WHY did jesus die?
Pr Edi Giudetti
The first question a child ever utters is framed in a single word, why? I wonder why that is? Clearly children from the youngest age understand there must be a reason for being told….no!
From the earliest age we look for reason.
Why is the sky blue?
Why is the Sun yellow?
Sometimes the questions become quite profound and personal.
Why do I exist?
Why am I the way I am?
Sometimes the questions are no less profound, but external to us personally.
Why do people think the way they think and do what they do?
Why is there evil in the world?
The answers to some of these questions bring understanding that encourage us to keep asking the question, Why?
One answer leads to the same question in the direct line of the topic,
“No you can’t have more Easter eggs.”
Why?
“because it rots your teeth”
Why?
“because there is too much sugar in chocolate”
Until there is a natural point where the enquiry can’t go any further.
Why?
“Because I said so”
WHY?
To one question and one question alone, the answer to the question ‘Why’ implicates the very existence of man and his future state.
There simply is no question more important in history to answer than, Why Jesus Christ died. The answer precedes all our known history, our response to the answer of the question affects all our future history. Why did Jesus Christ, the Son of God, die? Did he have to die? Why?
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
THREE ASSUMPTIONS
- Assume you know who this passage of the Bible is referring to. Jesus Christ.
- Assume you know that the claim of all claims that the Bible teaches is that he is God manifest in the flesh.
- Assume you know that he died an agonising death on a wooden cross in Judea almost two thousand years ago.
Why Was He Slain?
The answer is found in the text itself.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
What seems to stand out immediately are the words “our transgressions” and “our iniquities”.
We go through much of our lives not thinking too much about our own short comings or errors, we certainly do not spend much time thinking of sin.
EVERYONE SINS, we say.
We are happy to compare ourselves and then commend ourselves, we do this because we measure ourselves among ourselves and compare ourselves with others like ourselves, and then we think we have wisely judged ourselves to be without transgression, and without iniquity. (2 Cor 10:12)
We look at friends or family members and we judge them for their behaviour and allow that to cover our own behaviour.
I know of men who complain bitterly of being robbed and then boast to others of receiving stolen goods.
How many have feared the lies of a friend or partner only to lie to others?
How many times have we thought the wrong thing about somebody else who we think is thinking the wrong thing about us?
How many arguments have we been in when we interpret a text message as angry when there was no such emotion in the sender of the message? But we are angry ourselves and use that misinterpretation to justify being angry!
This is the blind contradiction of sinners.
We compare ourselves among ourselves and measure ourselves between ourselves, and then think we are wise.
The same behaviour crosses all spectrum of people; it does not matter whether you are in a Primary School or a Prison, people will point to themselves as more righteous than another.
1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
In Romans chapter 3:23 it simply says;
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
King Solomon confirmed this truth one thousand years earlier, saying;
For there is no man that sinneth not (1 Kings 8:46)
Truly, have you ever really looked at yourself, have you ever really considered the things that you have done?
Think about today only.
How did your morning start, did you lie today?
When you were asked if you wanted breakfast and you said you don’t really feel like eating breakfast, was it because you just finished off some of the Chocolate Easter Eggs you were given yesterday?
Did you lie today?
Think about the last 24 hrs and be honest, think of the things you might have judged about others that you don’t keep yourself.
Have you ignored someone’s call and then complained that a friend is ignoring your calls?
The Bible says “Examine yourselves”, have you ever even looked deep within you and wondered if you are even able to obey the standards that you have set for yourself?
Jesus said “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Mt 7:2)
He gives the impression that we will even fail the standards we set for others. If you can’t even obey your own ‘commandments’ how will you stand before God’s commandments? If you can’t meet your imperfect standards, how can you claim to meet God’s perfect standards? Can you see that the only comparison you have made is against others who are no better than you?
Now take a look at the very next verse in the passage we are dedicated to this morning;
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The passage well confirms that All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.
THE SUBSTITUTE
But WHY WAS HE SLAIN?
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
“he was wounded”, “he was bruised” he did this for ‘our transgressions’, for ‘our iniquities’.
What we see here is that Jesus became a substitute; an exchange was made here where another would be charged and convicted with our crimes, he would be wounded as a punishment for our sin, he would be bruised in the place of our iniquities.
Friends I am not sure if you can even begin to comprehend what was written of here, the passage was written about 700 years before Jesus came to become a ransom for many.
