Why did Jesus die?
The Death of Jesus
The historical record, and the gospel accounts, are very clear about what happenned to Jesus. He was executed by the Romans for stirring up the crowds and being a troublemaker. And the form of execution he recieved was crucifixion, a brutally slow and painful death which would normally stretch out for two or three agonizing days. The victim was stripped naked and nailed to a cross, which was erected in a public place. It is important to realise that this was a dual punishment; the pain of the slow death was combined with public humiliation and shame. People walking past would see the naked and helpless victims, and the terrible picture would remain embedded in their memories. Crucifixion was intended to make the people fear Rome, by demonstrating the complete and utter defeat, on both a physical and a personal level, that Rome inflicted on its enemies. Nobody could continue to respect someone who they had seen crucified.
Jesus had been at the climax of his life. A mere week before his death, he had entered Jerusalem cheered on by crowds of thousands. All across Israel, people were gossiping about him and travelling long distances to listen to him or be healed by him. So after such a smashing success, what did Jesus do to wind up on a cross? He must have done something pretty bad, right? Or was he framed, perhaps?
Well he certainly didn't do anything to deserve it. Framed, yes. The priests and religious people who didn't like his radical new teachings, tried to frame him, but they couldn't come up with a consistent accusation. So finally, the chief priest accused him of blasphemy, because Jesus claimed to be God. He stirred up the crowds to the point where they would riot unless the Romans crucified Jesus. Thus the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, had no choice but to crucify Jesus, unless he wanted another Jewish uprising. However, Pilate took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd and said that Jesus has done nothing to deserve death (Luke 23:15).
Jesus actually predicted his death numerous times in the preceeding weeks, and furthermore, he said that it was necessary. It was actually intentional. Jesus had to die to fulfill his mission. So why did Jesus have to die? And why such an awful death by crucifixion?
Why did Jesus die?
Centuries before Jesus lived, the Jewish prophet Isaiah said:
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our sins; he was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)
Jesus had to die for a very simple reason. He wanted to save mankind, and his death was the only way to do it.
Humans are sinful. We are selfish, hurtful, and rebellious people. We offend God in our thoughts and actions towards him and towards the people around us. This is what Christians call sin. God takes sin seriously. In order for sin to be paid for, the offender must die - not just physically, but also spiritually, cut off from God. Hell is not a place where you hang out with all your mates. Hell is a place where God, the Author of Life, has removed the hand that brings life and meaning to the universe, leaving an empty and lonely void. We are incapable of avoiding sin, and because we sin, we will be separated from God. Mankind has no way of getting right with God. Jesus knew this, but he also knew that he had a way to make us right with God, and avoid the torment of hell.
Jesus was perfect, without sin. He didn't have to pay for his own sin. So when he died, he could instead pay for our sins. Since he was God in human form, his death had infinate value - enough value to pay for not just one person's sins, but for the entire world's sins, for all of time. Jesus switches places with us, and takes our punishment while we go free to be reunited with God.
The exciting news is that this forgiveness, this erasing of our sins, is completely free. We don't have to do anything to deserve it - we can't do anything to deserve it. All we have to do to receive this forgiveness is to admit sincerely that we have sinned against God, and accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord of our life. Then we have God's assurance that he will forgive us through Jesus' death.
Some Questions
If you break God’s rule when you are a Christian, do you get forgiven?
Yes. When we confess sincerely, God totally blots out our sins (see 1 John 1:9). While we know conviction of wrongdoing, there is no longer any condemnation for it.
If Jesus is not God, his death could pay for one other person only. Is that true?
No. Man can’t pay for any sin, not even one person’s, because we are all sinners. The sacrifice of a death pays for what wrong we’ve done, but we are still rotten and don’t get to heaven.
Example: Suppose I put a dent in your car. Even if I restore it, and pay for it so it is fixed up, you still don’t like me because of what I did. The relationship is not healed.
However, Jesus is both man and God, and so he can pay infinitely for sin plus restore our relationship to God. There is no other way. Why? Because Jesus is perfect and without sin, he doesn’t have to pay for his own sin. So he is eternally acceptable to God. Only this could pay for all sin for all time. There is no other sinless person, so there is no other way.
If Jesus knew he would come back to life after his death, then his death wasn’t difficult?
Firstly, he had to die. Death was the penalty for sin. The death was what paid for the sin. It was sufficient, and once he died, the job was done.
We cannot understand the pain he went through, nor the Father’s pain. It was a real price he paid. God even "turned off the sun" for three hours as he died. God could not look on Jesus when he carried sin. He carried our sicknesses also, so that’s why we can have healing. He also had pain in the rejection of people, as he was despised and rejected (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22).
Coming back to life 3 days later was like an extra. Because He rose again from death, we will rise again like him, and have eternal life with God. He died for sin, and was resurrected for life.
What sins did Jesus commit that he had to die?
None at all. It was our sins that he died for (Hebrews 9:14). Even Pilate took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd and said that Jesus has done nothing to deserve death (Luke 23:15).
When did Jesus die on the cross?
Historically about 30 AD, but the Bible also says he was crucified at the foundation of the earth. This means that in order to be a perfect payment for sin, his death was counted as being from the beginning. A perfect sacrifice implies that he paid for all sin, past, present and future.