Why Did Jesus Die?

Our God, the God of Abraham, created the universe by His Word. When Adam and Eve,
the first man and woman, fell from His righteousness, they began to live in sin, away
from His will. As sin deserved nothing less than death, God made a way so that men
would be brought back to His grace. He chose people to spread His Word, but our
ancestors refused to listen. Their hardened hearts caused them to perish in the great
flood and only Noah's family survived. But Noah's descendants stayed away from the
righteousness of God and even worshipped false gods. Only Abraham pleased Him, not
because of Abraham's righteousness but because of his faith. Abraham was the father of
Isaac, who was the father of Jacob.

He chose the nation of Israel or the descendants of Jacob to be the light for all nations.
When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt toward the promised land, God gave them a
covenant in Mount Sinai, containing promises, laws and commandments. The tribe of
Levi, one of the 12 sons of Jacob, was specifically tasked to become priests or
intercessors between God and the people of Israel. In behalf of the Israelites, the Levites
offered sacrifices, in the form of goats or calves, to God, so that the sins of the people
would be cleansed. For many centuries, this was how the Israelites or Jews asked
forgiveness from God. Because only the Jews received the covenant, all other nations
lived away from God.

Even the Jews, however, did not please God because of their constant sins. Such
constant sins made Israel a subject of God's discipline. Worse, Israel declined God's new
covenant, which is salvation in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Two thousand years ago,
the Son of God was born as a man in Bethlehem. So sinful have men become that only a
perfect sacrifice could cleanse us of our sins. No man could be a perfect sacrifice because
all of us were sinners. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became the perfect sacrifice to
redeem us from death.

When John the Baptist asked Jesus Christ why He had to humble Himself as a man, our
Lord responded: "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all
righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). If Jesus Christ is the Son of God, why did He have to
die? Two apostles asked the same question on their way to Emmaus, days after Jesus
died near Jerusalem (Luke 24:13-35). They were hoping that Jesus was the one who was
going to redeem Israel until He died. Jesus, who had recently resurrected from the
dead, confronted them and said: "Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then
enter His glory" (Luke 24:26)?

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became a man, to save us from the sin that entered the
world through Adam. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and
death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Romans
5:12).

"Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also
the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For
just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also
through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:18-
19).

Why did Jesus have to be a man? The Son of God became a man to taste death for
everyone, destroy the power of death, become a merciful and faithful high priest, and
atone man's sins. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now
crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He
might taste death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9).
"Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His
death He might destroy Him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free
those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Hebrews 2:14-15).

"For surely it is not angels He helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason, He had
to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and
faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of
the people. Because He Himself suffered when he was tempted, He is able to help those
who are being tempted" (Hebrews 2:16-18).

Why did Jesus Christ have to die for our sins? "The law requires that nearly everything
be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."
(Hebrews 9:22) God told Moses: "For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have
given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes
atonement for one's life." (Leviticus 17:11) The blood of Christ, the perfect sacrifice, had
to be shed for our atonement. Jesus Christ "did not enter by means of the blood of the
goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood,
having obtained eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:12)

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were
redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but
with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen
before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake" (1
Peter 1:18-20).

Unlike the Levite priests who had to offer sacrifices again and again, Jesus Christ is the
only high priest who is "holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the
heavens". Paul, the first Christian missionary, explained that "unlike other high priests,
He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the
sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself. For
the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the
law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever." (Hebrews 7:26-28)

It is God's will that Jesus Christ die on the cross for the redemption of mankind from sin.
Talking to the Father, Jesus Christ said: "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin
offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them (although the law required
them to be made). Here I am, I have come to do Your will." (Hebrews 10:8-9) Paul said
that Jesus Christ came to set aside the first covenant to establish the second. "Christ is
the mediator of the new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised
eternal inheritance-now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins
committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews 9:15)

And by the new covenant, "we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10) With Jesus Christ's sacrifice, God the Father
said: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31:34) Paul
explained that once our sins are forgiven, "there is no longer any sacrifice for sin."
(Hebrews 10:18) Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead and His ascension to Heaven
to sit at the right hand of His Father completed the redemption of those who believe in
His name. He is our priest in Heaven, reminding His father of His sacrifice that bought
our salvation. "Because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore
He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always
lives to intercede for them." (Hebrews 7:24-25)

This is the good news of salvation for all. All we need to do is accept His grace of
salvation by believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who offered His human body
as a sacrifice for us and that God raised Him from the dead. "When you were dead in
 your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave us all our sins." (Colossians 2:13)

Accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior means abandoning our sinful nature and
allowing the Holy Spirit to prevail upon our will, so that we can live according to God's
plan for us. Paul explains what it means by accepting Jesus Christ with the following
verse: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The
life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself
for me." (Galatians 2:20)

Bible verses were quoted from the New International Version (NIV).

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