That we have all sinned is without question, that we have all gone astray is in no doubt, but how, how can we turn back?
How can we be forgiven of all we have done and how, how can we remain this way until death when we sin so easily?
We can’t keep the law of God for even a moment of time, or at least have no confidence that we can keep it the next moment.
The next verse in the passage again we turn for an answer;
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The Lord laid on him ALL, ALL, ALL our iniquity.
Recall that this passage was written well before your birth, well before the life of your mother and her mother, well, well in the past even before God was manifest in the flesh, before Jesus came, and yet it says;
The Lord hath laid on him, (on Jesus his servant), the iniquity of us all.
Jesus himself said
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:15)
Romans 4:25 confirms an exchange was made saying of Christ;
Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Jesus did not die for the good, but for us, for all who have transgressed;
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Peter confirms this also saying; (1 Pet 2:24)
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
And lest we think that somehow judgment for our sin will still remain even after we believe, I want to tell you the Bible confirms the substitution saying in 2 Corinthians 5:21
Please turn there with me that you might see it that you might see ‘an exchange’, ‘a substitution’, the good for the wicked;
The sinless becoming sin, that the sinner would become sinless.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
I have seen the guilty man put the blame on an innocent man and think he has gotten away scot free, but it is not until the innocent man offers himself voluntarily for the guilty that a man can truly BE FREE!
This is why he was slain, the Just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty.
Why Was He Substituted?
But my next point is WHY WAS HE SUBSTITUTED? WHY?
And the answer is exactly that, ‘the Just for the unjust’ that the unjust may be JUST, the innocent for the guilty, that the guilty may be innocent!
Look again at our passage in Isaiah 53 and lets read from verse 4;
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Go down to verse ten
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
People around the world feel the guilt of their sin and all they have done in their lives, desiring nothing more than to be free, to be free of the guilt and sometimes the shame.
Guilt works its way out in so many ways and sometimes people try hard to deal with the misery of all they have done.
Some drown their sorrows in alcohol and drugs, some cultures they chastise themselves with self-flagellation, others with the feeling of the deserving of their sorrows and their state, feeling that nature ITSELF has exacted just retribution on all they have done.
Still others swim in all manner of lust and lewdness thinking that adrenalin will distract them from their guilt.
But most, most today have chosen to ignore their guilt and they have been shown many ways to do this; everything from phycology to transcendental meditation, anti-depressants and the self-esteem anti-examination deception.
Some, so desperate to ignore the prodding of guilt, they have become proud of their shame and have sanctified their filth through laws changed by fools.
But their sin tightens as a noose around a neck swelling with pride and self-deception.
And after their hardness and impenitent heart, they treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
(Rom 2:5)
But the more twists and turns a trapeze artist does, the more likely they will fall.
And this is what we do when we devise our own deceptions. We set traps for ourselves and the better we cover up the hole we have dug, the more likely we will fall into it in time.
Guilt cannot be ignored, it must be admitted!
Sin cannot be hidden, it must be forgiven!
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
God had prepared a Saviour on whom the sin of the world can be laid, a ransom paid that you might be forgiven.
You see God cannot just forgive sin, when we think this way we reveal that we do not understand that sin has a cost, a great cost.
There is a price that needs to be paid for crimes committed in society, every crime has a cost and when it is not paid by the criminal it is paid by the victim and all society suffers.
This week an international game was played in which the leader of the team that represents a country cheated in front of the entire world.
That act has a cost associated with it, a cost the nation itself would have to pay if the cheater did not pay it himself.
The quicker that payment was made by the one who committed the act, the less it would cost the entire nation.
The captain demonstrated incredible sorrow and remorse for what he did to his own nation, his sorrow will heal it in time, with the nations forgiveness helping the process.
There is a cost to sin, God is just and the only way to forgive sin is for the cost to be paid.
It is a privilege to have a drivers licence, it’s not a right, and there are laws to be maintained in order to retain that licence. Heavy fines are levied when we break the law and must be paid if we want to keep that privilege.
Heaven is also a privilege and not a right, the fine for sin is death which rests is in a lack of fire called hell, the fine for sin must be paid.
The only options for payment is by you, the sinner;
or a substitute, a sacrifice, a ransom paid on your behalf. A voluntary innocent in your place.
Jesus was substituted for you that you might have everlasting life, he was the payment for your fine.
