Its Easter weekend, Passover week, Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday. Quite the celebration in the Christian world, that’s for sure. Easter – it’s way more than peeps and chocolate bunnies!
Those three days – when Jesus was hung on that cross and buried in that tomb, and the Resurrection. Quite the turn of events thats for sure!
I mean no disresect. I wasn’t born in the church. But the question comes to mind, why did Jesus have to die anyway?
Why would God come down here to planet Earth, robe Himself in flesh, and hang on a cross to die for us?
There is this thing called SIN. You don’t hear about it at school, or work, or out and about. These days people don’t like to talk about it. It’s the culture of “do whatever you want with whoever you want and make a public show of it”. Anyway, that’s another topic.
SIN separates us from God. Not good.
sin
SIN, n.
1. The voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Sin comprehends not action only, but neglect of known duty, all evil thoughts purposes, words and desires, whatever is contrary to God’s commands or law. 1 John 3. Matt. 15. James 4. Sinner neither enjoy the pleasures of nor the peace of piety. Among divines, sin is original or actual. Actual sin, above defined, is the act of a moral agent in violating a known rule of duty. Original sin, as generally understood, is native depravity of heart to the divine will, that corruption of nature of deterioration of the moral character of man, which is supposed to be the effect of Adam’s apostasy; and which manifests itself in moral agents by positive act of disobedience to the divine will, or by the voluntary neglect to comply with the express commands of God, which require that we should love God with all the heart and soul and strength and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. This native depravity or alienation of affections from God and his law, is supposed to be what the apostle calls the carnal mind or mindedness, which is enmity against God, and is therefore denominated sin or sinfulness. Unpardonable sin, or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, is supposed to be a malicious and obstinate rejection of Christ and the gospel plan of salvation, or a contemptuous resistance made to the influences and convictions of the Holy Spirit. Matt.12.
2. A sin-offering; an offering made to atone for sin. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. 2 Cor 5.
3. A man enormously wicked.Not in use.
4. Sin differs from crime, not in nature, but in application. That which is a crime against society, is sin against God
So, SIN is when little old me ignores God and His ways. SIN is me thinking I can do whatever I want just because it “feels good” and ignoring the consequences, or pretending there aren’t any. SIN is not loving God or my neighbor.
So why did Jesus have to die?
I don’t think He had to, I think He chose to.
Jesus chose to take all that ugly SIN and carry it to the cross so we could be part of the family again. He chose to BE the SIN sacrifice and fulfilled the law, so we could live under GRACE. He was the Passover Lamb that took away the sins of the world.
Now that’s love…
“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. ” – 1 Peter 2:24-25 NKJV
“The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And GOD has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him.” – Isaiah 53:5-6 MSG
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