Why Did Jesus Have to Suffer and Die?

Why did Jesus have to suffer and die? Believe it or not, nowadays, it depends on who you ask. Some believe He died merely to set an example of being willing to die for those you love, to die for what you believe in—a martyr for the cause—or as an example of obedience to God, even if it means your own death. Others theorize that He demonstrated God’s love by suffering as we suffer at times. One scholar claims that Jesus died merely to establish His right to rule when He returns to usher in Israel’s Messianic kingdom.
But what does Christianity say, and what does the Bible say? As PJ told us, the quick and easy answer given by most Christians is that Jesus died to save us from our sins. And that’s true. It is so very true. However, as PJ also pointed out, that quick, simple answer doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what was happening as Jesus hung, dying on the cross.
To demonstrate this reality, consider the fact that, back in 2005, Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle preached a 12-part sermon series entitled, “Christ on the Cross,” in which he focuses on 12 specific reasons Jesus had to die, all of which lie under the surface of the statement, “Jesus died to save us from our sins.” In addition, we could point to the fact that innumerable pages, articles, and books have been written about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, all seeking to unpack the meaning of this simple statement.
The aspect of Jesus’ death that PJ looked at this week was that of sacrifice. He began with the Old Testament, most notably, the book of Leviticus, in which we find the rules and regulations for all the sacrifices, or offerings, that were to be part of worship for the Israelites. As we read through this book, we find four kinds of sacrifices. There was the burnt offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. In addition, on the Day of Atonement, Israel’s high priest offered a sacrifice for the sins of the entire nation. And let’s not forget the annual Passover sacrifice, commemorating when God led them out of Egypt.
The point of all this is that, day after day, hundreds, even thousands of animals were slaughtered. Their throats were slit, and blood would gush out as they bled to death. And with each sacrifice, some of the blood would be splattered on the altar. The temple grounds were continually a gross and bloody mess.
But why was all this necessary? To make atonement. That is, to reconcile the people back to God. For as God had told Adam and Eve, “In the day that you eat of [the forbidden tree], you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). Likewise, Ezekiel 18:4 says, “The soul who sins shall die.”
Now, physical death did eventually come to Adam and Eve after they disobeyed God. But the more significant death they suffered—which we all suffer—is spiritual death. Spiritual death is separation from God; the breaking of a relationship with Him. And because God is holy, that separation is permanent.
That is, unless atonement is made through the death of one who does not deserve to die. In the Old Testament, it was the death of an animal. And what would happen is this: The person offering the sacrifice would, in the presence of the priest, lay his hands on the head of the animal and confess all his sins, thereby transferring his guilt to the animal. Now, it was as if the animal had committed those sins. Then the animal would pay the price for those sins by being killed. As a result, the person offering the sacrifice would be brought back into relationship to God.
But there was a problem with this. It was only a temporary fix. As Hebrews 10:3-4 explains, “In these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Even after becoming Christians, we still sin, just as the Israelites continued to sin after offering a sacrifice. The difference, to quote from John the Baptist, is that Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). And as Hebrews 10 explains, Jesus “offered for all time a single sacrifice for all sins,” and by that single offering, “has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (vv. 12 & 14).
The reason for this is twofold. First, as a human, Jesus was capable of truly being our substitute. A human, not an animal, is the only one who could truly die in the place of other humans. Secondly, as the infinite God, Jesus was the only one who could bear the full penalty for all our sins. As Wayne Grudem says, “Any finite creature would have been incapable of bearing that penalty.”
Saying that Jesus died to save us from our sins, while true, does not even begin to scratch the surface of the meaning behind the cross. Neither does this brief study tying His death to the Old Testament’s sacrificial system. In fact, I think we could spend our entire lives studying the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and never fully grasp what was happening in the spiritual realm. However, we should not let that fact discourage us from seeking to understand it to the extent that we can.


QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION

1. As PJ told us in his sermon, only someone who is infinite could adequately deal with our sin problem. What does this say about the nature of our sin and the punishment it deserves?


2. Some religions teach that a combination of faith and works is the prerequisite for salvation. As Protestant Christians, we believe that faith alone is necessary for salvation. How does the death of Christ counteract the notion that good works are also required for salvation? (Hint: Use John 19:30 as a starting reference point)


3. In the Old Testament, priests sacrificed animals. The book of Hebrews presents Jesus as both the priest and the sacrifice. Why, do you think, is this significant?


