WHY CHRIST DIED

Thursday 1 May

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6 (NIV)

I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest. John 12:24 (AMPC)

I don’t know about you, but I am grateful to the Lord Jesus for dying in our place and taking the penalty of our sin on Himself on the cross. Our opening scripture alludes to the idea that we did not possess the strength or ability to save ourselves. While we should be thankful for Jesus’ crucifixion it was not the express reason for his coming.

In John 10:10b Jesus said ‘I am come that they might have life’. Straightaway we see there are greater reasons for why Christ died.

Everyone thinks they know the answer to why Jesus died on the cross. If you ask most Christians they will tell you it was to pay the price for the sin of mankind. The reality is paying for sin was simply a means to an end but not the end in itself. What if I told you that sonship was the end goal?

Think about it. In Genesis we are told there was a voice walking in the garden of Eden. As that voice was walking it was also talking. Another term for voice would be word because what is a voice without sound, words, speech or even vocabulary ? So the Word was walking and talking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. John 1:1 tells us ‘in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.’

‘In the beginning’ is a direct reference to Genesis 1:1 which says ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ Another name for the person of the Word is Christ. So Christ was walking and talking with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden in the beginning. Remember the metaphor ‘the tree of life’? That was Christ. So it seems evident that Adam and Eve heard the message of Jesus Christ. What do you think Christ would have been saying to them? I’m sure He was talking about more than just the weather don’t you? The Bible indicates that Adam rejected the message of Christ. You can’t reject something or someone unless you have been made aware of what you are rejecting.

So we know that ‘through one man’s disobedience, sin entered the world and death through sin.’ Fortunately God was not caught unawares by this and He had already made a man according to His image and His likeness which was the man Christ Jesus. It’s important to note that Jesus was not a knee-jerk reaction to the problem of sin. He was already in place to be the firstborn of the new creation before the foundation of the world.

What if Adam didn’t sin and therefore fall? Would Jesus still have died? After all there would be no sin to pay for with His blood? In one word; Yes. Why? Because of what Jesus said in John 12:24 ‘unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone, but if it dies it produces much fruit.’

The grain of wheat He was talking about was Himself and the fruit that will be produced from His death? I think you know exactly who that is. Those in His Kingdom.

Two things that happened after Jesus died will help explain to us why His death was necessary. Firstly He appeared over a period of 40 days to his disciples and after He had passed bodily into the heavens with His ‘flesh and bone’ body, He came to live in every believer by shedding His blood in our hearts by the Spirit and made us His permanent dwelling place.

This second part was the plan all along. Jesus would come and dwell in the hearts of every man. Christianity is the only ‘religion’ where the one who is worshipped lives in the worshippers. Why? Because God wanted a big family and the only way it could happen is for the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus and His ascension by the Spirit to the mercy seat of our hearts.

Jesus died to be able to live in us by His Spirit. He died to produce sons for the Father’s growing family This was God’s plan for mankind all along.

To be one with Him.

Jesus said it this way in John 14:20

‘In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.’

What day? The day of salvation. The day of grace. Now in the Father’s household there are many dwelling places (John 14:2), where? in US. This is the real reason why Christ died.

APPLICATION

Make a fresh commitment to God and the word of His grace to be continually built up and share the good news of salvation.