"Why Did Jesus Die?"
Isaiah 53:1-13 March 14, 2010
Last Fall Cliff Vanase began teaching a class on Christian basics called, the Alpha course. In
week three Nicky Gumbel, the guru behind the course, attempted to answer the question “Why did
Jesus die?”
It is a question that strikes at the heart of everything we believe. If God is good, if God is all
about love, then why did Jesus have to suffer and die the way he did? What’s the point?
I’m stealing Nicky’s sermon this morning and putting my own stamp on it. So forgive me for all
the parts I’m plagiarizing. But he explains it so well.
Now… on to the question. Why did Jesus Die?
It’s funny but the one thing that Elton John, the Pope, Naomi Campbell, Madonna and Mariano
Rivera have in common is the fact that they all wear a cross.
It is strange, if you think about it. The cross was an instrument of cruel punishment. Yet we
have such a fascination with the death of Jesus. What was it about his death that made it so
special? Why did he die and if the theologians are right, what does it mean that he died for our sins?
Well it begins with our problem. In Romans 3:23 the Apostle Paul says, “for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.” Sin is a big problem.
Now it is hard for most of us to admit that we aren’t perfect and that we have done something
wrong. It is especially hard if you aren’t married. The words “I am guilty” stick in our throats. No
one readily admits it. It is especially true when it comes to people who have an automobile accident.
You should hear the actual excuses recorded by the insurance industry. Here is a sampling:
1) "An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my vehicle, and then vanished." 2)"Coming home,
I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have." 3) "The pedestrian had no idea
which direction to go, so I ran him over." 4) "The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a
number of times before I hit him." 5) "The telephone pole was approaching fast. I was attempting
to swerve out of its path when it struck my car."
We all do things that are wrong. We can say “What does it matter?” But we know deep in our
hearts that it does. Sin is a problem that has to be dealt with and here’s four major reasons why.
First, sin pollutes that which is good. God created us to be good yet when we sin, we spoil
everything. Jesus talks about it in the Gospel of Mark. The Pharisees were talking about eating
unclean food, but Jesus said the problem is bigger than that. He said, "What comes out of a person
is what makes him or her 'unclean.' For from within, out of person's hearts, come evil thoughts,
sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance
and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a person 'unclean.' "
You might read through that list and say, “Well I don’t do most of those things.” A lot of people
refer to the ten command-ments and they check them off and say, “I did pretty good. I kept 9 out
of ten… I have a little problem with murder but…” Sin pollutes us and makes us unclean.
Secondly, sin has an addictive power. I’m not going to say a lot about this. Once we open the
door to sin, it isn’t long before it begins to control us. Before long we become a slave to that
addiction. Alcohol, tobacco, pornography, gluttony, greed…
Third, sin always demands a penalty. Something within us cries out for justice. (That’s God.)
When we see someone hurt, we want someone to pay the price. A child is molested… An old
person mugged… We say “they should pay.”
Of course we are much quicker to point the finger at others than we are to accept our own
consequences. They deserve what they get but we had a reason, an excuse that should exempt us.
We all try to exempt ourselves because we are all hypocrites.
Nicky Gumbel used himself as a perfect example of how this works.
He is a cyclist and he loves biking to work. On most mornings traffic is horrible and because
there is this bus and cyclist lane, he can zoom past all the motorists. He says he loves sailing down
that special lane past all the cars.
Sometimes, he notes, a car decides to jump into the bus and cyclist lane and it makes him so
angry. The nerve. So when that happens, he feels quite justified in slowing down and driving right
in the middle of the bus and cycle lane to slow them down and punish them. What’s more, is the
fact that he knows where the police have set up traps to catch these scofflaws. So he jumps with
joy when he can slow them down and lead them right into the hands of justice in action.
When it rains Nicky is forced to take his car to work. Traffic is even worse on those days.
