Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

 

Why did Jesus have to die? Wasn’t the problem that God was just irritated that Adam and Eve had ignored His warning not to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? Was God angry because He wanted to be the only One Who knew what was good and evil? Couldn’t He just forgive them when they said they were sorry? What was so bad about just forgiving and forgetting?

These questions are due to a misunderstanding of what sin really is. Sin is not just hurting God’s feelings or making Him feel rejected. Let’s look at the first sin and dissect it into its component parts. Genesis 3 is the story.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5 For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.

I. Serpent a Cunning Beast

I was asked by a supposed atheist, “Do you believe in talking snakes?” My answer surprised him, I think.

“Yes I do, and I also believe in talking donkeys. There are two instances in the Bible where animals speak. But you and I both know that animals do not have the requisite bodily parts needed to form words. And, their brains do not have the capability to formulate language. But, I have a piece of plastic and metal that talks to me. It has none of those items either, but it can talk because there is a intelligent mind that ‘created’ it. The instances of the Scripture where animals speak are just instances of a Mind, or mind, behind it, animating it.”

So the “talking snake” is really animated by some other entity, just as was the donkey was that talked to Baalam. And we do not need to read very far to find the identity of the “talking snake.”

First, God is never described as “cunning.” Wise, loving, merciful, sound like Biblical terms, and they are. Read on. “Has God really said...?” Would the Lord question what He had said? Never. “mē genoito.” But someone would, and here we find the first of literally millions, probably billions, of instances of doubt. Notice that the question is even couched in erroneous language. 

“You can’t eat from any trees?” Read chapter 2 for clarification. Too bad Eve, and Adam, who was there with her, didn’t say that. God only restricted them from one tree and it would cause death. It was poison, spiritual poison.

II. The Big Lie v. 4

Here is the crux of the matter, and the turning point of history. “You certainly will not die!” Later, in the New Testament Jesus described this snake as Satan. “Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.”

And ever since, this liar has been plying his trade, deceiving people all through time. But if that was all that he did, it could have gone aside. But he followed up with a second lie, the great temptation.

III. The Great Temptation v. 5 

“For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” 

This lie, the second in a row, is not that you will be able to discern what is good and what is evil. It was that you, like God, will decree what is good and what is evil. In other words, what you say is good, is not wrong or to be avoided. And what you say is evil, is wrong, and should be avoided and in fact, doing it will be an affront to You, the God. (Ed note: You are not god.)

Verse 7. “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.” We could insert anther subhead here, “The Great Coverup.” But I will desist.

Satan was right in his prediction that they would know when they had done wrong. It was immediate. They did not prescribe it, they perceived it. I think that the Shekina Glory was covering them while they were holy and pure, and once they were not, the Spirit left them. It had covered them and now was gone. (My inference, do what you want with it.) But they knew that they had done wrong.

And since that time, all of mankind has been deciding what was right for them, and what was wrong. In short, we, for all of us have done it, we are acting like God, the definer of all things good and proper. Isaiah 5:20 describes every person who has ever lived. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” And since Adam and Eve, we have all been totally wrong.

Our battle cry is, “You can’t tell me what to do and what not to do! I make up my own rules.” If someone decides what they are doing is right, don’t dare say anything else. You are bigoted and a hater, a (fill in the blank) phobic.

Our aim here is not to discuss the current state of affairs, but to examine the remedy. And, thank the Lord, there is a point IV. So let’s go on. Eve took and ate, and guess who was right there with her. Adam ate too. We won’t comment farther on that either.

IV. Redemption Previewed Genesis 3:14-21 (Read it and rejoice)

When Adam and Eve ate, it was not the fruit, was wrong, it was the rejection of God’s command. They substituted their own will for what His was, and what was right and good for them. They were estranged from God. What was the first thing they did? They hid. They tried to disguise the lack of covering, Shekina, for me. And then when they heard God coming they hid themselves. (Not that it would do any good to hide from the all knowing, all seeing God.)

Long story short, they gave up their hiding place and were confronted by the Lord. “Where are you? Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree?” This is an interesting series of diagnostic questions, and the Lord already knew the answers. Adam had to confess. This is the first step in redemption and restoration. And Adam fessed up. “The woman YOU gave me gave it to me and forced it down my throat.” Well, maybe not quite, but close.

