Why Jesus Christ Died

Q: What does the Bible say about why Jesus Christ died?

Jesus Christ died to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies and to provide eternal redemption for His people. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ's death on the cross was the culmination of God's redemptive plan, fulfilling the promises and typology found in the Old Testament. As it states in Romans 14:9, Christ died and arose to be Lord of both the dead and the living, indicating His sovereign authority over all creation. His sacrificial death was not only a means of atonement for sin but also an act that satisfied God's justice and enabled Him to justly justify believers. Through His blood, we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins, as Peter affirms in 1 Peter 3:18, highlighting that Christ died the just for the unjust to bring us to God.

Q: How do we know that Christ's sacrifice is sufficient?

Christ's one sacrifice is sufficient because it perfectly fulfills all Old Testament requirements and offers eternal redemption. The sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice is underscored throughout Scripture, particularly in Hebrews 9:11-12, which emphasizes that Christ, as our great high priest, entered the heavenly holy place with His own blood, obtaining eternal redemption for us. Unlike the repetitive sacrifices of the Old Testament, which could never take away sins, Christ's single offering perfected forever those who are sanctified. This demonstrates that His death satisfies every requirement of God's law and justice, offering a complete, unassailable means of reconciliation between God and humanity. As the writer of Hebrews notes, after Christ's sacrificial work, He sat down at the right hand of God, signifying that His redemptive work is finished.

Q: Why is Jesus Christ's role as High Priest important?

Jesus Christ’s role as the High Priest is crucial because He mediates between God and humanity and secures eternal redemption. The role of Jesus as our High Priest is vital in the framework of salvation because He uniquely fulfills the requirements of priesthood set forth in the Old Testament. As noted in Hebrews 4:14, we have a great high priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Unlike the earthly high priests who offered sacrifices repeatedly, Christ offered His own life as a one-time sacrifice, entering into the true holy of holies in heaven. His blood atonement not only covers the sins of His people but also makes it possible for them to be brought into a restored relationship with God. This mediatorial role is essential, as it is through Christ that believers can approach God's throne of grace with confidence.

Q: What does redemption through Christ mean?

Redemption through Christ means being delivered from sin and reconciled to God through His sacrificial death. Redemption is a central theme in Christian theology, highlighting how Jesus Christ’s death accomplishes liberation from sin and its consequences. As stated in Galatians 4:4-5, God sent His Son to redeem those under the law. This signifies that through Christ’s redemptive work, believers are not only forgiven but are also transformed into a new creation, free from the penalty of sin. Moreover, it demonstrates God's intention to claim a people for His own, who are zealous for good works as a response to such grace. Accordingly, redemption illustrates the depth of God's grace and mercy, as it perfectly reconciles His justice with His love.