Sitting there, bumper to bumper is so frustrating. Especially when you consider that the bus and
cycle lane is nearly empty. It seems like such a waste. A perfectly good travel lane sits there empty
when it could be used to ease the congestion. Then he thinks, “but I am a cyclist. I would be
perfectly justified in driving there because I’m on a bicycle most days. And I know where the traps
are…”
The problem is that we are all hypocrites. We want justice. We want everyone else to pay. But
we want a mulligan for ourselves because of some special circumstances. Paul says in Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point
you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same
things.
And in Romans 6:23 he tells us that the penalty of sin, and all of us are sinners, is death.
That brings us to the fourth problem of sin. It creates a partition. You see the penalty of sin is
not just death. It also leads us into a separation in our relationship with God. It cuts us off. You
remember how Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden? Our sin causes God to look the other
way and us to hide from him. It keeps us from the perfect, loving relationship that God intended
from the beginning of time.
That’s the bad news! It breaks Gods heart. It ruins our lives.
Now here’s the good news. God loves you and me. He loves us so much that he did not leave
things that way. He came to do something about it. In John 3:16 we read: For God so loved the
world, that’s you and me, that he sent his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him, if we
put our faith and trust in him, if we love him with all our heart, we shall not perish but have
everlasting life.
In I Peter 2:24 we read; He himself (Jesus) bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we
might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
That is called the self substitution of God. Seeing this problem we had, God offered us the
solution. He took our punishment for us. He bore the weight of our sin.
Most non Catholics have never heard the story of Francis Gajownicek. He was a prisoner in
Auschwitz in July of 1941. There was an escape attempt and whenever something like that
happened, the Germans showed their authority by randomly choosing ten men to die. Francis was
one of the ten. As he was brought forward in front of the Camp, he began to weep and bemoan the
fact that he would never see his wife or two young children again.
t that point another man stepped forward. He asked if he could take the fellows place. He said he
wanted to die in his stead. The man’s name was Maximillian Kolbe. He was a 47 year old
unmarried Catholic priest. The Germans didn’t care and they accepted his offer.
Father Kolbe was taken to the suicide room and for the next several days he ministered to the
condemned. He was the last to die. In recognizing Maximillian Kolbe as a saint 1982, the Pope
described his heroic act as a victory like that won by Christ himself.
In an amazing way, that is exactly what Jesus has done for you and me. He endured the
crucifixion for us.
If you have seen Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of Christ” you get an idea of the pain and suffering
Jesus went through.
He was whipped with a short whip with several lather tongs which had small stones imbedded in
them which were sure to rip and tear the flesh. Then he was laid on the cross and six inch spikes
were nailed into his hands and feet to secure him. The cross was lifted up and dropped into a hole
which would force it to stand upright. He was left to hang there in the heat of the day where
dehydration would wreak havoc on his body. He was left for hours as people gathered around to
ridicule him and assault him with their verbal barbs. He was helpless and had to take it all.
In reading the New Testament we are given the impression that the worst part of this torment
though, was not the physical pain. The worst part of this ordeal was the spiritual isolation he felt
from God. He was rejected and cut off from the One who had sustained him through life.
Isaiah explains the significance of it all in his prophesy from Chapter 53 that we read earlier.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by
God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has
laid on him the iniquity of us all.
This idea that Jesus died for us sounds good, but it doesn’t make sense. Why did he have to die?
Why is it relevant?
Think of this way. This hand is your life and mine. This book is sin and all we do that is wrong.
Sin is a barrier, a partition that separates us from God. There is a sort of falling out in our
relationship.
All we like sheep have turned away. Each has gone its own way.
Let this hand represent Jesus. Jesus never did anything wrong. There was never any barrier
between him and God.
What this verse says is that on the cross, God laid our iniquity on him. Jesus was cut off from
God not for his own sin, but for our sin. That’s why he cried out, “My God, My God why has
thou forsaken me?”
You see where that leaves us? Free to have a relationship with God. That was the solution. What
was the result?
The cross is like a beautiful diamond. It is a mystery and yet, so beautiful. If you hold it up to
the light you can see different colors, different facets. The cross solved all our problems.
1) It was an answer to the Old Testament practice of offering a sacrifice for the cleansing of
sin. Jesus’ death cleanses us from the pollution of sin.