In Matthew chapter 20:28 Jesus speaking of himself said;
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Why Was He Sacrificed?
The emphasis is on the pronoun ‘he’. Why was Jesus the one who needed to be sacrificed?
The answer to this question is found in the eleventh verse of Isaiah 53.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
‘My righteous servant’, ‘righteous servant’.
Only the righteous can be with God.
But the Bible says “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.
It goes on to say, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:10-12)
Who then could be a suitable substitute if all are in the same position?
If all have sinned, who can possibly be the just substitute for sin?
Three times in the New Testament Jesus asked the question of the Pharisees, to convict him of sin and they could not.
In the end the only way they could convict Jesus was with false witnesses and a testimony they rejected.
Recall 2 Corinthians speaking of Jesus said “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Cor 5:21
Jesus was firstly, without sin.
But he was also God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16)
He was named Emanuel which being interpreted is God with us (Mt 1:23)
He was the child born, the son given and his name shall be called wonderful, councellor, the mighty God, the everlasting father the prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6)
He would be worshipped as God and not rebuked. Thomas fell at his feet and said “my lord and my God” (Jn 20:28)
Phillip asked Jesus to show to them the father and Jesus said simply “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?” (Jn 14:9-10)
Jesus himself even said “I and my father are one” (Jn 10:30)
Every time the Jews threatened to stone him or throw him of the hill it was when he claimed to be God.
In John 10:32-33 Jesus asked them “Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Why is this important? Why?
Because if Jesus was just a finite man he could not be a sacrifice for all mankind.
How can one man be a ransom for all men?
He could either be a sacrifice for one man, or gain heaven for himself alone.
On two occasions this was made clear in Ezekiel 14, that righteous men can deliver ONLY their own souls.
20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
Yet our passage in Isaiah says;
…. shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
The first reason Christ and Christ alone could be Sacrificed and his death pay for the sin of the world, is because, as God, his value is infinite.
But there is a second reason God and God alone can cover the sin of the world.
The answer is LOVE. Found in John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
We are often guilty of having the notion that in all of God’s creation man is the best thing he created, that mankind is the pinnacle of God’s creation.
But man is not the pinnacle of God’s creation, he is the purpose for God’s creation.
God created heaven and Earth that he may have fellowship with man and that man would share in the pure joy and love and glory of God for ever.
The soul of man was not created originally to be temporary like the animals, but to share in the eternal nature of GOD.
That man would be one with God as God is and forever, and that all that God is, would be our inheritance for ever.
Only if we understand that the purpose of Creation is man, and that to share in God, can we understand the eternal nature of the soul and its original purity with God.
We have no possible ability to understand what pure joy is like, what it is to inherit God or to share in his glory. But those who are saved from their sin will.
Turn to Matthew 5:1-10
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This is the state of the Blessed.
This is the state of those who have accepted the love of God and the infinite gift he had sacrificed for them.
Those who have rejected the love of God will be cast into everlasting darkness, there is no place for them, for God created the universe for fellowship with man, but if man rejects that fellowship, that relationship, then there is no place for him there, but in what is known as “outer darkness” (Mt 8:12, Mt 22:13, Mt 25:30).
But know and understand that God cannot undo the eternal nature and soul with which he created man, those who have rejected his love with not cease to exist but will, for their sin, share in the damnation of the devil and his angles.
But, Unlike the immortal state of the angels that fell, the mortal state of man gives him his entire life to turn to God, multitudes of chances and second chances and opportunities to seek his forgiveness for sin and believe the Gospel. (Mark 1:15)
But at the end of his life, man will inherit what he desired all his life, eternity away from God and with his sin, in a lake of fire originally created ONLY for the devil and his angels.
Why did Jesus die?
He died that you might live.
The Bible says
- you were dead in trespasses and sin (Eph 2:1)
- “dead in sins” (Eph 2:5)
- being Dead in your sins (Col 2:13)
Far too many people think that Jesus came to make bad men good
No, Jesus did not come to make bad men good, but to give dead men life.
God has done all he can, your decision is a voluntary one.
My hope and prayer is that I have done well to share that good news with you that you might Choose life that you might live. (Deut 30:19)
Whether you are here in this congregation, or listening to this on audio, bow your head and most importantly your heart, cry out to the Lord to save you from your sin, turn from your unbelief and believe the reason Jesus died.
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