Why did Christ have to Die?
Isaiah 53: “ 2For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
I do feel that it is necessary to belabor the importance of understanding the true depth of God’s glorious holiness and justice, our depth of unworthiness, and the extreme cost of our salvation. Without this understanding, there is no real salvation. Unless our hearts are touched by God’s greatness, His holiness which forces us to understand our personal unworthiness; then, there is no hope for truly accepting this wondrous gift of justification. We cannot understand the cost of our being declared just; unless we first understand our guilt. We cannot understand our guilt unless we first see God’s Glorious Holiness and Perfection and thereby understand that He must be Just in His Righteousness. If He were not Just in His punishment of Sin then His Righteousness would not be Perfect. He cannot be both Righteous and Holy as the Creator of the Universe unless He demands full payment for sin. My personal sin required a death penalty and by all rights I deserved to be the one to die; yet, Christ took my penalty upon Himself. Too often we seem to want to declare ourselves, “Not so bad” and compare ourselves to other humans instead of recognizing the perfect Holiness of God as being the only comparison that matters in the determination of our guilt.
So often, we hear people proclaim that yes they believe in Christ; but that they don’t believe themselves to be a sinner. Other people believe that if they are “good” then God will accept them. Some want to follow after Christianity because they want to gain heaven, prestige, a better life, and the gifts of God. Too often, I fear they do not understand the truth of salvation and are much like the crowds that followed Jesus because of His miracles. Even Judas believed that Christ was the Messiah who had come to set up His kingdom. Judas believed that when Christ set up this Kingdom that he, Judas, would be the treasurer with great wealth; yet, he never saw “the holiness of Christ”, nor did he realize the depth of his own sinfulness, or that Christ’s death and resurrection would be his only chance at justification before a mighty and Holy God. The crowds who had witnessed the miracles of Christ and who ushered Him into Jerusalem were the same as would later cry out “Crucify Him.” Thus I fear that many proclaim the name of Christ or follow after Christianity that never knew the power of Saving Grace and thus are not truly His Child. By no means am I in this trying to say that I, so unworthy to be His Child have any way of discerning the truth of another man’s salvation. Nor am I to be able to discern by even their outward walk; for I am certain that there are many who may have walked more uprightly than I who have never come to a saving knowledge of Christ. My desire is that I and you both know the difference between following after Christ and being known by Christ. After, Christ even said, “22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7. I, daresay, that there is one question which I have asked myself and anyone who claims to know God. “If God were to give you nothing in return for your praise, and there was no chance for heaven; would you see Him worthy to be praised anyway?” If you can answer that question as yes, then I would propose a second question. “Have you ever come to that moment in which you saw God as Gloriously Holy and by thus recognizing His Magnificence you saw yourself as being wicked and unworthy to stand before Him?” If your answer is again yes, then there is a third question, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God died to pay your penalty for sin and thus becoming the only way to make a way for sinful man to have communion with a Righteous and Just God?” Once again, if your answer is yes then I propose one final question. “Have you asked Him into your heart that you may seek and savor Him?”
Christ took upon Himself God’s entire wrath toward sin. As I have indicated above this means little to anyone unless they by the help of the Holy Spirit’s prompting come to realize the magnitude of that wrath and the Supreme Holiness of God. Only then can a man become overwhelmed by the love that God has. If I am unable to see my own unworthiness of such an act of Mercy then I cannot understand the Greatness of the price that Christ has paid. He, who knew no sin, paid the price for my sin and in thus doing has proclaimed me Just and righteous before God. In the same moment of my greatest unworthiness, I have become greatly significant to God because of faith in Christ. Not because of any works of my own have I been made His beloved; but because of what Christ did and my acceptance of His gift I have become His beloved. Any goodness that I may then demonstrate comes out of His love flowing through me and back to Him in praise as a perfect and beautiful music to magnify His Glory which somehow brings my being ever more present to sharing that glory step by step until I shine forth His Glory and appear in His likeness one day. 2 Corinthians, “17Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
This being said then why did Christ have to die and what did He accomplish by taking upon Himself the Father’s entire wrath toward sin? We were created to be the full recipients of God’s love; yet, because of sin He was unable to pour out that love. Additionally, we just as Adam did not even understand what it was to be loved wholly by God. We were incapable of feeling the ultimate joy and inspiration that this union with our Creator could provide. When we are born we merely know that our hearts are hungry for something and we search out pleasures and joys which are mere counterfeits in their comparison to that which can be found in Him. We realize our lack of something; but do not fully understand what it is that we seek. Christ came in an act of full obedience to God, in perfect Righteousness, to suffer temptation, sorrow, hunger, loss, betrayal and death that He might pay the penalty for our sin and forever to destroy the chains of sin’s dominion on mankind. By this, He demonstrated God’s love for you and for me. In this sacrifice, He was magnified as being most worthy of praise and Glory. He came that we might be declared righteous and thus become transformed into His own image worthy of Glory and praise-which reflects back upon Himself. To share in His love, His Joy, His peace we need to be transformed into His image that we might understand and rejoice in that which is His. That transforming work begins the day that we accept Christ as our Savior and is not completed until one day we stand before Him clothed in His righteousness.
We are clothed in His righteousness and declared righteous from the moment we accept Christ; yet, we in practice do not fully perform as such until we grow in that knowledge. A baby when born is dependent upon his parents to feed and care for him. When we are born again into the body of Christ, we have legs much like the baby has been born with; yet, we require nourishment and care to gain the strength to one day walk. As I watch my grandson, Aiden, grow I marvel at how similar at times his maturing has been to that of my maturing as a child of God. He has begun to walk. I watch him walk at times staggering. He falls frequently and frequently must stand again with determination to take more steps forward before again falling. How many times have I fallen in my walk with God!! Yet, each time He stands before me and coaxes me ever so gently to stand again and walk forward. He knows one day that as He continues to strengthen me, I will run and then soar; but, patiently and gently He watches as I fall and get back up to go again. The desire to please Him is always before me. I stand again looking toward Him with the hope to hear Him say, “Well, done my good and faithful child” His love for me as demonstrated by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross compels me to love Him and creates desire to please Him—not out of fear, but love to bring Him pleasure. The more I come to understand His Glory, the more I seek to know of Him. The more I learn of His Sacrificial Love the more I grow to love Him. As I grow to love Him more and learn of His Glory, the more I lay aside all other desire to seek after Him. The more I seek after Him the more fulfilled, inspired, hopeful, and peaceful I feel regardless of my circumstances. The temptations, sorrows, lusts, fears, and disappointments, that this world may surround me with, fade into nothingness. Who I am (my very being, and all that I do) become subject to Him. Again, I am not a finished piece of work and may at moments turn my eyes off of Him; but, I am growing each year toward a closer walk. As He continues to sift the chaff from my life, I know that He will finish this work in me one day. My hope lies in this truth. It is His work for which He paid the dearest price and I know that He will finish it.
Christ had to come to earth to suffer and to die, that I might begin to understand His greatness and holiness. He also came that I might understand my unworthiness. Furthermore, He came that I might be ransomed from my sin and declared just before my Creator. In all of this He declared His love for me and thus demonstrated His Right to be Glorified above all, worthy of all our praise.