2) Second, his offering paid the ransom price which sets us free from the power of sin. We are
no longer slaves but free in Christ.
3) Third, Paul says that in Christ’s death we have been justified. It’s a legal image. A school boy’
s definition would be that justification is… Just as if I never sinned. If you went to court and were
acquitted, you were justified. There is no penalty. You are free to go.
But here is the catch. Justice is required.
It’s like the story of two friends. They chum around through school and then part ways. One
goes on to the legal profession and becomes a lawyer and then a judge. The other turns to a life of
crime. One day the criminal is caught and goes up before his former friend the judge. Now there is
a dilemma. Although the judge loves his friend, justice must be served. So what does the judge do?
He can’t just let the friend go. He has an obligation to be fair and just.
It is the same with God. What would it be like if God suspended the rules for this one or that
one? It wouldn’t be fair. Justice has to be served. God loves. God is also righteous.
So what did the judge do? HE fined the man the appropriate amount of money for the offense.
Then he got down off the bench, took off his robe and went around and wrote out a check for the
whole amount. He paid the penalty for him.
That is what Jesus did.
4) Finally, the last problem of sin is alienation from God. Yet the cross now offers the possibility
of a restored relationship with God. The alienation can be over.
Sometimes people say “Isn’t it barbaric that God punishes an innocent third party on our
behalf?” That would be. But God was in Christ. He came himself, in the person of of his son. He
paid the price.
Now we can be reconciled to God. A new relationship can begin. Our life can start over as we
walk with him. Sin is no longer the problem it was.
The good news goes even further. Once we are reconciled to God, every other relationship can
be reconciled as well.
God loves us. He loves you and me.
What does it mean to believe. It means simply to accept what Jesus has done for us.
Going back to the analogy of the judge. The judge writes the check but the friend could have
rejected it and said, “No, I will pay it myself.” What God hopes we will do is accept his gift and
embrace him for it.
If you haven’t done that before, I hope you will do it now. This is the season. This is the time to
celebrate and remember what that man of sorrows has done for you and for me. Amen.
Isaiah 53:1-13 March 14, 2010
Last Fall Cliff Vanase began teaching a class on Christian basics called, the Alpha course. In
week three Nicky Gumbel, the guru behind the course, attempted to answer the question “Why did
Jesus die?”
It is a question that strikes at the heart of everything we believe. If God is good, if God is all
about love, then why did Jesus have to suffer and die the way he did? What’s the point?
I’m stealing Nicky’s sermon this morning and putting my own stamp on it. So forgive me for all
the parts I’m plagiarizing. But he explains it so well.
Now… on to the question. Why did Jesus Die?
It’s funny but the one thing that Elton John, the Pope, Naomi Campbell, Madonna and Mariano
Rivera have in common is the fact that they all wear a cross.
It is strange, if you think about it. The cross was an instrument of cruel punishment. Yet we
have such a fascination with the death of Jesus. What was it about his death that made it so
special? Why did he die and if the theologians are right, what does it mean that he died for our sins?
Well it begins with our problem. In Romans 3:23 the Apostle Paul says, “for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.” Sin is a big problem.
Now it is hard for most of us to admit that we aren’t perfect and that we have done something
wrong. It is especially hard if you aren’t married. The words “I am guilty” stick in our throats. No
one readily admits it. It is especially true when it comes to people who have an automobile accident.
You should hear the actual excuses recorded by the insurance industry. Here is a sampling:
1) "An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my vehicle, and then vanished." 2)"Coming home,
I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have." 3) "The pedestrian had no idea
which direction to go, so I ran him over." 4) "The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a
number of times before I hit him." 5) "The telephone pole was approaching fast. I was attempting
to swerve out of its path when it struck my car."
We all do things that are wrong. We can say “What does it matter?” But we know deep in our
hearts that it does. Sin is a problem that has to be dealt with and here’s four major reasons why.
