What need is there for Jesus' death?

Question

I am trying desperately to wrap my mind around this. I just don't know how to suspend disbelief surrounding it. Or maybe disbelief is the wrong word to use. I just don't understand it. It makes no sense. I mean, what is the need for his death? I understand the need for his life - a physical representation of divine love and wisdom people can actually see, but why must he die? That's the one piece of the story I can't place. I guess I know that he is dying to take away the sins of all people, should they choose to believe in him. But why must he die to do this? And how does his dying do this?

I am a theist. I want to embrace Christianity. This is my only trip up.

Answer 1

Ransom

Definition: A price paid to buy back or to bring about release from some obligation or undesirable circumstance. The most significant ransom price is that of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. By paying over the value of that ransom in heaven, Jesus opened the way for Adam’s offspring to be delivered from the sin and death that we all inherit because of the sin of our forefather Adam.

How was the death of Jesus Christ different from that of others who have become martyrs?

Jesus was a perfect human. He was born without any blemish of sin and he maintained that perfection throughout his life. “He committed no sin.” He was “undefiled, separated from the sinners.”—1 Pet. 2:22; Heb. 7:26.

He was the unique Son of God. God himself testified to this audibly from the heavens. (Matt. 3:17; 17:5) This Son had lived previously in heaven; through him God had brought into existence all other created persons and things in the entire universe. To carry out His will, God had miraculously transferred the life of this Son to the womb of a virgin girl so that he might be born as a human. To emphasize that he truly had become a human, Jesus referred to himself as the Son of man.—Col. 1:15-20; John 1:14; Luke 5:24.

He was not powerless before his executioners. He said: “I surrender my soul . . . No man has taken it away from me, but I surrender it of my own initiative.” (John 10:17, 18) He declined to appeal for angelic forces to intervene on his behalf. (Matt. 26:53, 54) Though wicked men were permitted to carry out their schemes in having him put to death, his death was truly sacrificial.

His shed blood has value to provide deliverance for others. “The Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Mark 10:45) So his death was far more than a case of martyrdom because of refusal to compromise his beliefs.

Why was it necessary for the ransom to be provided in the manner that it was in order for us to have eternal life?

Rom. 5:12: “Through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.” (No matter how uprightly we may live, all of us are sinners from birth. [Ps. 51:5] There is no way that we can earn the right to live forever.)

Rom. 6:23: “The wages sin pays is death.”

Ps. 49:6-9: “Those who are trusting in their means of maintenance, and who keep boasting about the abundance of their riches, not one of them can by any means redeem even a brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; (and the redemption price of their soul is so precious that it has ceased to time indefinite) that he should still live forever and not see the pit.” (No imperfect human can provide the means to deliver someone else from sin and death. His money cannot buy eternal life, and his soul laid down in death, being the wages that are to come to him anyway because of sin, has no value toward delivering anyone.)

Answer 2

It is sorta hard to think of it even for some Christians. The answer to your question is that, there was a need for Jesus' death. If he wouldnt have died, we would still fall short of the glory of God. When you die, if you believe in Jesus and are a true Christian you'll be allowed into heaven. Not because of good works, but because that you believed in Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that who so ever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" When Jesus was born, so many prochecies of the Old Testament came true. He took away all the sins of every single person that was born and is still to come. Whether you believe in Him, thats your own personal choice. But no matter what you do. How much you screw up. There's only one person that will still love you. He died so that you could live forever with Him in heaven. He wants you to be in heaven. He had to die, because Adam and Eve screwed it up. They brought sin into the world. God warned the, but He gave them free will. They chose to eat of the tree. Nothing could save them then, except for Jesus. The lamb sacrificied in the garden represented Jesus to come and take away all of our sins so that we might live in heaven. It seems sorta crazy. The only thing you have to do to technically be a Christian, is believe that Christ came died and is in heaven. That's what the Bible says. Hopefully this helped. It's good that your questioning about this. Hope to meet you in heaven

Answer 3

My non secular team is doing a seerah (lesson) in this very subject count. Hamza Yusuf's remark on 'Muhammed, based on the earliest components' by using Martin Lings. Muhammed pbuh did no longer die from the poison. He died 3 years after that. study the finished storey. A Jewish woman invited Muhammed pbuh and a few of his companions for dinner. She asked what part of the lamb they enjoyed, and that they replied with the shoulder. So she crammed poison in the shoulder and served it. What proves Muhammed's Prophethood is he took a small chew then spit it out then ordered his friends to no longer consume it.. How did he recognize there became into poison? you should no longer flavor it the way she cooked the meal. Now observe Muhammed's mercy. He puzzled the lady, and the story at the back of this became into she became into ordered to realize this by using some different Jews. He forgave her for this, he forgave her for attempting to kill him!