I'm going to speak to you today
on this subject. Why did Jesus Christ die on the
cross? Now, let's look carefully at
this subject. Let's study a little bit. Go
to school and learn some things. If you listen very carefully,
I believe you'll learn some vital facts today that you need to
learn. Now, many of you know this, that
the Old Testament scriptures In the Old Testament scriptures,
salvation is promised, and it's prophesied, and it's pictured,
and it's typified. That is, in the Old Testament,
the believer, those who believed in God and who believed in redemption,
they built a tabernacle, they built a temple, they ordained
priests, and they offered blood sacrifices. But none of these
things could put away sin. Sins were not put away by these
sacrifices and ceremonies and special days and priests. Sin was not put away by these
things, but these people were saved by believing in the Christ,
in the Redeemer who would come and fulfill all of these promises
and prophecies and patterns by his life and his death. Do you
see what I'm saying? In other words, none of these
sacrifices, none of these priests, none of these ceremonies or laws
or atonements could remove sin. None of these things could effectually
remove sin because Paul wrote in Hebrews then they would have
ceased to be offered. If they could put away sin, the
comers, the people who came by these sacrifices would have no
more conscience of sin. But he wrote this, it's not possible
that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. Now do
you understand that? Most people know that. The Old
Testament ceremonies and ordinances and sacrifices and priesthood
and laws couldn't put away sin. These people weren't saved. by
doing these things, by offering these sacrifices. But they were
saved by looking to the coming Christ who would fulfill all
of these sacrifices. And these special days and sacrifices
and high priests and so forth stood in the place of Christ
till he should come. You see that? In other words,
in the Old Testament, throughout the Old Testament, Three things. Now listen to this carefully.
Three things were vital to acceptance before God and atonement for
sin. Three things were vital. First of all, there was a tabernacle. There was a tabernacle made.
Most of you are familiar with the tabernacle in the wilderness. Moses received directions from
God on the mountain. as to how he should build this
tabernacle. Now this tabernacle is where
God met men and where men met God. There were two sections
of the tabernacle. The outer, there was a holy place
and the holy of holies separated by the veil. And in the holy
of holies was the mercy seat and the ark. And there the Shekinah
glory of God was on the mercy seat between the cherubim. And
there God met men And men met God. It was a tabernacle. That's
where the atonement was offered. That's where the sacrifices were
made. That's where the mercy seat remained. And that's where
the glory of God was revealed in that tabernacle. Now, secondly,
there was always a high priest. Now, there were many priests.
They went about the sacrifices 365 days a year, seven days a
week, morning sacrifice, noon sacrifice, evening sacrifice.
There were many priests. But there was just one great
high priest, one great high priest. And this high priest, this great
high priest wore the robe. He wore the mitre, holiness to
the Lord. He wore the breastplate upon
which was engraved the names of the children of Israel. And
this great high priest was ordained by God from among men. No man
took this office on himself, but the one whom God chose. And
this great high priest, was the only one who was allowed to come
once a year, no more, once a year, under the veil, into the Holy
of Holies, before the ark, before the mercy seat, and there sprinkle
the blood on behalf of the people whose names he wore on his breastplate. That was called the atonement.
And the high priest offered it. Now are you with me? Now understand
what I'm saying. You just must understand this.
God has never saved people one way, and that's by his son, Jesus
Christ. And these people in the Old Testament,
they had Christ in promise, Christ in prophecy, Christ in pattern. And these things that I'm talking
about were the patterns and the types. Now, I said there were
three things necessary to coming before God, three things necessary
for an atonement for sin, the tabernacle, where God met men
and men met God, the high priest, who was the mediator, who represented
men to God and who represented God to men. But he came into
that Holy of Holies once a year with a blood sacrifice, with
a blood sacrifice, not without blood, it's distinctly says that,
into the Holy of Holies, into the holy place, went the high
priest alone. alone. Remember that. Once again,
there to offer atonement for the sins of the people and for
his own sin without the shedding of blood. There's no remission.
Now, all of these things were patterns. They were pictures
of things in the heavens to be fulfilled when Christ came. Now,
here's the fulfillment of these things. Now, will you listen
carefully? Here's the fulfillment. In the fullness of time, Christ
came. God gave His Son. And Christ
Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world, and He tabernacled
among us. That's what it says in John 1.
It says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. And all things were made by Him.
Without Him was not anything made. And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us. That word is tabernacle. He tabernacled
among us. God was in Christ. It is in Christ
that God meets men and men meet God. You see, He's our tabernacle. He tabernacled among us. He's
the fulfillment of that Old Testament tabernacle, Christ Jesus the
Lord. The presence of God dwelt in
that tabernacle, the Shekinah glory of God over the mercy seat.
God has set forth His Son to be a mercy seat, a propitiation. And God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself. Christ is where God meets men,
and men meet God. He's our tabernacle. Now, what
about our priest? He's our great high priest. Hebrews
9, 11 says this, listen, but Christ being come, a high priest
of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle that
is not one made with hands, But a body hath thou prepared me
Christ is our high priest Hebrews 4 14 says this seeing then That
we have a great high priest who is passed into the heavens Jesus
Christ the Son of God Now let's go back just a moment. You know,
one of the things one of the ways to teach is repetition And
I don't want to keep repeating but remember back in the Old
Testament. There was a tabernacle There
God met men and men met God. His glory dwelt upon the mercy
seat. There was a great high priest,