4. In the Old Testament, worship was closely associated with the idea of sacrifice. Since Jesus died on the cross, we no longer offer animal sacrifices to God. Has this removed the idea of sacrifice entirely from what it means to worship? In what sense ought we to “sacrifice” when we worship today?

Philippians 4: Joy in Covenant Relations

At the beginning of his sermon on Philippians 4, PJ 2.0 gave us a brief outline of the chapter. In Philippians 4, Paul has four points to make. He says to his readers, “Be united,” “Be happy and practice love,” “May God bless you as you have blessed me,” and “Encourage one another.”
So I sat back, expecting John Han to delve into how Paul develops these themes throughout the chapter. Instead, he started talking about law school and contracts. I wondered, “Where is he going with this?”
Then John started talking about the difference between contracts and covenants. And then I got it. What Paul says in Philippians 4 stems from the fact that Paul was in a covenant relationship with the Philippian church.
Covenants are very important throughout the Bible. On occasion we read of covenants made between people. But more significant are the covenants made between God and certain individuals or groups.
God made a covenant with Noah, promising that He would never again destroy the world with a flood. He made a covenant with Abraham, promising that he would have descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky, that God would give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants, and that (by virtue of the Messiah) “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).
God made a covenant with Moses and the Israelites, promising blessing in exchange for obedience to His laws, and punishment in exchange for disobedience. He made a covenant with David, promising that one of his descendants would rule over the nation Israel forever.
But the greatest covenant of all is the New Covenant; the covenant that promises forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It is the covenant in which God says, “I sent My Son to die on the cross to pay for your sins. And if you will but place your faith in Him, then I will forgive you, take away your sin, and give you eternal life.”
What has this got to do with Philippians 4? Everything. Paul had entered into this covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. The believers at Philippi had entered into this covenant relationship with Jesus. That common ground served as the foundation of the covenant relationship Paul had with the Philippian church. In fact, it can be said that by virtue of our relationship to Christ, all Christians throughout the entire world are in covenant relationship with one another. According to Ephesians 4:4, the universal company of Christians make up one body; the Church. We are all one with Christ and we are all one in Christ.
So as we come to Philippians 4, Paul expresses his heartfelt desire for these people with whom he was in covenant relationship. And part of his sentiment is the result of how they had expressed their love and concern for him and for the spreading of the gospel. He speaks of a time when theirs was the only church that gave him financial support for his ministry. They did something that John said is characteristic of being in a covenant relationship. They did the right thing, out of their hearts, expecting nothing in return.
Herein is one difference between a contract and a covenant. In a contract, you do something with the expectation of something in return. And don’t get us wrong here. Contracts in and of themselves are not bad. I have an employment contract with the Home Depot. I go into work every night and do the job they assign me to do—with the expectation that they will give me a paycheck. And I need that paycheck so I can pay my bills. Believe me, if I didn’t get that paycheck, I wouldn’t be in there every night stocking shelves.
Within a covenant, the overarching principal is that you do the right thing, expecting nothing in return. And that is what the Christians in Philippi did for Paul. They supported his ministry, expecting nothing back from him.
The interesting thing is that, while they did not expect anything in return, either from Paul or from God, they did get something back. First of all, they received a letter from Paul, expressing his thanks and friendship, as well as his heartfelt prayers for them. Since our sermon was on chapter 4, we can specify that his prayer for them included a desire that they be united, happy and loving, and blessed by God. In addition, they received a promise from God, through Paul’s letter, that God would meet all of their needs “according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (v. 19).


QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION

1. In the covenant God made with Moses and the Israelites, He promised to bless their obedience and to punish their disobedience. In Philippians 4:19, a group of Christians received the promise that God would meet all their needs, apparently in response to their support for Paul. If we’re not careful, these kinds of things can lead us to doing things for God with the expectation that He will bless us in return. How can we guard ourselves against this kind of mindset?


2. Paul had a deep, heartfelt love for the Philippian Christians, and they had the same kind of love for him. As stated above, this stemmed from the relationship each had with Jesus Christ. At Imago Dei, how well do we express our love for each other? How can we do a better job of developing and expressing love within the church? How does this tie into the relationship each of us has with the Lord?


3. PJ 2.0’s sermon did not address any specific verses within Philippians 4. Instead, it was a good explanation of why Paul says what he does in this chapter. Still, we would do well to spend some time interacting with the passage. So in your e-group, read through the chapter, and see if you can pick out some of the more significant verses in the chapter, even if they are typical “go-to” verses. Share about what these verses mean to you. And discuss their significance in relation to the covenantal relationship Paul had with this church, as well as the relationships we have in our church today.

