God’s set plan[1] for the salvation of mankind through His son Jesus, as an established course to be followed, was fulfilled and done perfectly and obediently by Jesus according to God’s will.[2] Therefore no question, action, or argument, no matter how clever they may be,  can insert doubt or thwart the intended designs of God. God could have chosen something other than the Passion of the Cross to save us. But, there is no way for us to know that. Besides, God being all wise chose this method to emphasize the depravity of sin and the depths of His love.

Why did Jesus come to die for our sins?

Jesus, while on the road to Calvary suffered His passion culminating with His death on the cross. He did this out of mercy to provide salvation for all of us. In so doing, he gave us a physical image indicating God’s Supreme love. The purpose of such genuine love was to reunite mankind with God. His Crucifixion was done out of this love for us in order to atone for all the sins of mankind and render our salvation.

More can be said to this ‘Why’ question. To get a full understanding as to why Jesus would willingly suffer so much, only to end with the painful death by crucifixion, we need to go back to the beginning stories of creation found in Genesis. God’s design for creation was for Him to live in its presence. This would be done especially for the sake of humanity who was destined to be His children. Therefore initially the first humans started out living in perfect unity with Him.

When God created all things, He said, “It is Good.” But on the sixth day, when He creates man he says it is “very Good.”[3]  Two of them he created, Adam and Eve were the intended crowning jewel of God’s creation. As the first humans, they were unique amongst all of God’s other material creatures. Their human essence possessed an animal side but more importantly[MT1] , a soul making them a rational being, endowed with intellect and will. Genesis 1:27 refers to this when it says “God created mankind in His image…” This ‘image or resemblance’ of God endowed man with reasoning, and the ability to know and to love.

To the first humans, created in perfection, God in addition endowed them with gifts or privileges. The two gifts were immunity from death and the other was called the gift of integrity. The gift of integrity allowed them to raise their reason above their animal nature. This allowed their intellect to control their nature and not be subjected to mere animal desires. Having complete self-control their nature worked in harmony and their physical side was subordinate to their higher faculties.[4] As such they were sanctified and had a perfect union with God.

Giving them free will and being raised to a state of sanctifying grace, Adam and Eve could best know God, love God, and be united in an unhindered relationship with God. Thus, completing their perfection as being made “In His Image.” They had the unique privilege of walking with God and were without sin. They had perfect knowledge about what God set before them in a paradise, a place called the Garden of Eden. God provided everything they needed for complete happiness.[5] God, placing all things before them, warns them not to touch or eat the fruit of the ‘Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil’ or they will die.[6]

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[1] Acts 2:23a  23  “[Jesus]….was delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God…”

[2] Mark 7:37a  37  They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well.   ….”

[3] Genesis 1:31

[4] This Tremendous Lover – M. Eugene Boylan, OCR, Christian Classics, 1987. Chapter 1 page 7

[5] Ibid. Chapter 1 Page 9

[6] Genesis 2:17b – For in the day you eat of it you shall die.

Through the gift of sanctifying grace, Adam and Eve were able to freely love God and know of God’s love for them. They also had a sense of complete justice by knowing the ontological essence of creation and knowing how to care for one another. Understanding these points about the creation of Adam and Eve is important to emphasize because of what happens next.

Now “Satan” (the devil) appears as a serpent and temps Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil[1] which was forbidden by God. Satan proposes a lie to them.[2]  Enticed by Satan’s and from their pride Adam and Eve abused their free will by wanting independence from God and to usurp His authority.[3]  Succumbing to temptation they disobey God's command and commit the first sin against God.[4]

Often many people believe that Adam and Eve fell because Satan tricked them. Not true. But Satan did lie to them. Adam and Eve made a clear choice to usurp God’s Authority. Adam knew what was at stake and He thought He could attain his pride-driven intentions and have an independent reality apart from God. Adam knew  His choice would affect His posterity as well. Adam chose to provoke God and in his vanity, he falsely hoped to live apart from unity with God and to have life without sanctifying grace. But nothing can exist outside the will of God and true life comes only from sanctifying grace.

Now sin enters into creation, and it is not some small infraction. It is committed against God therefore the separation and judgment are eternal. Immediately consequence of sin from a finite perspective comes into play. Adam and Eve are now subject to temptation, sin, sickness, and death. They lost sanctifying grace, their perfect union with God, and their ability to know Him. The sin of disobeying God causes a separation because God who is all just, good, knowing, loving, etc. cannot deny himself. Therefore the consequence must be separation from God as a sentence upon Adam and Eve.

