†Jesus bore the sins of mankind, thus he took the pain and suffering resulted from the punishment accorded to us (mankind). He’s presenting himself to God as sinful mankind who was punished on a cross because of our sins. Prophet Isaiah foretold about the suffering Messiah, to quote;
[Isaiah 53:4-6] “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all”
[Isaiah 53:12] “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors”
COMMENT: The above verses foretell the fate of Jesus, who will become the bearer of our sins and taker of our punishment. He will become the intercessor between God and sinful mankind. Jesus though God in spirit, did not use his divine power to his advantage, instead he showed so much humility and used his humanity in going through worldly suffering. Consider the verses below;
[Philippians 2:5-8] Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider to be equal with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, having taken the form of a servant, having been made in the likeness of men. And having been found in appearance as a man He humbled Himself, having become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
†Jesus had authority on himself but he intentionally gave up his human life so as to redeem mankind, as he said;
[John 10:18] “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
†Right after the fall of the first man, God had set up a plan to destroy Satan’s work. He said to the Serpent Satan;
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” [Genesis 3:15].
COMMENT: This promised seed was fulfilled in Jesus who’s born to a woman (Mary). The reason why Jesus was sent by God is to destroy the devil’s work through his death. So that in Jesus death, he might deliver us from the power of death inflicted by Satan. Kindly read;
“He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” [1 John 3:8]
“Since then the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” [Hebrews 2:14-15]
†All people sinned [Micah 7:2], therefore all people should be sentenced to death physically and spiritually since the penalty of sin is death. But because God so loved the world (John 3:16), He saved it by sending forth a spirit from Him (the Son) and dwelt in a man (Jesus) to obey the commandment accorded to humanity. Jesus presented himself as an atonement for sin like a sacrificial lamb. Only righteous or sinless man can enter into Heaven, but how can we be righteous if we are sinners since birth [Psalm 58:3]? A sinner cannot reconnect to the glory of God by himself. God looked for a sinless or holy man to be the reason He would not destroy mankind, but He had found no one [Ezekiel 22:30 & Isaiah 59:16]. Because God so loved mankind, He sent forth a spirit from Him and came down to Earth to take a human body (Psalm 104:30, Psalm 107:20, & John 6:38). This man obeyed the commandments of God perfectly and went through worldy suffering so that mankind won’t perish [Psalm 73:27]. Jesus bore our iniquities and died on our behalf so that we can become righteous and justified in the eyes of God the Father through him [Romans 3:25-26]. By Jesus’ suffering and anguish on the cross, God’s wrath becomes pacified;
“As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities” [Isaiah 53:11]
†Jesus was following the will of the Father, his fate was already foretold in the Scriptures thousand years before his birth. In fact his last word was, “it is finished” [John 19:30], referring to the fulfillment of the prophecies about him. Kindly check this speech of Jesus to his apostles after his resurrection;
“These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” [Luke 24:44]
†Mankind became separated from God thus they lost their everlasting life. Sinlessness means everlasting life while sinfulness means death, thus we are dead already because of sin. But through the resurrection of Jesus we can also be resurrected, all we have to do is to believe in his saving work and follow his will.
†Why is it that the spirit of God needed to dwell in a human body in order to save us mankind? The answer is;
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead” [1 Corinthians 15:21]
For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. [Romans 5:19]
†Only the human body of Jesus which was killed, but his spirit wasn’t. Even us ordinary humans, Satan cannot kill our souls. Only God can kill spirits including the spirit of Satan.
[Matthew 10:28] Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
†Why Jesus did not use his divine power to stop or skip the test of life? If Jesus avoided the wordly suffering, that is a cheating. How could he become righteous or sinless if he is a cheater? How could his saving work be qualified? The mission of Jesus was to obey the law perfectly, in this manner he saved mankind.
†Is the Father unfair by allowing Jesus to be killed? Nope, for He exalted Jesus to the highest place in return.
[Psalm 89:27] “And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth”
[Isaiah 52:13] “Behold, My Servant will act wisely; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted”
[Hebrews 2:9] “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone”
[Philippians 2:9-11] “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”
∼ο∼
2 thoughts on “Why Jesus Died If He’s God?”