WHY DID CHRIST HAVE TO DIE?

I have often heard preachers ask the question "Why did Jesus Christ have to die on the cross of Calvary?" They will then give the answer "to take away the sins of the world." Then they will spend another forty-five minutes to an hour telling the audience why they need to be saved, and how to be saved. While there is certainly nothing wrong with this, I feel they never fully answer their own question. It is absolutely true that Jesus died for the sins of man, but that really only tells us what Christ died for, it does not answer the question of WHY He had to do it. Let me try to illustrate what I mean. Someone asks, "Why did that man rob a bank." Another responds, "To get some money of course." While it is very obvious that the intent of the bank robber was to take as much money as he could, why did he want the money so badly. Most people would like to have more money, yet they do not go around robbing banks. There has to be a reason why some people rob banks, while others do not. Similarly, there must be a reason WHY Christ had to die for the sins of mankind and someone else didn't.

Let us now try to examine the situation from God's point of view. He sits in heaven having decided to save man from his sins. How should He go about doing it? What options does God have? Well God can do anything He desires can't He? So His options should be unlimited. Why then did He chose to send His only begotten son to suffer and die on the cross of calvary, if He could have saved man any way He chose to? Many people talk about how great of a sacrifice it was for Christ to die on the cross for mankind. But if that was but one of many options God had, how can we then say it was such a great sacrifice? Why would God put Himself and His son through such an ordeal if it could have been avoided by simply choosing another way to save man?

The only way to make Christ's death a great sacrifice is to say it was the only option God had. But what does this say about God's power? Is His power limited? Are there indeed some things He cannot do? We seem to be in quite a quandary. No matter which way we turn we find things which we do not wish to accept. We are faced with either denying the importance of Christ's sacrifice or of accusing God of weakness. Is there any way to escape these conclusions?

First of all let us examine the idea that Christ's death was not truly a great sacrifice. Examine the following passages of scripture and see what you think. "And (Jesus) saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt." (Mark 14:34-36) "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:44) "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) Have you ever been in such agony or distress that sweat poured from your body like great drops of blood? Have you ever called out for your mother or father only to find that they had forsaken you? How could anyone read these verses, and see the way Jesus suffered, and not be able to comprehend the great magnitude of the sacrifice He made for us? Now I ask, could a father who truly loved His son see Him in such agony, and allow it to continue if there were another way? Could you see your child going through something so horrible and not try to stop it? And certainly God could have stopped it if He had chosen to. But then how could He have redeemed man?

The truth is that God had no other choice. But He was not limited by any weakness, but rather by His righteousness. We know that God cannot commit sin, but do we accuse Him of weakness because of this? Of course not. We realize that this makes God stronger not weaker. Likewise God had to be strong and realize He had only one option when it came to redeeming man. Christ had to die! But still the nagging question remains. Why?

The answer to this question, as well as all spiritual questions, lies within the Word of God, the Bible. First we must establish something about the nature of God. "For I am the Lord, I change not." (Malachi 3:6a) God does not arbitrarily decide to change what is right and wrong from one day to the next. But rather God's very nature defines what is right and wrong. It is not something He has to think on or make decisions about. In essence, God exists, therefore right and wrong are right and wrong. This always has been the case and always will be. God does not change, and neither does right and wrong.

What does all of this have to do with why Christ died? The Bible clearly shows what is required when someone commits sin. "And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:15b) "For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) "They which commit such things (sin) are worthy of death." (Romans 1:32a) It was not an arbitrary choice for God to make death the punishment for sin. God by His nature is against all evil. "The face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (I Peter 3:12b) Therefore, all who commit sin must die! Not even God can make exceptions to this law.

There are two types of death mentioned in the Bible. There is the death of the physical part of man, which is described as the separation of the body and spirit. "The body without the spirit is dead." (James 2:26) Then there is the death of the spirit of man. "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." (Revelation 20:14) This second death is not the end of the spirit's existence, but rather a banishment from the presence of God. The two deaths were discussed by John in Revelation. "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4b-6)

John spoke of two deaths and two resurrections. We know the first death is the death of the body, and the second is the death of the spirit. But what are the two resurrections he mentioned? One will be the resurrection of the dead at the end of the world that Jesus Himself described. "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:28-29)

But what is the other resurrection? Well if the two deaths concerned the two parts of man, the body and the spirit, it seems reasonable the two resurrections would likewise be concerned with the same two parts of man. This would make the other resurrection a resurrection of man's spirit. Jesus once said "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." (John 11:25) He cannot be referring to the resurrection at the end of the world here, since we have just read where He said both good and evil men will be resurrected at that time. The resurrection He is describing here will affect only those who believe in Him. Notice something else He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24) A passing from death to life is a resurrection, and it will come only to those who hear and believe. The Bible clearly teaches that sinners are spiritually dead, but can be resurrected through Christ. "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." (Ephesians 2:1)

Christ is referring to those who are members of His Kingdom or Church. But He pointed out that His Kingdom is spiritual, not earthly. "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." (John 18:36) This is again illustrated by Peter. "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood." (I Peter 2:5a) It seems logical then, that the resurrection Christ promised to those who believe in Him is a spiritual resurrection which makes them part of His Kingdom.

