Why Jesus Had To Die

Introduction

After Jesus was raised from the dead and appeared to His disciples, He explained to them why He had to die - Luke 24:44-46

The necessity of Jesus’s death is the most fundamental doctrine of Christianity.

The word in Luke 24:44 is δεῖ and it means “to be under necessity of happening, it is necessary, one must, one has to, denoting compulsion of any kind” (BDAG. William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 214.

In the NT, Jesus’s death is explained and we can develop an appreciation for the many reasons that Jesus’s death was necessary and for what His death accomplished.

To Fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Lk. 24:44-47)

The Law and the Prophets had spoken of the coming of Christ and His mission.

The One who would crush Satan - Gen 3:15

The One who would bless all nations - Gen 22:18; Gal 3:16

The One who would be a prophet like Moses - Deut 18:18; Acts 3:22-26

The One who would take the throne of David - 2 Sam 7:14-16

The One who would die for the sins of many - Isa 53

The One who would not be left in Hades, but would be raised from the dead - Ps 16:8-10

The One who would be anointed King and High Priest - Ps 110

When Jesus accomplished all of this, He fulfilled the Law - Matt 5:17-18; Col 2:14

To Purchase the Church (Acts 20:28)

Not only did Jesus fulfill the Law and the Prophets through His death on the cross, He purchased the church of God with His blood - Acts 20:28

Jesus promised that He would build His church and that even death and Hades would not be able to stand against it - Matt 16:18

Our Lord Jesus Christ bought the church with His blood. It is for this reason that we belong to the Lord!

To Do the Father’s Will (Jn 6:38: Phil 2:8)

One of the most important things for us to see in the life of Christ is His commitment to doing the will of the Father in heaven.

One of the reasons that Jesus had to die was because it was the ultimate display of obedience to God - Phil 2:8

Jesus’s entire mission and purpose was founded upon the principle of doing the Father’s will - Jn 6:38

He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane “not My will, but Yours be done.”

To Justify and Redeem Us from Our Sins (Rom 3:24-25)

If you were asked to give an answer for why Jesus died, this probably is the reason at the top of your list!

Paul explains that since all people have sinned, justification and redemption are in Christ Jesus - Rom 3:24

Justification is the state of being made righteous, being free from guilt of sin. Even though we had violated God’s commands and sinned, through Jesus, God has made us righteous/just.

God is righteous and we are new creatures, made to be like God. Justification and righteousness is not just a legal description of standing free of guilt - Rom 3:25-26

Righteousness/justification describes us as those who possess a new spirit, new attitude, and a new character — we are sharers of the divine nature and of God’s righteous character.

We are now holy, just as He is holy.

Redemption is that we are God’s purchased possession. We have been bought by the blood of Christ and belong to God.

Justification and redemption are not obtained through our own works. These are obtained through the condition of faith in the blood of Jesus Christ - Rom 3:25-26

To Draw All People to Him (Jn 12:32; 6:44-47)

As the time of Jesus’s death drew near, He was in distress and anguish. So, He prayed to the Father in heaven - Jn 12:27-33

He spoke of the the time of judgment upon the devil - v 31

And the cross would be the instrument by which the devil would be destroyed and all people would be drawn to Him - vv 32-33

The cross of Jesus would become the sure way to know God. In the cross and death of Christ, we actually see God! Jesus shows us the way.

Since God desires that all people come to repentance, but not all people have repented of their sins, how will people be drawn to the Lord?

Calvinism doctrine (predestination/unconditional election) teaches that God foreordained from beginning of the world those who will be saved and those who will be lost. In this system, those who are saved, God will miraculously open up their hearts and the Holy Spirit will move them to repent and come to Christ — and if you receive this miraculous working of the Spirit, then you cannot resist it.

However, Jesus tells us how God draws people to Himself - Jn 6:44-47

Those who are taught of God may come to Christ - v 45

Who are those that are taught? Those who hear and those who learn

This is available to everyone — not just the elect.

When you receive this teaching through hearing God’s word, it leads to belief - v 47

God draws people to Himself through the teaching and preaching of the gospel - Mk 16:15-16; Rom 10:13-15; Acts 18:8

The cross of Christ becomes the sign post which points the way to God! Will you follow it? Will you come to the Father?