Why did Christ die on the cross?

Harvest Online ^ | 3/1/04 | Greg Laurie

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> The Power of The Passion
> Why Did ChristDie on the Cross?
> Sharing the Gospel of The Passion
> Why the Passion Moves Us

Why Did Christ Die on the Cross?

by Pastor Greg Laurie
I heard the true story of a woman who was looking at crosses in a jewelry store. As the jeweler showed her various ones, she commented, "I like these, but do you have any that don't have this little man on them?"

That is what people want today: A cross without Jesus. A cross without any offense. But how many people know what the cross really means? If we could be transported back in time and see the cross in its original context, we would realize that it was a bloody and vile symbol. It was the worst picture imaginable to see someone hanging on a cross.

Although crucifixion didn't originate with the Romans, certainly they crucified more people than any other kingdom in history. Thousands of people were put to death on Roman crosses. The Romans chose crucifixion because it was meant to be a slow, torturous, and painful way to die. To die by crucifixion was essentially to die by suffocation. As the one condemned to die hung from the spikes thrust through his feet and hands, he would not be able to get air into his lungs. A small footrest at the base of the cross would enable the crucified to push himself up, get a gulp of air, and then sink back down again. Crucifixion was not designed to bring about a quick death; it was designed to humiliate a person.

Of course, Jesus knew from the very beginning that He had come to this earth to die for the sins of humanity. He also knew that He would make this sacrifice on a Roman cross. If there had been any other way, do you think that God would have sent His Son to suffer like this? If there had been any other way we could have been forgiven, then God surely would have found it. If living a good moral life would get us to heaven, then Jesus would have never died on the cross for us. But He did die, because there was and is no other way. He had to pay the price for our sin.

It all began in the Garden of Eden. Because Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit when God had said, "In the day you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17 NKJV), they not only faced physical death, but spiritual death as well. When Adam and Eve sinned, in principle, we all sinned (see Romans 5:12). Sin is like an infectious disease that has spread throughout humanity. We were all born with it.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to sin? We don't need to be taught how to sin, but we must be taught how to do right. We must teach a child manners, but we don't need to teach a child how to sin. It comes down to this: We are not sinners because we sin; rather, we sin because we are sinners. No matter how moral or religious we are, we still sin.

This is where the cross comes in, because we were separated from a holy and perfect God by our sin. But God loved us so much that He became a man and walked among us and went to a cross and died in our place and paid the price for every sin that we have ever committed.

The Bible says that when Jesus died on that cross, He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. At the cross, Jesus dealt a decisive blow against Satan and his demon powers. At the cross, Jesus purchased the salvation of the world. This message is so deep and profound that you could spend the rest of your life studying it and still not grasp its full significance. Yet it is so simple that even a child can understand it. Still, many people do not understand the significance of what took place on that Roman cross 2,000 years ago. Jesus died so that we might live.

If ever you are tempted to doubt God's love for you, then take a long look at the cross. It wasn't the spikes that held Jesus there. It was His love for you.

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[txzman]

This writer forget that many believers look at Christ on a necklace as an idol - that is why many wear only the cross. Granted, many others just buy it as jewelry.

[smith288]

That is what people want today: A cross without Jesus. A cross without any offense.

Not really. Protestants like the empty cross as it shows Christ has risen from death.

[Preachin']

For some, the empty cross is a picture of the believer taking up his own cross, and following Christ.

I think we Christians spend too much time looking at the cross, and we need to get on our own.

[ClearCase_guy]

I felt the same way. There is nothing wrong with wanting a simple cross. However, the woman's wording was most peculiar: "Something without the little man."

I think she was buying a decoration, and may not have known beans about Christianity.

[PleaseNoMore]

If ever you are tempted to doubt God's love for you, then take a long look at the cross. It wasn't the spikes that held Jesus there. It was His love for you.

Amen.

[JustPlainJoe]

My take on those necklaces is, He's no longer on the cross; He conquered it and death for us - so take him off.

[Aquinasfan]

Jesus didn't have to die this way. God could have redeemed us in any manner of ways. Christ's death on the cross is ultimately a mystery, but we can attempt some explanations.

What is deeply consoling to me is that I can know that my Creator knows the meaning of suffering. He understands our suffering. Suffering can't be without meaning if He allowed His Son to suffer so.

Christ's incredible suffering also gives us an idea of the importance of evil and the great debt that we owe God for our sins committed against him, helping us to be thankful for His mercy.

Intellectually, we can understand that God allows evil so that greater good may come of it, as Christ's horrible death demonstrates.

