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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.

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