Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

[Jesus] 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus
Romans 3:25-26 [NASB]


Have you ever thought about the fact that God would be unjust in leaving sin unpunished? Have you ever wrestled with the problem that God might be unrighteous by letting guilty sinners like us go free? You should stop and think about it for a while. Paul thought we should contemplate it and he provides the answer in this passage of Romans. Jesus Christ’s wonderful death on the cross was necessary so that God could have a public demonstration of His righteousness. God is serious about His righteousness and so He paid the ultimate price to make this evident to everyone. He killed His perfect son!

Because of Christ’s perfect life and sacrifice on Calvary where He took on the wrath of God against sin, He “redeemed us from the curse of the law” and “reconciled us to God while we were still God’s enemies” (Galatians 3:13; Romans 5:10). This is a beautiful and ever so important aspect of the necessity of the crucifixion. This aspect serves our interests well and captivates our hearts, I pray, more and more each day. However, we cannot forget the interest of God in the death of His son. All of creation, which was subjected to bondage because of our sin (Rom. 8:19-21), could cry out against God, “Why have you not punished these offenders. This is unjust!” until they see the cross. The cross is an awesome display of God’s righteousness. In it He makes clear that He hates sin, that He does punish sin, and that in His divine love for His children He pours out the wrath that they deserve onto His perfect beautiful son.

A just but unloving God would destroy us and send us all to Hell because of our rebellion against Him. A just but impatient God would destroy us immediately instead of “passing over sins previously committed.” I thank God that He is just and not corrupt. But it is difficult to express how joyful I am that God is also patient (longsuffering) with me and also divinely loving. He is just in punishing sin. He is patient in passing over sin. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). His wonderful love for His children AND His desire to show how serious He is about justice is the beautiful blueprint of His redemptive plan -- the cross. John Piper says it this way, “His love is willing to meet the demands of His justice” (The Passion of Jesus Christ, 20).

This is why it made God so happy to kill His son (Isaiah 53:10). It wasn’t a last resort. It wasn’t Plan B. Christ’s death was orchestrated before the foundation of the world (Acts 2:23). God takes pleasure in His plan, the only plan that could redeem lost sinners. He knows the end. He raised Christ up again and gave Him a name above every other name (Philippians 2:9). He sees the fruit of His labor. And He rejoices in it! Let’s seek understanding and rejoice with our awesome God!

Continuing with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,
Josh

(Written for Friendship Baptist Church newsletter February 2007).