only one, who came once a year into the Holy of Holies before
the mercy seat to sprinkle the blood, representing the people.
And there was a blood atonement. There was a blood sacrifice.
Real blood. He sprinkled the book, he sprinkled
the tabernacle, he sprinkled the people, he sprinkled the
mercy seat. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission.
Now all of that's a picture. These people who did these things
faithfully looked to Christ who would tabernacle among us and
be our great high priest. Now watch this. What about the
blood sacrifice? By his own blood, Hebrews 9 says,
by his own blood, he entered in once, not into the temple
in Jerusalem, not into the tabernacle in the wilderness, into heaven
itself. You see that? By his own blood,
he entered once into the holy place, into heaven itself, having
obtained eternal redemption for us." There you have it. That's
the way we come to God. Men have always... Abel came
to God by the blood. Abraham came to God by the blood.
Aaron came to God by the blood. And you'll come to God the same
way. We have a tabernacle. It's Christ. We have a great
high priest, it's Christ. Seeing we have a great high priest,
let us come boldly before the throne of grace. And we have
a blood atonement. And right here, in two verses,
the fulfillment of all the Old Testament pattern of redemption
is right here in these two verses. The tabernacle, the priest, and
the sacrifice right here in Hebrews 9, 11, 12. You ought to mark
that in your Bible. You write it down, go back and
read it again. Here's the whole story. But Christ being come,
a high priest, remember I said we got to have a high priest,
of good things to come, the promises of God, the prophecies of God,
by a greater and more perfect tabernacle. Remember I said there
must be a tabernacle? Not made with hands, not one
that Moses designed and the children of Israel erected, but by his
own body. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood He entered once. There are not
many sacrifices, just one. There are not many atonements
now, there's just one. There were many in the Old Testament
because they could never put away sin. And there was a remembrance
of sin made every year because the sacrifice was made over and
over and over again. But Christ, by one sacrifice,
has perfected forever them that are sanctified. By His own blood,
He entered once into the holy place having obtained eternal
redemption for us. Hebrews 9.24, listen. For Christ
is not entered into the holy place made with hands, that's
the earthly tabernacle, which is a picture of the true. Isn't
that what I've been saying? Christ is not entered into the
holy place made with hands, which is a picture of the true, but
into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
Now then, when our great high priest, Jesus Christ, who was
made in the likeness of sinful flesh, who took upon himself
the form of a servant, who was obedient unto death, yea, even
the death of the cross, when he died on that cross, in that
body which God the Father prepared, when our great high priest tabernacled
among us and shed his blood, the blood from that body which
God prepared, He fulfilled, He fulfilled every promise all the
way back to Adam, the seed of woman. He fulfilled every type,
the Passover, the rock, the manna, the Sabbath, the priesthood. He fulfilled every type and every
pattern and every picture. When He died, He satisfied every
law. When he died, he honored God's
justice. When he died, he fulfilled every
requirement. He paid for every sin of every
believer. He honored God's justice and
he could triumphantly say, what did he say when he died? It is
finished. It is finished. All Old Testament
prophecies, pictures, patterns, types, Sacrifices, ceremonies,
feast days, Sabbath days, the priesthood, it is finished. Every requirement God made upon
us, every law God gave us, it is finished. Redemption is finished. It is done. No more Passover.
No more high priesthood. No more uniforms and robes. No more sacrifices. No more. No more burning of incenses.
No more Sabbath days. It is finished. It is finished. He taketh away the first, the
first types and pictures and patterns, and establishes the
second. I Peter 3.18, For Christ also
hath once, not many times, once suffered for sin, the just or
the unjust that He might bring us to God. Who does it? He does. When He had by Himself purged
our sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. Do you know
how significant it is when the Bible says Christ sat down? If
you study the Old Testament tabernacle in the temple, there were no
chairs, no seats, no benches. Those priests never sat down
when they were going about their duties and responsibilities.
You know why they never sat down? Their work was never done. If
they were in that tabernacle at any time or in that courtyard
rendering the service of God and the atonement, they never
sat down because their atonements and their sacrifices were never
effectual. Christ! After he had accomplished
our redemption by one sacrifice, sat down at the right hand of
God. He entered into his rest, having
finished what the Father gave him to do. Nothing can be added,
nothing need be added, because God was in Christ, reconciling
the world under himself. Do you see that picture? That's
what the Old Testament says someone is coming. The New says he has
come. He's fulfilled the whole thing.
Now, I want to take, briefly, seven Scriptures and show you
what Christ accomplished when He died, why He died on that
cross, and what He accomplished. Now, if you don't want to turn
rapidly to these Scriptures, because I don't have very much
longer, if you don't want to, then write them down and study
them later, or else write for the tape. And our tape director
will send it to you, and you can listen to it again and study
it more fully. Now, here's the first Scripture.
Why did Christ die? Why all this? First of all, Romans
14, 9. For to this end, Christ both
died and arose. Now, that's to this end, for
this purpose, to this goat, that he might be Lord. both of the
dead and the living. That's why he died, that he might
be Lord. By his death, Jesus Christ purchased
the whole universe. He is King of kings and Lord
of lords. He is the Lord of the church
and he is the Lord of the dead. He is the Lord of his people.
He is the Lord of the rebels. He's the Lord of the dead. He's
the Lord of the living. God turned all things over to
him. Jesus Christ bought the world. To this end, Christ died
and arose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead
and the living. In John 17, 2, he says, Thou
hast given me authority over all flesh. In Matthew 28, 18,
he said, All authority is given to me in heaven and earth. Philippians
2, 9 and 11 talks about his death Wherefore God hath exalted him,