Let us again look at the passage in Revelation chapter 20. "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Who lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years? The thousand years here is not meant to be specific, but merely denotes a long period of time. It represents the duration of the Christian era. Those who live and reign with Christ are the members of His Church. Although all members eventually die physically, they continue to reign with Christ spiritually. After all, His Kingdom in not physical but spiritual. Therefore, why should it be necessary for a person to be alive physically in order to continue to be part of a spiritual kingdom?

"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." The rest of the dead are those who have died physically without ever having become members of Christ's Kingdom. They have life neither on the physical nor spiritual plane, but are imprisoned in torments. (Luke 16:19-31) They will not live again until the resurrection at the end of the world.

"This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power." The first resurrection is what allows those who are members of Christ's Kingdom to continue to live, even after the body and spirit have separated. Those who have a part in the first, or spiritual resurrection, will not die the second death. To sum it up, the first death is physical, the second is spiritual. The first resurrection is spiritual, and the second is the one at the end of the world.

This spiritual resurrection is symbolized by baptism. "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." (I Peter 3:21) Also notice these words of Paul. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:3-6) Man's spiritual resurrection takes place when he symbolically repeats the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ in baptism.

As evidence of God's unyielding enforcement of the death penalty for sin, look at what happened to Satan and those angels who followed him. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Revelation 12:7-9) Satan and his followers were banished from the presence of God. If even the angels were cast down for sin, what hope does man have to escape the same fate?

It is well known that all men alive today will eventually die physically. But this has not always been man's destiny. Before the fall of man in the Garden of Eden he was to have lived forever. But after his transgression God would not allow him to continue living in a sinful state. "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." (Genesis 3:22-24) Man's access to the tree of life has been blocked and therefore all men must die physically. Once again we see God's enforcement of the death penalty for sin.

It is because of Adam's sin that all men must die physically. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (for until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." (Romans 5:12-14) However, it is for our own sins that we can die spiritually.

Man has lost access to the tree of life physically, and cannot regain it. His only hope is to regain it spiritually. The only way we have of reaching the tree of life is through Jesus Christ. "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Heaven)." (Revelation 22:14) By becoming a member of His Church a person is resurrected spiritually, and has access to the tree of life. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." (Revelation 2:11)

We have now built a foundation upon which we can finally answer the question which started all of this. Why did Christ have to die? We have seen that sin requires death. There are no exceptions to this rule. However, the rule does not stipulate that the one who commits a sin must personally die for that sin. If he can find another who is both willing and qualified to die in his place, then he will be allowed to live.

So when God decided to redeem man from his sins, He could not simply dismiss those sins. The price of those sins had to be paid. Someone had to die for those sins. God's problem then, was finding someone to do just that, die for the sins of the entire human race.

The first order of business was to establish the criteria by which a person would be qualified to die for man's sins. There are actually two requirements which must be met. First and foremost, the person must not have sins of his own to answer for. Someone could not offer their life for that of another if they had sinned, because their life would no longer be their's to offer. As Jesus Himself pointed out "Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." (John 8:34) A sinful person is a servant and a slave to sin, he is not free to offer himself for another. This is because he has already forfeited his own life by committing sin. Rather than being in a position to die for others, this man is himself in need of someone to die for him.

Therefore the person who is to die for man must be perfect. Completely without sin. Well, would it be possible for God to find a man who is totally without sin? Before we concern ourselves with that we should first examine the other qualification. For the first qualification it was pointed out that if a person has sinned they have already lost their life and therefore cannot offer it for someone else. What was not discussed however, is which life is under consideration. Our physical life is lost because of the sin of Adam. But it is our spiritual life which is lost because of our own sin. So even if a perfect man is found, he will have to give up his spiritual life to save anyone. Even though he may be perfect his physical life is not his to offer. It has already been claimed by sin. All he really has to offer is his soul. This man would have no need of a savior himself if he had never sinned, but he still would be in no position to be a savior for the rest of mankind.

So how can God possibly save man? It appears impossible to accomplish by offering up one man in the place of everyone else. But what if Jesus, the son of God Himself, were to come to the earth in the form of a man. Would He be qualified? How would He be any different than all other men? Actually that is the key to this whole matter. How is Christ different, as a man, from all other men who have ever lived since Adam? The sin of Adam caused all of his seed after him to be separated from the tree of life. In short, because of what Adam did, all of his descendants must die physically. But, Christ was not truly a descendant of Adam. He had no earthly father. Have you ever wondered why God did not allow Joseph to be Christ's father? After all, it was not the fleshly shell who was God's son, but the spirit within that shell. God could have just as easily placed Jesus' spirit into a child with two earthly parents. However, in doing this He would have caused Christ to be born mortal. But with God as His father instead of a man, He was born immortal. He did not share the same inevitable fate as the rest of mankind. Yes, Jesus Christ could have lived forever as a human being, he did not have to die!

