Park Slope's Pastor Daniel Meeter of Old First Church asked five people why Jesus had to die. He got five different answers and the sermon is on his blog, Old First.
One guy said, "Because it was that
bad." Boom. That simple. We’ve made that much of a mess. The situation
is extreme so the solution is extreme.
bad." Boom. That simple. We’ve made that much of a mess. The situation
is extreme so the solution is extreme.
If
God so loves the world, and if Jesus is in solidarity with the world,
then he does not exempt himself from how bad it is. He enters it, he
goes with it. What the world gets, he gets. What victims get, he gets.
What criminals get, he gets. What innocents get, he gets. He gets it
all because it is that bad.
God so loves the world, and if Jesus is in solidarity with the world,
then he does not exempt himself from how bad it is. He enters it, he
goes with it. What the world gets, he gets. What victims get, he gets.
What criminals get, he gets. What innocents get, he gets. He gets it
all because it is that bad.
A second person
told me that the reason Jesus had to die is because sin costs. Sin
costs and somebody has to pay. The world is built that way. The payment
for sin is a sacrifice. And sacrifice in general is not something added
to the world. Sacrifice is built into the world…
told me that the reason Jesus had to die is because sin costs. Sin
costs and somebody has to pay. The world is built that way. The payment
for sin is a sacrifice. And sacrifice in general is not something added
to the world. Sacrifice is built into the world…
…A third person told me that Jesus had to die as the ultimate gesture of
God’s sincerity. It was the ultimate test of God’s credibility, God’s
commitment, it is God’s pledge to us. "This is how far I am willing to
go for you."
Determine never to be idle….It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.
He died because he was and is a false Mesiah. He suffered the fate of all false Mesiahs.