Skip to main content

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?(II)


And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) 

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD'S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light└ of life┘[1]  and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:7)

           Why did Jesus have to die? Because God said so. If God had said what He said in Genesis 3 or Isaiah 53 and then Jesus had not died and risen from the grave, God would have been a liar. Death was required before the resurrection could take place, and the resurrection is that event that atheists keep asking for: something that God manifesting Himself and providing a narration of what He's doing. He gave the narration ahead of time. Of course, the atheists treat this event precisely the way I have said they would, they proclaim that documented history never happened, that it was fabricated or that it was madness on the part of the witnesses (mass hallucination.)
         I pulled a few books off my shelf. They are by no means exhaustive on the subject. If you're looking for some good reading, borrow (Interlibrary loan) or buy some of these:
Bauckham, Richard, Jesus And The Eyewitnesses (Grand Rapids MI , William B. Eerdman's Publishing, 2006)

Eastman, Mark (M.D.) The Search For Messiah(Fountain Valley, CA, Joy Publishing, 1996.) 

Geisler, Norman L. and Hoffman, Paul K, (editors), Why I Am  A Christian, Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books, 2006)

McDowell, Josh, Evidence That Demands A Verdict (Campus Crusade For Christ, 1972) There is a sequel

Strobel, Lee, The Case For The Real Jesus (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2007) 

       Any of Mr. Strobel's "Case For" books provides interesting reading.


[1] Dead Sea Scrolls and some other texts do not include these words.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more