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Did Jesus Need to Die?
Christians and non-Christians alike are familiar with the symbol of the cross. Here's a big question for us to consider. Did Jesus need to die on the cross?
John 15:13
Christians and non-Christians alike are familiar with the symbol of the cross. I would guess that most people understand its significance, that it’s the thing upon which Jesus died. Whether you know what that means or why he did that, you probably understand, okay, the cross is the place where Jesus, a man named Jesus, died or he gave his life.
Here’s a big question for us to consider. Did Jesus need to die on the cross? We maybe can think about for us as Christians, seeing Jesus death on the cross certainly reminds us of the seriousness of our sin and that he ultimately died because we were so terrible and our sins deserved it. And it maybe can be something that people begin to think, well, we focus on the cross as a deterrent for sin. We remember everything that Jesus suffered that convinces us that we shouldn’t sin. Maybe we can imagine back in feudal times where it was illegal to punish a royal child or a high noble child except by that person’s parent. And so corporal punishment could not be administered to such a child. So what was done in certain cultures was they would appoint an individual, a child known as a whipping boy. This child would live alongside the royal child, maybe play with him, study with him, be with him most days. But if the royal child did something wrong, it was the whipping boy who would be punished and not this royal child. It was thought to be some sort of psychological punishment that as that royal child saw their friend being punished for what they did wrong, it would convince them no longer to do that bad thing. And maybe we can think that is a similar picture to what Jesus does on the cross, that when we see Jesus is punished, that it makes us realize that we shouldn’t sin because it led him to the cross.
Or maybe we could think that another purpose of the cross is to show how much God loved us. After all, didn’t Jesus himself say
No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
We see Jesus dying on a cross for us. It shows us that He loves us so much. And both of these things are really true. But did Jesus really need to die? Did he need to suffer on a cross? The answer is yes, he did. You know, some people might say, well, God is God. Can God simply say, I’m God, I can do anything. I’m going to just forgive everyone their sins. No, he can’t. At least not according to what we know about God.
We certainly know that God is loving. But also we know this, that God is just He is the judge of the universe. God must punish sin so that his justice can be satisfied. And so we see the absolute necessity of the cross. God couldn’t simply say, I forgive everyone their sins. No punishment needs to be carried out. No. Someone had to be punished for our sins to judiciously make us right in God’s sight. And so we see the necessity of the cross. Jesus had to suffer. He had to die. So that we could be declared right in God’s sight through Christ. So what a good reminder for us concerning the cross. It doesn’t simply remind us that we shouldn’t sin because it led to Jesus punishment, nor does it simply remind us how much God loved us. It’s a reminder that the price has been paid for sin. And because of that, we can be certain we are right with God. Amen.