To illustrate Christ's uniqueness let us examine a statement Paul once made. "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." (Ephesians 4:8) What is meant by leading captivity captive? All it is saying is that man had been captured by something, and then Christ came and captured what had man captive. In other words He captured man's captor, and thus set man free. Christ explained exactly what man needed freeing from. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." (John 8:33-34) And as Paul pointed out all men are the servants of sin "For that all have sinned." (Romans 5:12b)

If it is not true that Christ was immortal, then where is the great sacrifice? If He would have died eventually of natural causes then He did not lose His life at Calvary, he merely lost a few years off His life. Today we often hear of heroic deeds performed by people around the world. An unconscious man is pulled from a burning building. A drowning man is helped back to the shore. These people are said to have "saved someone's life." Well how do you explain the fact that all of these people still die sooner or later? The lives really were not saved at all, they were merely prolonged. And if the lives had been saved, what need would they have for a savior?

The only way Christ's death could have meant anything is if His life was really His to offer in the first place. If He was not destined to die like all other men, then and only then, did He have something to give. Christ was qualified to be a savior for mankind for two reasons. He was perfect, and therefore His spiritual life was still His own. And He was not a son of Adam, therefore His physical life was still His own. He had access to the tree of life both physically and spiritually. This allowed Him to lose one route of access, but to still retain another. He was then in a position to give up His physical life for the spiritual lives of all mankind.

Paul described exactly what the Lord has done for mankind. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." (Romans 5:8-9) We now understand why it was Christ who had to die in our place, but why is Paul talking about His blood here? And why are there so many other references to the blood of Christ in the New Testament? Notice how Paul described our redemption to the Romans. "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his BLOOD." (Romans 3:25) An examination of the Bible reveals that there is apparently something very important about blood in general, even under the Old Law. But what is it that makes blood so significant?

We must go back to the Old Testament to find the answer to this question. Moses described for us exactly what the significance of blood is. "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat." (GEN 9:4) Put very simply, blood is life. We know quite well that when the blood is removed from an animal or a man that death will be immediate. Blood carries all of the nutrients and oxygen to our cells. It is what gives us life. So when we read of the shedding of blood all it means is death.

Notice how Christ's blood is spoken of in the Bible. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." (Acts 20:28) All this means is that Christ purchased the Church with His life. There is nothing magical or mysterious about that. Christ Himself said His blood was "shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:28b) Again all this says is that Christ died in our place. He bore the penalty for our sins.

In Hebrews it is pointed out that "Without shedding of blood is no remission." (Hebrews 9:22b) This goes all the way back to our earlier discussion of the death penalty for sin. The penalty for sin cannot be reduced or removed. Blood must be shed. Or in other words, a life must be given for the sin.

All of this now leads us to some very important conclusions concerning salvation. Christ has died, yet not all men will be saved. This means there is something that man must do to access the grace of God. First and foremost, we must believe in Christ as our savior. Without us believing in His ability to be our savior, He is powerless to help us. (Hebrews 11:6) God will not force us to accept salvation. It is strictly our individual decision to make. Man must somehow make it known that he wants his sins to be paid for by Christ. It is in baptism that we acknowledge and accept Christ's death in our place.

The blood of Christ is often spoken of as washing away the sins of man. As we have already seen the shed blood of Christ merely represents His death. By contacting the blood we contact His death. Obviously we cannot literally contact the blood of a person who died so long ago, but symbolically we can. In the Lord's Supper the fruit of the vine represents His blood (see Matthew 26:27-29). For baptism it would be very impractical to immerse a person in grape juice or wine. So for baptism water represents Christ's blood. As Christ hung on the cross, having already died, a very interesting event occurred. "One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water." (John 19:3) I believe that here we have a symbolic connection of water and Christ's blood in His death. And it is in baptism that we are able to contact His blood, or death. And this is necessary for our spiritual resurrection and salvation.

The Apostle Peter pointed out the importance of baptism on the day of Pentecost. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." (Acts 2:38a) It is in baptism that we contact Christ's death and thereby allow Him to die in our place. So it is in baptism, as Peter pointed out, that we achieve remission of sins.

In His conversation with Nicodemus Christ spoke of the importance of the second resurrection, or as He termed it being born again. According to our Lord, baptism is that new birth. "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:3-6) To become a part of the Lord's Kingdom, or Church, someone must be born again of the water and spirit, which is baptism.

As the Apostle Paul pointed out so beautifully, "So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." (Romans 6:3-5) If we want to escape the second death, then we must have been part of the first resurrection which is baptism. I once heard someone put all of this in perspective in a very beautiful way. If a man is only born once he must die twice. But if a man is born twice he will only die once. This simply means that if you are born twice, the first time physically, and the second time spiritually in baptism, then you will die physically, but not spiritually. On the other hand, if you are born physically, but never born again spiritually, you must die both physically and spiritually.

I do not believe the sacrifice of Jesus can be more perfectly expressed that it was in the book of Hebrews. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9) Thank God for His mercy and grace!