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

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more