The the Lord God turned to the accomplice. “What is this that you have done?” No explanation or any such thing.  And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Pass the buck, Eve.

Notice that there is no inquisition in v. 14. “Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘“Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all the livestock.’” We will leave the “play by play” for later and get to the climax of the story.

V. 21 tells us that the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. But we skipped an important part of the story.

Back in v. 15 the Lord completes His curse on Satan. (Not the snake, though my Mom said they were accursed as well.)

“And I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

The “seed of the woman,” or “Her Descendant” as this translation has it, was capitalized. And notice that the line of this Descendant omits the participation of Adam. Explanation? The One was virgin born. Sounds like Christmas, doesn’t it? It is.

And the best part is next. “He (capitalized, again) shall bruise you on the head!” That is a death blow. And, like a snake, he is still writhing in the dust, but he is dead. (German: tot!) Glory. Notice the final phrase. You shall bruise Him (caps) on the heel.” We don’t die from a heel wound. Keep this in mind. And neither did He!

Then read v. 21.” And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” And where did garments of skin come from? A dead lamb. God told them that their enemy would be totally and eternally defeated, and they would be redeemed. The skins were the first installment, so to speak. They came from a substitute for Adam and Ev. And the promise of One who would be bruised on the heel would complete the redemption. It just gets better and better.

V. The Redemption Completed (the Gospels) 

So why did all of this have to happen? Didn’t Adam and Eve confess? Weren’t they sorry? Yes and Yes. But where did the offense come from? They refused to obey God’s command. They offended His nature. That nature was the source of the 10 commandments. God revealed His holiness and purity, so each of the commandments reflected both His nature and His care for His creation.

Don’t worship other gods. They are not real, and trusting in them will cause you much harm and even death. Don’t make an image, because they are fake. (See Command 1) Don’t take the Name of the God Who created and loves you in vain. (As a curse or a false promise.) Do follow His pattern of rest. It is good for you. Honor your parents. That is also good for you, and will help you live a long life. Don’t murder, commit adultery, steal, or lie. Those are the opposite of God’s character, and, incidentally, is bad for you too. Don’t covet, which is an intense desire for what you do not have. That is the same as worshiping other gods. (See Command 1)

All of these things offend God’s holiness and love. Since God is infinite, these become infinite offenses. And what was the penalty for disobeying the first commandment, the one in the Garden? It was death. The lambs died, and ultimately, so did Adam and Eve. An infinite offense would require an infinite payment to atone for it.

So how long would Adam and Eve, and you, and I have to “die” to pay for any infinite offense? And all of us even have more than one. We would have to die forever. So just saying you are sorry falls infinitely short of satisfying the offense to a holy and perfect God.

Remember the Seed, the sacrifice. He is also the Substitute. Adam and Eve got a down payment, or a picture of the sacrifice to come that would redeem them. The lambs died to cover them. What a picture. The offerings in the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, were also pictures, precursors of the Sacrifice to come.

John the Baptist, in John, the disciple’s book introduced Jesus as the “Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” No one shouted that day, but we can! Glory! (John 1:29 and 36. John the B said it not once, but twice. It was worth repeating.)

So Jesus was crucified on the day that the Passover lamb was offered in the Temple and incidentally, the spike that held His feet was driven through His HEEL! They crossed the ankles so that one heel lay on top of the other and one spike through the heel held the feet and body to the cross. Does that bring a glory? Yep, GLORY!

VI. We Can’t Stop There

Jesus, the infinite God, died, suffering an infinite penalty for the infinite sin offense of me, you, Adam, Eve, and everyone else on earth. And God, the Father accepted this sacrifice by raising Him from the dead. This is summarized in Romans 4:25. “He who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised because of our justification.” “Because of,” or as a result of. Glory!

When God looked down on Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, the offense was paid in full. Jesus cried that out in John 19:30. And Paul explained that when God saw that, He agreed and accepted the sacrifice and forgave the sins of all who would believe on Jesus, accepting the covering, just as Adam and Eve accepted the substitute so many years ago. We can accept it too.

VII. Why Did Jesus Die?

God loved us and chose to make a way for us to be reconciled with Him, despite the infinite offense that we owed. So He paid the price, Himself, and then to declare that it was enough, He rose from the dead. What a story. What a love. What a God!