Answer 4

Leslie what many of the others have said explains very well why Christ had to die. Got is not only all Loving but all Just and so all sin must be atoned, Jesus was the only one that could do that for us, we could never atone for ourselves.

One other thing though, Remember always that Christ not only die for you and me, but he ROSE for us as well. It is in the Resurrection that we are saved, not the Crucifixion

Answer 5

Through one man sin entered the world and the consequence of death followed. That death was more than physical, it also entailed the withdrawal of the Spirit of God from man, for the Spirit can not dwell in iniquity. So death totally encompassed the reality of man in both physical and spiritual aspects.
God desired that man return to Him, and He explained to man how following the laws of righteousness he could return. A sacrifice would be required to bring about abridgement of judgement. Sentence had been spoken and only like payment could suffice, or at the very least a payment of the same magnitude.
Through another man life returned to man. Jesus gave his life in place of those who truly deserved the sentence, and by so doing he died to the condition of man. He was blameless but died the death others deserved. All the guilt of sin of all mankind was placed upon him and he suffered separation from the Father. In this way he took all transgression to the grave and left it there.
All we have to do is believe he loved us that much and begin to follow as he directs, and the Spirit of God will return to live within us.

Answer 6

The death of an animal was required by God as soon as sin started by Adam and Eve. God took animal skins to clothe them which meant that an animal was killed to obtain the skins. From that point on, God required the blood of an animal to atone for sins. But God knew that one day this requirement would be met by a man who lived a perfect sinless life. The man would also be God and they called Him Jesus.

Read the book of Hebrews and it goes into detail about how Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin but the perfect blood of Christ did.
So then you ask why do we need our sins forgiven? The answer is that God is pure and to come to God we must also be pure. Nothing that is impure can approach God. So Jesus blood makes the person who obeys the Gospel perfect and pure so that they can be with God. It was all in God's plan from the beginning. The penalty for sin is death. Jesus who had no sin died for all of ours that follow and obey Him. Go to www.wecareministries.com and view the video on the Gospel and maybe that will help you understand a lot better.

Answer 7

Ok, hopefully my answer will help you. First of all, in the Old Testament the Israelites needed atonement for their sins. They were to sacrifice a perfect lamb without blemish to cover their sins. Why? Because if you are in sin, you cannot reach a perfect and Holy God. We are too flawed so the perfect lamb represented the covering of our sins.

God is merciful and loves us but He is also just. If you sin, you can ask for forgiveness and God will give it to you. But, you must still be punished. Just like when a child does something wrong. The parent forgives but they must still face punishment (time out, being grounded, etc.)

The entire Old Testament eludes to the fact that a Savior or Messiah will come down on earth to atone us for our sins once and for all. That way we would not need to continue sacrificing every time we screwed up.

When Jesus came, John the Baptist would announce "Behold the Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world." Jesus was a sinless man, perfect and holy. He was the perfect lamb that atoned for our sins once and for all just like the Old Testament talked about. This is why his sacrifice was necessary.

Now, if we sin, we need to simply ask for forgiveness. If we truly believe that we are sinful, that Christ is the Messiah who died and rose again for our sins, then it's a done deal. We are forgiven and rewarded w/eternal life with God. That's why when Jesus was on the cross he said, "It is finished". God's love and grace now covers us.

Answer 8

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6:20
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23

Here in these three scriptures is your answer.
All of us have sinned, the wages of sin is death,Jesus paid the cost for our sins.

Imagine yourself in a courtroom. You have been found guilty.A sentence is handed down that must be paid.The judge is a righteous judge and in order for him/her to remain a righteous judge they must exact a just measure of justice to be served upon you.To release you and let you go free would prove the righteous judge an unjust judge.There is no alternative.But then a stranger come from out of the crowded courtroom and says, Let me pay the penalty for this guilty person.

