Have you ever wondered why Jesus needed to die? Why couldn’t God simply provide a means for forgiving our sins without the need for Jesus to die? Have you thought about it? Would you like to have a little deeper understanding?
Many of us have a written will. All of us should have one, though many do not. Why do we write a will? It is to document our desires for what happens to our belongings after we die. We understand this concept. It has been in place for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
Let’s look at our questions. First, God did put in place a process by which people could have their sins forgiven—it was the sacrificial system used by the Jews for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, there were some designated times for corporate sacrifices and many of the people only participated at those times. Think of people who only attend church at Christmas or Easter. Therefore, if those people sinned at other times and did not offer a sacrifice for themselves, they died in their sin. That leaves some question concerning whether the persons’ sin was forgiven or not, and whether they were going to heaven or not.
I think we all know God doesn’t want us to guess whether we are going to spend eternity with Him or not. So, His will was to provide a continual covering for our sin, a means for us to ask for forgiveness of our sin at any time, not just at the temple in conjunction with an animal sacrifice. How could He do that? He had to provide a perfect sacrifice that would fulfill His requirement once and for all.
So, why did Jesus need to die? A will is not executed until the writer of the will has died. Since Jesus is God, once He died, His will was executed—meaning the simplest system of all was put in place. We now have the ability to ask for forgiveness at any time, in any place. God’s will is that we seek His forgiveness and He will forgive us. Again, to execute a will, a death must take place.
Here is the best news, Jesus rose on the third day so that we may have hope. He rose as a promise that we will join Him forever. He rose to show us that we live forever, even if we die (John 11:25-26). What does this mean? It means that we have overcome death, just as Jesus overcame it.
I pray we all understand why Jesus had to die? I pray we realize His death was to execute the will of God. I pray each one of us will recognize that we live, even though we die, in Jesus and with Him. Comprehend Jesus’ death. Know that you live forever. Celebrate Jesus’ life. Live for Him and with Him.
Hebrews 9:16-17 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.
Marty Pressey 