Why He Died: The Cross from 3 Angles
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Today, we gather at the foot of the cross—not as spectators, but as those who know that what happened there was both horrific and holy.
The events of Good Friday are not just ancient history.
They are the heart of our faith, the core of our salvation, and the most profound demonstration of God's character.
And so I ask a question that we must all confront on this solemn day:
Why did Jesus die?
It’s a question with more than one layer.
We can answer it from a medical perspective, a historical perspective, a theological perspective, or even a personal one.
But today, I want to help us answer it by looking at the cross from three angles—three words that give us a full view of what happened on that hill called Calvary:
The Mechanism – how He died
The Manner – what kind of death it was
The Motive – why He died
And when we see all three together, we not only understand the events of the cross—we understand the heart of God.
The Mechanism – Crucifixion
The Mechanism – Crucifixion
16 So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.
17 They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.
18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.
The mechanism of Jesus’ death—how He died—was by crucifixion.
We know that word, but I want us to remember tonight that crucifixion was not a clean or noble death.
It was the most brutal, shameful, and public form of execution the Roman Empire had perfected.
It was designed to humiliate.
It was designed to prolong suffering.
It was designed to make a statement: “This is what happens to those who defy Rome.”
The condemned were nailed through their wrists and feet, left exposed and gasping for breath.
Death came slowly—through blood loss, exhaustion, and ultimately asphyxiation.
The victim could no longer lift himself to breathe. His lungs would collapse under his own weight.
8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Jesus died by crucifixion not because Rome was in control, but because God had ordained it.
The prophets had spoken it:
16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
This wasn’t random.
The cross was not a tragic accident—it was a divine appointment.
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Why this mechanism?
Because sin demands a visible demonstration of judgment.
Because the curse of sin had to be borne in a cursed way:
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—
And Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
He was hung up between earth and heaven, as though rejected by both.
absorbing the hatred of earth.
absorbing the wrath of heaven
Don’t sanitize the cross, beloved.
He was beaten, spit on, mocked, stripped, nailed, and raised up to die in agony. And He did it knowing full well what it would cost.
And yet... He went willingly.
He carried the cross that would carry Him to death.
The instrument of execution became the instrument of redemption.
The Manner – Sacrificial
The Manner – Sacrificial
2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
If the mechanism of Jesus' death was crucifixion, the manner of His death—what kind of death it was—was sacrificial.
Jesus did not merely die.
He was not just killed. He gave Himself.
The language of Scripture is clear:
His death was an offering. A sacrifice. A substitution.
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From the very beginning, God taught His people that sin required blood.
Not because God delights in death, but because life is in the blood and sin brings death.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
From the coats of skin God made to cover Adam and Eve:
To the lambs slain at Passover:
To the bulls and goats of the temple system—the message was always the same:
22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
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But all of those sacrifices were shadows.
They pointed forward.
They could cover sin temporarily, but they could not cleanse the conscience, nor make the worshiper truly clean.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Then came Jesus.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
He did not bring a lamb.
He was the Lamb.
And when He went to the cross, He went as a high priest offering not the blood of another, but His own blood.
He did not die for His own sin. He had none.
He died for ours.
This is not martyrdom. This is not tragedy.
This is atonement.
A real, wrath-bearing, sin-canceling, guilt-cleansing sacrifice.
Let me say it plainly:
Jesus did not die merely to inspire you.
He died to redeem you.
On the cross, He was both the Priest and the Offering.
The altar was made of wood and stained with blood—but it was enough.
Enough to silence hell.
Enough to satisfy justice.
Enough to open the way to heaven.
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So when we look at the cross, we must not merely feel pity.
We must feel awe—because this is how much it cost to make sinners clean.
The Motive – Love
The Motive – Love
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
We’ve seen the mechanism—crucifixion.
We’ve seen the manner—sacrificial.
But now we come to the deepest and most personal question: Why?
Why would the sinless Son of God suffer such horror?
Why would He allow Himself to be pierced, mocked, stripped, and hung on a cross like a criminal?