God views sin as that which is opposite Him, undermines His intended design, and is opposed to Him. God cannot denigrate to the level of sin in any way. Therefore, God does not see sin from experience(an abject reality against Him). He knows it is there because God sees what is not, that is, what and where His Word should be, is not there. We see this quite clearly when we return to Genesis and continue the story of Man’s fall. We find God calling out to Adam and Eve, “Where are you.”[5] God certainly knew where they were. You cannot fool God. Here, scripture conveys how Adam and Eve originally were seen by God, “in an uninterrupted view, fully united to Him, Pure, unspoiled and holy,” but that is now all gone.

God knows exactly what has happened and is fully aware of what must occur as a result but in essence, he provides the very first move to open a reconciliation with man. When He calls to them, they must answer and confess their sin.

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[1]  Genesis 3: 1-4

[2] Genesis 3:4-5  “You certainly will not die! 5 God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.”

[3] CCC 415

[4] Genesis 3:6-7  6  The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  7  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

[5] Genesis 3:9-11   9  The LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you?  10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.”  11 Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat?

Now the deed was done. Adam had offended the eternal God. How was he going to be able to bridge an eternal gap or rift between him and God? Genesis indicates his first meager attempt, he sews fig leaves together.  The truth of the matter is he could not and was not able to, nor would he ever be able to do so. He and his progeny were doomed. God being pure justice cannot deny Himself by letting sin remain in His presence. Hence man is doomed to death for all eternity. It would not be a death of obliteration into one of none existence, but an eternal separation from God and all that God holds as good.

God, besides being pure justice, is also pure love. How can justice and love be placed on the same plane as an answer to sin? How can God’s Love and Justice be placed on the same side of the eternal scale to outweigh an offense, a sin against an eternal God? Well, the answer comes from God. Remember, God reveals through the Prophet Isaiah, “My ways are higher than yours…. Higher than the heavens.”[1] Immediately God sets forth a plan for unity to be restored between Himself and Adam and his progeny (us).

Beginning with the Proto-Evangelium[2] and then through the course of history, God intervenes to save man from Himself. Then from Abraham, the Jewish people are formed. God would set them apart to be dedicated and serve Him so that his promise may unfold. Using the Jewish people through their patriarchs, prophets, and kings, God’s plan unfolds paving the way for the coming Messiah who would provide salvation for all mankind.

Through all this, there is a growing awareness in man for the need not only for the rift between God and man to be repaired. How is the sin going to be atoned?[3] How can the cost of an eternal death for mankind be repaid? How can the loss of sanctifying grace which is the spiritual life of God himself, be returned to mankind? Judaism never answers these questions, but, Jesus Christ does.

The answer begins to unfold with the birth of Jesus. It unfolds further in His life, through His ministry, and the message of the Gospel, and culminates with His passion and death on the cross. His triumphant glory is revealed in the Resurrection.

It is always God who out of love, initiates reconciliation as something for us to cling to. And so, God bends down towards earth to save us, because we cannot transcend the vast divide between God and Human beings. By Jesus’ life and death, we are given faith, shown love, and are offered sanctifying grace to be transformed. By His resurrection, we are given Hope. Death no longer becomes an option of eternal separation from God. By His death on the Cross, the cost of eternal death is wiped away. The bounty has been paid for our souls. The path to unity with God is restored through His son Jesus.

[1] [1] Isaiah 55:8-9  8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,   nor are your ways my ways—oracle of the LORD. (Thus says the Lord) 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,  so are my ways higher than your ways,  my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

[2]Genesis 3:15  “I will put enmity between you (Satan-the devil) and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They (The woman and her child) will strike at your head (Satan’s head), while you (Satan-the devil) strike at their heel.”

[3] Atonement :  reparation for a wrong or injury  - Synonym: Expiation

Did Jesus “Have to” die?     

             If so why was the suffering and crucifixion necessary?

Did Jesus Have to Die? To initiate a response to this question, it is prudent to yield to the passage from Isaiah 55:8-9 mentioned above. Keep in mind, that mankind’s eternal death was at the forefront of man’s condemnation and his propensity for sin.

The Old Testament (OT) contains the use of sacrifice offered to God. This was in the form of an unblemished animal or a grain or food offering. Sometimes it was symbolic but most of the time it was for atonement by the penitent to mitigate the severity or shorten the response from God upon their sinfulness. Such atonement was neither eternal nor perpetual. Whether instructed by God directly or through His law, its purpose was to help mankind understand their dependence on God for their redemption and spiritual growth.