First, sin pollutes that which is good. God created us to be good yet when we sin, we spoil
everything. Jesus talks about it in the Gospel of Mark. The Pharisees were talking about eating
unclean food, but Jesus said the problem is bigger than that. He said, "What comes out of a person
is what makes him or her 'unclean.' For from within, out of person's hearts, come evil thoughts,
sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance
and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a person 'unclean.' "
You might read through that list and say, “Well I don’t do most of those things.” A lot of people
refer to the ten command-ments and they check them off and say, “I did pretty good. I kept 9 out
of ten… I have a little problem with murder but…” Sin pollutes us and makes us unclean.
Secondly, sin has an addictive power. I’m not going to say a lot about this. Once we open the
door to sin, it isn’t long before it begins to control us. Before long we become a slave to that
addiction. Alcohol, tobacco, pornography, gluttony, greed…
Third, sin always demands a penalty. Something within us cries out for justice. (That’s God.)
When we see someone hurt, we want someone to pay the price. A child is molested… An old
person mugged… We say “they should pay.”
Of course we are much quicker to point the finger at others than we are to accept our own
consequences. They deserve what they get but we had a reason, an excuse that should exempt us.
We all try to exempt ourselves because we are all hypocrites.
Nicky Gumbel used himself as a perfect example of how this works.
He is a cyclist and he loves biking to work. On most mornings traffic is horrible and because
there is this bus and cyclist lane, he can zoom past all the motorists. He says he loves sailing down
that special lane past all the cars.
Sometimes, he notes, a car decides to jump into the bus and cyclist lane and it makes him so
angry. The nerve. So when that happens, he feels quite justified in slowing down and driving right
in the middle of the bus and cycle lane to slow them down and punish them. What’s more, is the
fact that he knows where the police have set up traps to catch these scofflaws. So he jumps with
joy when he can slow them down and lead them right into the hands of justice in action.
When it rains Nicky is forced to take his car to work. Traffic is even worse on those days.
Sitting there, bumper to bumper is so frustrating. Especially when you consider that the bus and
cycle lane is nearly empty. It seems like such a waste. A perfectly good travel lane sits there empty
when it could be used to ease the congestion. Then he thinks, “but I am a cyclist. I would be
perfectly justified in driving there because I’m on a bicycle most days. And I know where the traps
are…”
The problem is that we are all hypocrites. We want justice. We want everyone else to pay. But
we want a mulligan for ourselves because of some special circumstances. Paul says in Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point
you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same
things.
And in Romans 6:23 he tells us that the penalty of sin, and all of us are sinners, is death.
That brings us to the fourth problem of sin. It creates a partition. You see the penalty of sin is
not just death. It also leads us into a separation in our relationship with God. It cuts us off. You
remember how Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden? Our sin causes God to look the other
way and us to hide from him. It keeps us from the perfect, loving relationship that God intended
from the beginning of time.
That’s the bad news! It breaks Gods heart. It ruins our lives.
Now here’s the good news. God loves you and me. He loves us so much that he did not leave
things that way. He came to do something about it. In John 3:16 we read: For God so loved the
world, that’s you and me, that he sent his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him, if we
put our faith and trust in him, if we love him with all our heart, we shall not perish but have
everlasting life.
In I Peter 2:24 we read; He himself (Jesus) bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we
might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
That is called the self substitution of God. Seeing this problem we had, God offered us the
solution. He took our punishment for us. He bore the weight of our sin.
Most non Catholics have never heard the story of Francis Gajownicek. He was a prisoner in
Auschwitz in July of 1941. There was an escape attempt and whenever something like that
happened, the Germans showed their authority by randomly choosing ten men to die. Francis was
one of the ten. As he was brought forward in front of the Camp, he began to weep and bemoan the
fact that he would never see his wife or two young children again.
t that point another man stepped forward. He asked if he could take the fellows place. He said he
wanted to die in his stead. The man’s name was Maximillian Kolbe. He was a 47 year old
unmarried Catholic priest. The Germans didn’t care and they accepted his offer.
Father Kolbe was taken to the suicide room and for the next several days he ministered to the
condemned. He was the last to die. In recognizing Maximillian Kolbe as a saint 1982, the Pope
described his heroic act as a victory like that won by Christ himself.