This is what Jesus did when He died on the cross.As you stand before the most Righteous Judge of all, your sentence should be death.But the Love of this Righteous Judge caused Him to send His only begotten Son to pay the price that we could not pay.

I am so happy to hear that you our searching.I am praying that you will get the answers that you need for now to make this most important decision.God Bless and keep you.

Answer 9

picture it this way. Your in a courtroom charged with murder. Before the judge sentences you to a life sentence you say, "Wait!. im a good person, i help old ladies cross the street, I am kind to most people." The judge says,"We have all done that, and sentences you."
Now picture it this way, you plead to the judge not to do this becuase you are a good person and right before he sentences you a man walks in. The man says he will pay the fine for what you have done. In Christianity, that man is Jesus. Without him in our lives we are never fully cleansed of our sins. The bible says good works are like filthy rags. But the bible also says, faith without works is dead. So you must do good works but you need Jesus at the same time.
Keep in mind Jesus was completely sinless, and what aperfect sacrfice for sin that was. God says only blood is the atonement for sins, not good works
Romans 3:25
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished

Answer 10

1) Jesus died so the promises made to Abraham could be fulfilled. The Old Covenant's Torah separated Jew from Gentile, preventing fellowship between the two. Jesus needed to institute a new covenant where justification comes by faith, but there had to be blood for the institution of this new covenant. Jesus died to tare down the walls separating Jew from Gentile so all could be counted as children according to promise. By Jesus' death, Gentiles were grafted into Israel.

2) Though the Torah was given to instruct Israel in righteousness until the coming of the Messiah, because she, as a whole, was failing to keep these laws, it was producing wrath, which was reaching its climax in the first century. Jesus died as an atonement for the sins of Israel so a small remnant would be saved from the coming judgment (70 C.E.). Additionally, because Gentiles were found to be as sinful as Israel, they were in need of the cleansing of sins offered to the covenant people. Jesus died so the Gentile that is grafted into the people of God finds forgiveness of sins and is assured his being spared from wrath.

In a nutshell, 1) The promises made to Abraham needed to be fulfilled 2) Sins needed to be dealt with and 3) To institute the covenant and deal with sins once and for all, Jesus had to offer himself as an atoning sacrifice.

"Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood" (Heb 9:18).

"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Heb 9:22).

If you would like me to explain anything else, feel free to e-mail me or ask me to go on an instant messenger. However, I am still learning myself, so my current understanding of Jesus' death is subject to change.

Answer 11

What role does Christ’s blood play in our salvation? Since Noah’s day, true worshipers have viewed blood as sacred. (Genesis 9:4-6) Blood plays an important part in the life process, for the Bible says that “the soul [or life] of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11) So the Mosaic Law required that when an animal was sacrificed, its blood be poured out before Jehovah. At times blood was also placed upon the horns of the altar. Clearly, the atoning power of a sacrifice was in its blood. (Leviticus 8:15; 9:9) “Nearly all things are cleansed with blood according to the Law, and unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place.
Little wonder, then, that under the Law, any misuse of blood was punishable by death! (Leviticus 17:10) All of us know that when a substance is made rare, or severely restricted as to its use, its value increases. Jehovah’s curb on its use ensured that blood would be viewed, not as something of ordinary value, but as precious, valuable. (Acts 15:29; Hebrews 10:29) This accorded with the exalted purpose the blood of Christ would serve. Fittingly, he died in a manner that caused his blood to be shed. Thus, it was evident that Christ not only sacrificed his human body but poured out his soul, sacrificed his very life as a perfect human! (Isaiah 53:12) Christ did not forfeit the legal right to that life because of imperfection, so his poured-out blood had great value and could be presented before God for the atonement of mankind’s sins.
Christ could not take his literal blood into heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:50) Rather, he took what that blood symbolized: the legal value of his sacrificed perfect human life. Before the person of God, he could make formal presentation of that life as a ransom in exchange for sinful mankind. Jehovah’s acceptance of that sacrifice became evident at Pentecost 33 C.E., when the holy spirit came upon 120 disciples in Jerusalem. (Acts 2:1-4) Christ, as it were, now owned the human race by purchase. (Galatians 3:13; 4:5; 2 Peter 2:1) Hence, ransom benefits could flow to mankind.