We see the first notion of sacrifice in Genesis. It occurs immediately after Adam and Eve have sinned. After God has Sentenced them and before He banishes them from the Garden of Eden, He provides clothes for them made from ‘animal’ skin.[1] Where did God get these clothes? Department stores and outlets did not exist. The right conclusion is, that some animals had to be killed for this. This was the first sacrifice, provided and done willfully by God. The clothing offered man protection but is a symbolic foreshadowing of God’s mantle of Salvation. The clothing from the animal in essence was the act of clothing themselves with the sacrifice. Later, within Christianity, Saint Paul instructs us to “Put on Christ.” Christ is our redeeming sacrifice and we are to “put Him on” by way of following God’s will in a Christian lifestyle,

In the OT sacrifices were offered in thanksgiving and would have been instructed by God either directly or through His law. In situations involving sacrifices, God’s hand is directly or indirectly involved. Sin sacrifices reminded the Jewish people that there was a price to be paid for sin. The shadow over sin is death. But here God allows for man to offer a substitution.

Sacrifices in the OT foreshadow the one true sacrifice which would be the fulfillment of all sacrifices both past, present, and future. This sacrifice par excellence would be the sacrifice of God’s Son Jesus on the Cross. God willfully offers up the “Lamb of God” who is Christ as the eternal and perpetual memorial sacrifice for mankind’s sin. God’s mantle of protection is fulfilled in Jesus Christ through whom our sanctification comes. But why was the suffering and crucifixion necessary? Did Jesus need to die such a Horrible death? The short answer is Yes. The prospect of eternal life being lost to man forever was on the line. Besides man’s punitive death sentence, there was also man’s obligation of redemption attached to his sin. Sin, In all its forms, is truly ugly.

Therefore, Jesus allowed himself to be handed over for our salvation and as a display. True there was a display of all His Holiness, grace, and love. But if we had been there and at first glance witnessed His sentence and execution played out before us in real time, the horror would have grabbed our attention immediately. Along with His Passion and death on the cross, accompanied the Horrible display of Sin with Him. Although Christ was sinless[2], it is said he took upon himself the sins of the world.[3] Although it was our sins Christ took to the Cross, it was our ugly Guilt of Sin that was on display[4] during His Passion.

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[1] Genesis 3:21  The LORD God made for the man and his wife garments of skin, with which he clothed them.

[2] 1 Peter 2:22   He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

[3] 1 Peter 2:24   He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.

[4] Isaiah 53:6  We had all gone astray like sheep,  all following our own way;  But the LORD laid upon him  the guilt of us all.

Jesus’ death allows us a glimpse of the horror of Sin. In all its guile, sin is hideous, appalling, gruesome, grotesque, offensive, vile, abhorrent, repugnant, evil, repulsive, and on and on! The face of His passion is given to us for our sake, otherwise, we fall into the timeless error of trivializing sin or even worse, saying that there is no sin! Jesus suffered betrayal, abandonment, maledictions by pagans, curses from his kinsmen, the brutality that disfigured him, the loss of dignity, injustice, mockery, unspeakable horrifying pain, and loss of His health and as God, He allowed for this. He gave up everything. Even in the end, he would give up any comfort from His Father when He cried out “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”[1]

His mission was to demonstrate God’s Love. He Himself said. “ Greater love has no man than to lay his life down for another.”[2]

What is the meaning of His (Jesus’) death?

God is the source of all existence. All creation comes from God. Without God, things would cease to exist. Now there is a difference between existence and life, in an immediate sense true life in God. Life is a deliberate and collaborative form of existence. A rock exists. A plant, animal, or human not only exists, they are alive. God gives life. In the case of mankind, He gives life not only to our physical nature but also to our soul. We know in the physical world, to separate life from its source results in a physical death. Man has a soul. Its life source is dependent on God. Separation from God results in death(A spiritual death).

A spiritual death is not an obliteration. In other words, your soul is never annihilated, even in Hell. This death is not extinction but an eternal “existence” without God. In other words a living death for all eternity. It is an existence without faith, hope, or love.  How horrible! God in His divine justice allowed for Christ’s death on the Cross thus offering His divine mercy which is love. Our appeal to God through His Son Jesus Christ is to cling to the salvation Jesus won for us. If only we grasp the opportunity which is given to choose while still on earth.

Since Jesus is eternal, the payment He rendered through His sacrifice and death for our sake is limitless. Due to His divinity, His action becomes eternal and stretches beyond all bounds of time and space. Jesus paid the price where His death replaces the necessary outcome of sin which is eternal death. The death of Jesus is a replacement for our eternal death. In walking with Christ we die to self[3] and yield toward life in Him[4] so that we may be raised to Him.[5]

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[1] Matthew 27:46  And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”  which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This quote from Christ on the cross recalls Psalm 22

[2] John15:13

[3] Galatians 2:19-20 “…..that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; 20  yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.”

[4] 2 Timothy 2:11   This saying is trustworthy:  If we have died with him  we shall also live with him;

[5] Romans 6:8  If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. 

&  Colossians 3:1  If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.