THE CROSS OF CHRIST - 2

WHY JESUS MUST DIE?

It is expedient for us to know that Jesus Christ must die on the cross for the remission of sins, and that everyone who believes in his death for their sake, will be saved.

However, Jesus Christ must die in a particular pattern of death.

The death of Jesus could have come by a different means, but the way of the cross was chosen.

See how John wrote it …

“The Pilate said unto them, take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, it is not lawful for us to put any man to death: that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake SIGNIFYING WHAT DEATH HE SHOULD DIE” John 18:31-32

Though this mean that Jesus must die as a sinner, which must then be on the cross according to the judgment in those days.

Then we must first understand why the Jews choose to crucify him in the first place….

See what the Jews said to Pilate before he was crucified…

“The Jews answered him. We have a law, and by our law, he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God”. John 19:7

See again…

“Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people” John 18:14

Although according to the scriptures, Jesus Christ must die and must die a sinner’s death. But it was not stated specifically that he should die on the cross. He was to die in order to save his people from their sins.

That Jesus must die is sure, that he must die as a sinner is very important too, because that was his mission on earth – to save sinners to God by dying in their place. To this end, he was symbolically exchanged for a robber (righteous man died instead of the sinner man).

To die on the cross was then necessary, because he was condemned alongside thieves whose end judgment was also to die on the cross. The cross is the prescribed means of execution for Jesus’ crime.

i.                     Jesus must die according to the law of the Jews

ii.                   His body must not be destroyed since he will need it for his resurrection

iii.               The evidences of his death must be clear; everyone must see his dead body including the Jews who crucified him as a testimony unto them. The death and resurrection must not be behind the scene.

So Jesus Christ does not need to die by a car accident…

Neither does he need to die by slumping; he must die on the cross!

The cross was rendered figuratively in four different ways in the whole bible;

The cross was used “as a duty”…you remembered the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:38 “take up thy cross and follow me”

The cross is also a symbol of Christ’s sufferings, It is also the symbol for the Christian faith and also used as the symbol of reconciliation of mankind back to God.

Why must Jesus die? He must die person it is required that a sacrifice be made for the sin of humanity. He must die because the wages of sin is death. What happened on the cross is a New Testament type of the sacrifice offered by the Jews according to the laws of Moses for the remissions of sins.

The cross is a symbol of the altar (though we have an eternal altar not made with hands in the heavens), where Jesus (the Lamb) was offered for the eternal remission of sins of mankind.

Jesus was the lamb whose blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins.

So you must understand that Jesus Christ must need to die, and must die on the cross.

Though the cross he died upon was made of wood, and Jesus was not first and only person to die on it, but the cross of Christ as recorded in the epistles is far beyond the wooden cross. It is of great significance to the Christian faith.

There is nothing like the cross of Calvary. Calvary was just the location for the crucifixion. The cross has nothing to do with it.

It is actually best that we render it as “the cross of Christ” instead of the “cross of Calvary”. Calvary is not linked to its function at all; it is only the cross of Christ that can save. Just like every other physical thing involved in the redemption work, the cross of Christ is more spiritual than physical.

See how Paul puts it …

“For God sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest THE CROSS OF CHRIST should be made of none effect” 1 Cor 1:17

See again how he explained the same thing it in his epistle to the Galatians “but God forbid that I should glory, save in THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST…”

Jesus is the sacrifice for the sins of the world, and this is possible because of what happened at the cross.

He died on the cross, and not just anywhere because it is a pre-requisite for other things that must happen for the completion of the redemption work planned by God from the beginning.

Now, we shall begin to take one by one what happened at the cross many years ago and its implication to those who believe these things.

Amen!