Why Did Christ Have to Die?
Why did Christ have to die?
“The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17
“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Genesis 3:6
The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:14-15
The Original Curse
This was the first sin and the curse that came to all of mankind because of this sin. But as you can see God already had a plan. A seed from the woman who would be bruised by the serpent but would in turn crush the serpent. This seed we now know, is Jesus. But why? Why did it have to happen this way?
Well, imagine the unthinkable happened. Say for instance your house was broken into and the intruder killed your entire family. This person was later arrested and judged in the court of law. Would it be just for the judge to bring up the list of all the good things this person did and weigh it out to see if it was enough good to outweigh the bad of the murder your entire family? I’m pretty sure we can say a resounding NO! No amount of good could make up for that wicked crime. No, that person must pay the penalty of committing that crime! In the same way, the penalty for our sin is death (Romans 3:23) and God, being the Just Judge He is, cannot just let us make it up by good works. No, the penalty must be paid!
Hebrews 9:22 makes it clear, “and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Only Christ could live a perfect life, pleasing to our Just Judge. Then He died the most undeserved death to pay the penalty for our sin and yours. That’s the only way it could have happened. For God is so just that He cannot let us off for our sin, yet He is so loving that He made a way for our sins’ penalty to be paid for and all we must do is repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be right relationship with Him again. What a gift!
Reflection Time:
- Look up 2 Corinthians 5:21. How would you explain this verse to a young child?
- How can you thank Jesus for paying the penalty for your sin? Take some time to journal or meditate on this.
We hope you are encouraged by this devotional series. While we are passionate about the physical freedom of people, we realize that spiritual freedom is the most important. Please feel free to share this with others and help us get the good news of the Gospel out further!