In an amazing way, that is exactly what Jesus has done for you and me. He endured the
crucifixion for us.
If you have seen Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of Christ” you get an idea of the pain and suffering
Jesus went through.
He was whipped with a short whip with several lather tongs which had small stones imbedded in
them which were sure to rip and tear the flesh. Then he was laid on the cross and six inch spikes
were nailed into his hands and feet to secure him. The cross was lifted up and dropped into a hole
which would force it to stand upright. He was left to hang there in the heat of the day where
dehydration would wreak havoc on his body. He was left for hours as people gathered around to
ridicule him and assault him with their verbal barbs. He was helpless and had to take it all.
In reading the New Testament we are given the impression that the worst part of this torment
though, was not the physical pain. The worst part of this ordeal was the spiritual isolation he felt
from God. He was rejected and cut off from the One who had sustained him through life.
Isaiah explains the significance of it all in his prophesy from Chapter 53 that we read earlier.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by
God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has
laid on him the iniquity of us all.
This idea that Jesus died for us sounds good, but it doesn’t make sense. Why did he have to die?
Why is it relevant?
Think of this way. This hand is your life and mine. This book is sin and all we do that is wrong.
Sin is a barrier, a partition that separates us from God. There is a sort of falling out in our
relationship.
All we like sheep have turned away. Each has gone its own way.
Let this hand represent Jesus. Jesus never did anything wrong. There was never any barrier
between him and God.
What this verse says is that on the cross, God laid our iniquity on him. Jesus was cut off from
God not for his own sin, but for our sin. That’s why he cried out, “My God, My God why has
thou forsaken me?”
You see where that leaves us? Free to have a relationship with God. That was the solution. What
was the result?
The cross is like a beautiful diamond. It is a mystery and yet, so beautiful. If you hold it up to
the light you can see different colors, different facets. The cross solved all our problems.
1) It was an answer to the Old Testament practice of offering a sacrifice for the cleansing of
sin. Jesus’ death cleanses us from the pollution of sin.
2) Second, his offering paid the ransom price which sets us free from the power of sin. We are
no longer slaves but free in Christ.
3) Third, Paul says that in Christ’s death we have been justified. It’s a legal image. A school boy’
s definition would be that justification is… Just as if I never sinned. If you went to court and were
acquitted, you were justified. There is no penalty. You are free to go.
But here is the catch. Justice is required.
It’s like the story of two friends. They chum around through school and then part ways. One
goes on to the legal profession and becomes a lawyer and then a judge. The other turns to a life of
crime. One day the criminal is caught and goes up before his former friend the judge. Now there is
a dilemma. Although the judge loves his friend, justice must be served. So what does the judge do?
He can’t just let the friend go. He has an obligation to be fair and just.
It is the same with God. What would it be like if God suspended the rules for this one or that
one? It wouldn’t be fair. Justice has to be served. God loves. God is also righteous.
So what did the judge do? HE fined the man the appropriate amount of money for the offense.
Then he got down off the bench, took off his robe and went around and wrote out a check for the
whole amount. He paid the penalty for him.
That is what Jesus did.
4) Finally, the last problem of sin is alienation from God. Yet the cross now offers the possibility
of a restored relationship with God. The alienation can be over.
Sometimes people say “Isn’t it barbaric that God punishes an innocent third party on our
behalf?” That would be. But God was in Christ. He came himself, in the person of of his son. He
paid the price.
Now we can be reconciled to God. A new relationship can begin. Our life can start over as we
walk with him. Sin is no longer the problem it was.
The good news goes even further. Once we are reconciled to God, every other relationship can
be reconciled as well.
God loves us. He loves you and me.
What does it mean to believe. It means simply to accept what Jesus has done for us.
Going back to the analogy of the judge. The judge writes the check but the friend could have
rejected it and said, “No, I will pay it myself.” What God hopes we will do is accept his gift and
embrace him for it.
If you haven’t done that before, I hope you will do it now. This is the season. This is the time to
celebrate and remember what that man of sorrows has done for you and for me. Amen.
Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
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