Philippians 2: Value Others Above Yourself

In Philippians 1, Paul expressed his joy, stemming from the gospel. His purpose was not merely to tell us how joyful he was, but also to instill in us that same joy.
In chapter 2, he issues a call to humility. A call to value others above ourselves. One important thing to notice is that this call stems from what he has said about the gospel in chapter 1. In the New King James Version, verse 1 of chapter 2 starts with the word, “Therefore.” This transitional word means, “Because of this…”, or “in light of this…”
Furthermore, we can say that the call to humility is rooted in what the rest of verse 1 says: “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy.” The interesting thing about the word if, which appears four times in this verse, is not that Paul is questioning whether or not these things are true. It can also be translated, “since.” To take the first of these four phrases as an example, he is saying, “If there is any consolation in Christ, and there is…”
So Paul is stating four truths. We do have consolation in Christ. We do have the comfort of love. We do have the fellowship of the Spirit. We do have affection and mercy. They were given to us when we became Christians. These truths are part of the gospel, and they serve as the foundation for Paul’s call to humility.
I mention this because we ought not make the mistake of reversing the order here. We do not obtain these blessings by being humble; by valuing others above ourselves. The fact is, we cannot be truly humble if we have not accepted the gospel, believed in Jesus Christ, and received these blessings of salvation. Let’s not be like others who try to earn brownie points with God by their actions.
Verses 2-4 issue this call to humility. Verse 2 focuses on unity within the church. As PJ said on Sunday, being like-minded does not mean being like everyone else. We are not cookie-cutter Christians. To be like-minded means to have one focus, one mission, one purpose within the church.
Verses 3 and 4 narrow the scope down to the individual. The church, as a whole, will be of one mind if every individual within the church is following the instructions in these two verses. Here, each of us is told not to do anything out of selfishness or pride; not to puff ourselves up or ask, “What’s in it for me?” Instead, we are to esteem, or value, others as better than ourselves. This is found in verse 3.
Notice that verse 4 does not tell us not to look out for our own interests and to look out only for the interests of others. It tells us not to look out only for our own interests. We are to look out for the interests of others, as well as for our own interests.
In light of verse 3, it should be said that we ought to look out for the interests of others more than we look out for our own interests. But we are not commanded to neglect our own interests and needs altogether. We should avoid the false humility that would prompt anyone to say, “I’m not concerned about my own interests. I am only concerned about the interests of others.”
The call to humility is not followed up by a list of how-to instructions, per se. Rather, Paul gives us four examples of individuals who have displayed such humility. He starts with the ultimate example, the Lord Jesus Himself. Then Paul presents himself as an example, followed by Timothy and Epaphroditus.
Unfortunately, I now have enough space to comment only on one of these. And of course, I will comment on the one that is most significant; the example set by Jesus. Phil. 2:5-11 is one of the most famous passages of the Bible, speaking of Jesus’ emptying of Himself. He humbled Himself, esteemed us as better than Himself (try wrapping your mind around that!), and looking out for our interests by dying on the cross to pay for our sins. PJ did a good job of tracking Paul’s progression of thought by pointing out that Jesus expressed His humility by lowering Himself, submitting to the Father, and sacrificing Himself on our behalf. Hence, our own humility should be no less lowering, submissive, and sacrificial.
In Philippians 2, Paul does not give us a “how to” list concerning this call to humility and valuing others above ourselves. But on Sunday, PJ gave us some practical suggestions. Without going into details, here is the list of things we can practically do as we seek to be more humble: Practice empathy. Practice compassion. Be friendly. Be helpful. Listen to others. Stop criticism. Don’t control others. And send yourself reminders.
Humility is an matter of attitude more than it is action. But this attitude will always express itself through action. And many times, when we take the appropriate actions, even if we don’t initially have the right attitude, the attitude will follow. We can use the actions of humility to foster the attitude of humility.

QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION

1. Read Philippians 2:1. How do these blessings we have received enable us to be humble?


2. What is the mission of Imago Dei? Do you believe in this mission? Are you committed to helping Imago Dei fulfill its mission? How well are we, as members of Imago Dei, following the command to be like-minded?


3. Read Philippians 2:12-29. How did Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus exhibit humility in their lives? How can you learn from their examples?


4. Look again at the list of things we can do to foster humility in our lives. Which ones do you most need to work on? Are there any other things you could add to this list?