[ex-snook]

"Why Did Christ Die on the Cross? "

He was lifted up so that He would rise from the dead and conquer death and sin. Our Passover from death into life.

No greater love than to lay down one's life. By His death and resurrection He has saved the world. Thank you Jesus.

[Theo]

Isn't it really unimportant whether a piece of jewelry has a "little man" on it or not? Catholics have their crucifix with Jesus hanging on it; Protestants have their cross with Jesus having already been raised from the dead.

It ultimately doesn't matter what that jewelry has on it.

It's not "either-or" -- it's "both-and." Jesus died on the cross as a sufficient sacrifice. It's good to remember what he did there. That is the only thing Christians are encouraged to "boast" in. At the same time, Jesus is alive, the Holy Spirit is among us, we worship a living God.

This "crucifix/cross" discussion is ultimately pretty meaningless. Let's get beyond it and agree that Jesus' sufferings on the cross are a powerful message of the wrath and love of God, and his being raised from the dead is an encouragement, a demonstration of his victory over death, a promise of our future....

[anniegetyourgun]

"Christ's incredible suffering also gives us an idea of the importance of evil and the great debt that we owe God for our sins committed against him, helping us to be thankful for His mercy."

I hope it causes us to realize we can't possible pay the debt we owe. Only then will we put our trust in His finished work upon that cross to deliver us to the uttermost. It's all of Him, and none of us.

[anniegetyourgun]

"If living a good moral life would get us to heaven, then Jesus would have never died on the cross for us."

And yet, so many still think they can get there from here.

[Theo]

This thread is so full of rich doctine. What a wonderful morning encouragement. I feel like I'm reading my morning devotions! :-)

[Agnes Heep]

The answer may lie in this script from the Black Adder episode "Potato":

Blackadder: No, me; *I'm* the people who do all the work. I mean *look* at this! [goes to a table at the side of the room and picks up a small brown thing and holds it up] *What* is it?

Baldrick: Oh, I'm surprised you've forgotten, my lord.

Blackadder: I haven't forgotten; it's a rhetorical question.

Baldrick: [looking at him] No, it's a potato.

Blackadder: To you it's a potato, to me it's a potato. But to Sir Walter Bloody Raleigh it's country estates, fine carriages, and as many girls as his tongue can cope with. He's making a fortune out of the things; people are smoking them, building houses out of them... They'll be eating them next.

[Lion in Winter]

I agree with you. It does not matter if the image of Christ is on the cross or not.

All that really matters is that we embrace the cross just as Christ did as he struggled with it on His way to save us from our sinful ways.

In the movie, one of the thieves says to Him as He takes His cross... "don't embrace the cross!"

Well, it looked on the screen like He did embrace the cross almost lovingly.... well, now that I think about it.... IT WAS LOVINGLY, WASN'T IT?

[reasonseeker]

"If there had been any other way, do you think that God would have sent His Son to suffer like this? If there had been any other way we could have been forgiven, then God surely would have found it."

Of course there were infinite other ways, since God is a being of infinite possibilities. And God doesn't need to "find" any other ways, He just "knows." If this is not so, then God is not really omnipotent, nor is He omniscient, but rather limited by the minds and actions of human beings. God gave us free will, you say? Then He can just as easily take it away, so it's not really free if it can be revoked at any time, especially if God has a "plan." If God can't revoke free will, then He's not really omnipotent. Who is responsible for Jesus' death? The Jews, the Romans, all of us? It was God who planned his own Son's death as the "only" way. But as a being of infinite possibilities, it couldn't have been the "only" way. He chose to revoke the free will of human beings in order to accomplish this. Had people exercised their free will and NOT crucified Jesus, it would have been in opposition to God's Will. Jesus had to die horribly, because that's what God wanted.

[A.A. Cunningham]

A cross without the corpus of Christ is the symbol of ancient, pagan Rome and as Saint Paul wrote:

"But we preach Christ crucified: unto the Jews indeed a stumbling lock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness: But unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God." 1 Corinthians 1:23-24

[Caipirabob]

Why Did Christ Die on the Cross?

The message just wouldn't have been the same if he died on a "La-Z-Boy".

[B4Ranch]

The standard reply in Hollywood today is, "Because He would get so much free advertising."

[Aquinasfan]

I hope it causes us to realize we can't possible pay the debt we owe. Only then will we put our trust in His finished work upon that cross to deliver us to the uttermost. It's all of Him, and none of us.

Amen.