There is only one answer that Scripture gives without hesitation or condition:
Love.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Not sentimental love. Not weak or indulgent love.
But holy, sovereign, self-giving, eternal love.
13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
And yet Jesus did more than die for His friends—He died for His enemies.
Romans 5:
“While we were still sinners…”
“While we were still without strength…”
“While we were ungodly…”
The motive of the cross was not obligation—it was affection.
Not manipulation—but mercy.
He was not forced onto the cross by Roman soldiers.
He chose it.
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
Let that settle deep into your soul tonight:
At any moment, Jesus could have come down.
Twelve legions of angels stood ready.
But love held Him there.
Not the nails.
Not the crowd.
Not the wood.
Love.
He saw your sin and mine… and He did not turn away.
He saw our rebellion, our guilt, our shame… and He stepped in front of the judgment we deserved.
This is love—
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We have stood tonight before the cross.
Not as historians.
Not as philosophers.
But as sinners in need of a Savior.
And we have looked at that cross from three angles:
The Mechanism: Crucifixion — the physical means, the brutality He endured.
The Manner: Sacrificial — the priestly offering of Himself in our place.
The Motive: Love — the divine reason that held Him there until the work was done.
This was not a mistake in history.
This was not a plan gone wrong.
This was the eternal plan of God, fulfilled in real time, with real blood, for real sinners.
23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
And if you ask, “How do I know God loves me?”
The answer is not a feeling.
The answer is not your circumstances.
The answer is the cross.
The cross is God's final and forever statement:
“I love you this much.”
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
Call to Response
Today is not about what you can do for Him.
It’s about what He has done for you.
But now that you’ve seen it—now that you’ve heard it—you must respond.
Maybe you’ve been near the cross, but not under its blood.
Maybe you’ve admired Jesus, but never surrendered to Him.
Maybe you’ve carried guilt He already paid for.
Or maybe you know Him—but your heart has grown cold.
Whatever the case, tonight is the night to come home to the foot of the cross.
Repent. Return. Remember. Receive.
Let tonight be more than a memorial.
Let it be a moment of renewal, of cleansing, of worship.
Communion Transition:
Communion Transition:
“This Is Why We Eat”
As we prepare to come to the Lord’s Table, I want you to see that even this sacred act of communion reflects the same threefold truth we’ve seen tonight: the Mechanism, the Manner, and the Motive.
1. The Mechanism – Eating and Drinking
1. The Mechanism – Eating and Drinking
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;
The physical act of communion is not elaborate. It’s simple. Eating and drinking—a mechanism so basic, so human. And yet, in this act, we participate in the truth of the cross.
Just as Jesus physically endured crucifixion, we now physically take into ourselves the symbols of His suffering.
This bread and this cup become the mechanism by which we engage with the sacrifice.
We don’t merely observe—we participate.
2. The Manner – Introspection and Reverence
2. The Manner – Introspection and Reverence
28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
The manner in which we come to this table is not casual or flippant.
It is sacrificial, holy, and deeply reverent.
Communion is not just a ritual—it is a moment of introspection.
We look inward and ask:
Am I trusting in that sacrifice?
Am I living under the blood of the Lamb?
Am I walking in humble repentance?
As Christ offered Himself with intentionality, we receive with intentionality.
This is not a snack—it’s a sacred moment of examination.
3. The Motive – Remembrance
3. The Motive – Remembrance
19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
And the motive behind this table—why we eat, why we gather, why we remember—is the same as the cross:
Love.
Jesus gave us this meal not to burden us, but to bless us—to anchor our wandering hearts back to the moment when love poured out in blood.
We do this not to earn grace—but to remember grace.
Remembrance is more than memory. It is relational loyalty.
When we take this bread and this cup, we say with our bodies what our hearts believe:
“I remember what You did for me.”
“I receive what You offer me.”
“I will live in light of Your love.”
Final Invitation
Final Invitation
So come now—
Eat the bread: the mechanism.
Examine your heart: the manner.
Remember His love: the motive.
This is not just a tradition—it is a table of truth.
And tonight, we proclaim together:
“This is why He died.”
