we sin again, we are not truly forgiven; we are only forgiven until the next time we sin, which is sure to be very soon. But worse still, how could we ever really be sorry? We will seek forgiveness as a ritual for no other reason than to avoid punishment. We will not just do evil, we will be evil.     Ecclesiastes 8:11-12,  Proverbs 3:11-12

No, the consequences for sin must be real, Proverbs 23:12-14

And here we find yet another dilemma. We cannot pay the debt, for it is too much and we are not good enough. Yet no matter how much God loves us, He cannot simply ignore the debt, otherwise there will not be any justice in the universe. Without justice there can be no appreciation of right and wrong and there can be no redemption.  The answer, of course, is that another can pay that debt for us if we will permit Him to.

Jesus Took Your Place. Hebrews 10:1-39

Think about the following illustration.

There was once a tribe where the chief was a wise and powerful man. He was respected for his physical strength as well as his tough and fair laws which everyone respected and obeyed. However, one day, it was discovered that someone was sneaking into the tents and stealing. The chief ordered that this person be found and that the punishment for this crime would be 40 lashes with the whip. "No one is exempt!" he declared. "This punishment must be served." The tribe agreed that it was a fair punishment. However, the chief was devastated when he discovered that it was his frail old mother who was the thief. "Surely in her old age, she will never survive 40 lashes," he thought, "but I cannot change the punishment, for it is fair and just and has already been announced." At the thought of losing his mother whom he loved, he was heart-broken. When the time came for the punishment to be administered, the chief gave the order to begin and at once, his mother cried out, "Save me my son!" Immediately, the chief ran and embraced his mother, shielding her entire body from the whips. As the whips came down upon his back again and again and the pain filled him, he quietly whispered to his mother that he loved her.

This is what Jesus Christ has done for us. As we cry out for mercy at the moment at which we understand that we cannot save ourselves, Jesus takes our place upon the cross and pays the debt on our behalf. It is a sacrifice that He alone can make, for He is God - he is perfect and has never sinned. Yet at the same time, Jesus was fully man and understood what it meant to live, to love, to truly feel pain and to freely and completely surrender his will to the Father. It was not a sacrifice which God demanded and took; rather, it was a loving and merciful gesture by Jesus as part of his Father's plan. Jesus freely gave himself to take your place, suffer on the cross and free you from your sin.  Mark 14:35-37, Luke 22:41-43

We know that our sin has real consequence and knowing that this consequence was suffered by someone totally innocent makes it all the more real. As Christians we still stumble and sin from time to time, yet we know that the Holy Spirit is working to purify us and make us holy. Each time we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us and reminds us of what Jesus did for us, so that we do not fall back into our old ways.

To be saved from sin, you must accept (believe) who Jesus is and what He has done and confess it to yourself and others that He is your Lord and Savior, for God will not force you to accept his offer of salvation. Once you have made this choice, when God looks upon you, he will no longer see the stain of your sin. He will see only the righteousness of His Son who clothes and surrounds you. With the holiness of Jesus in your life, you can stand before God and He will accept you because of the sacrifice His perfect Son has made. That is God's plan for salvation and that is how we can truly be saved. John 14:6-7

So we must admit that we are a sinner and repent of our sins ask for forgiveness. Confess with our mouth and believe in our heart the Lord Jesus Christ and we are saved.

Romains 10:9-10  1 John: 1-8-10  Acts 2:1-47