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name. That is, the name of Jesus every
knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord. He is the sovereign Lord of heaven
and earth and of all creatures by decree, by design, and by
death. And all judgment is committed
to the Son. And the question is not, Will
you let Jesus be your Lord? That's not the issue. He is your
Lord. He is your Lord. God made Him
your Lord. And He was made your Lord when
He died. He bought you. He bought every
creature. He bought the world. He bought
the universe. He bought all things. And the
Father hath given all things into the hands of the Son in
His death. Secondly, Galatians 4, 4 through
5. But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his
Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were
under the law, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sin." Why did he die? He died to redeem
his people. You see, by man came death, by
man came life. In Adam we died, in Christ we're
made alive. God made one man, Adam, and all
mankind was represented in that one man, in him and by him. When
he sinned, death, judgment, condemnation came upon all men by representation
in Adam. Jesus Christ became a man, born
of a woman, made under the law, and he obeyed the law and died
under the curse of the law, thereby redeeming all whom he represented. As we have borne the image of
the earthy, we shall bear the image of the heaven. By man came
death, by man came life, and he died that he might redeem
his people. Thirdly, Galatians 1 forward.
Listen, Christ gave himself for us that he might deliver us from
this present evil world according to the will of God our Father,
that he might deliver us. My friends, there are two kingdoms.
There's a kingdom of this world. There's a kingdom of God's dear
Son. The kingdom of this world is under the wrath and judgment
of God, like the world in the day of Noah, like Sodom in the
days of Lot. It'll be destroyed. The kingdom
of God is eternal, and Jesus Christ came to deliver us. from this present evil world
and translate us into his kingdom called the kingdom of God's dear
Son. That's why he died. All right? Fourthly, I Peter 3, 18, listen,
Christ died, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us
to God. You know, when one considers
how holy God is, have you ever... actually considered how holy
God is, how infinitely, immaculately, majestically holy God is, how
far removed and above us God is. And when we consider how
sinful we are, how wicked, how evil in our thoughts, words,
deeds, how evil we are in our imagination, then the question
arises, well, who among us can ascend to the hill of the Lord.
Who's going to stand in His holy presence? David said, If thou,
Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, who will stand? There's but one
answer, and that's why Christ died. He's that answer. It's
not found in the law. It's not found in the church.
It's not found in our works. It's found in that person, that
one mediator, Jesus Christ. who died for us, who fulfilled
all that God requires of us, demands of us, commands of us,
that he might what? Bring us to God. Bring us to
God. When that old high priest entered
the holy place and under the veil and came there into the
presence of the Shekinah glory of God with that blood and sprinkled
it on that mercy seat, he was bringing those people And that's
a type and picture of Christ who, with his own blood, entered
into the holiest of all, into heaven itself, and brought us
to God, brought us to God. He's one mediator between God
and me and the man Christ Jesus. Romans 3.25, God has set forth
his Son to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. to
declare God's righteousness, that God may be both just and
justifier of those who believe in Christ. Did you hear what
I read? Jesus Christ died for us. That's right. He did something
for us. He put away our sins, He justified us, He redeemed
us, He cleansed our sins, He covered our sins, He was a propitiation,
but He did something for God. When Christ died, He did something
for us, everything, but He did something for God. In the death
of Christ is revealed the holiness of God, the righteousness of
God. And when He took our place and
died our death and bore our sins, He enabled a holy God to be just
and justify you and me. You see, the law's got to be
fulfilled, and we can't fulfill it. Justice says the soul that's
in it, it must die. And how are we going to die?
We'd have to go to hell to die. We'd have to be separated from
God. So Jesus Christ literally actually came here, the just,
the just one, for all the unjust. to bring us to God. God can't
accept us like we are. No, but He covered us in His
righteousness and washed us in His blood and paid for our sins. And when He takes us to God in
Himself, we don't have any sins. In Christ, there is no sin. You
see that? That's why He died. And then
in the next place, Titus 2.14, He gave Himself for us. that
he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify under himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. He died, Paul said in II Corinthians
5.15, that we should not henceforth live to ourselves, but unto him
who died for us. The Lord Jesus in his death not
only put away our sins and justified us before God, but he by his
Spirit made us a new creature. He gave us a new heart. We not
only have a perfect standing before God in Christ, but we
have a new nature. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. And God's people are a holy people,
an honest people, a loving people. They delight in the commandments
of their God, and they live for His glory, and they manifest
through their lives the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace,
patience, meekness, kindness, gentleness, moderation. They
manifest these things. They're new creatures. He did
something for us. All right, in the last place,
Ephesians 2, 7, Christ died and redeemed us that in the ages
to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus. God's going to show us off someday
as trophies of His grace and goodness.

Why Jesus Christ Died

What does the Bible say about why Jesus Christ died?

How do we know that Christ's sacrifice is sufficient?

Why is Jesus Christ's role as High Priest important?

What does redemption through Christ mean?

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Why Jesus Christ Died

What does the Bible say about why Jesus Christ died?

How do we know that Christ's sacrifice is sufficient?

Why is Jesus Christ's role as High Priest important?

What does redemption through Christ mean?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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