Why Did Jesus Have to Die?
Jesus Christ was sent to this world by God, the Father, to show the world how to live. He was sent to be an example for us of how to please and imitate God daily (Eph. 5:1). All He did while on this earth was serve God by doing God's Will (Matt. 5:16; 4:10). He went about continually doing good (Acts 10:38).
At the end, He made the ultimate sacrifice. He laid down His life for the world. He humbled Himself to the point of being tortured, beaten and battered because He stood up for what was right. He knew he had to be the ultimate example.
He loved us so much, that He died for us that we would receive forgiveness for our sins, should we repent and live the life He came to show us (1 Peter 1:2). We would also receive His Holy Spirit so we could overcome (Acts 5:32). We are to no longer live disgraceful lives before our Maker, but we are to overcome the evil in our lives by doing good (Rom. 12:21; 1 Peter 3:10-11; Rev. 2:26). For it is written, "Sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace (Rom. 6:14).
Christ is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2; 4:10). That means, through Jesus Christ we are able to return to God and have a good personal relationship with Him, even though we have sin. Through Jesus Christ's blood, our sins are forgiven.
Why does there have to be blood to cover sins? According to the word of God, without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb. 9:22). Before Jesus, God's people were under the Law of Moses. Whenever they sinned, they had to bring sacrifices to the altar. Once a year, the high priest would take the blood of an animal into the holy place and offer it for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance (Heb. 9:7).
Jesus Christ is the better sacrifice, for with the sacrifice of His life, He entered heaven to appear before God for us (Heb. 9:23-24). He didn't need to die a number of times, just once. He put away sin for all time because He showed us, by His actions, that we, too, can overcome sin in our bodies and become brand new creatures who want to serve God by serving others daily (Heb. 2:17-18). We only need to believe the words of Jesus Christ and then act on them daily (John 3:36).
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