Creator, Father, King #232

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED why Jesus had to suffer and die? When you think about the horrors of the Crucifixion, have you considered if God could’ve dealt with humanity’s sins another way?

After all, Jesus went to a lot of trouble on our behalf—and that’s putting it mildly. Christ’s incarnation was a miracle of universal proportions that changed the course of human history and continues to stretch the bounds of our comprehension.

But Jesus also suffered greatly to forgive our sins. During his time on earth, he was “a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (Isaiah 53:3). His death was indescribably brutal. By the time his lifeless body had been removed from the cross, “his face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human” (Isaiah 52:14).

Why, though, was it “the will of the LORD to crush him” (Isaiah 53:10, ESV) and have him “buried like a criminal” (Isaiah 53:9)? Why was Jesus “pierced for our rebellion” and “crushed for our sins” (Isaiah 53:5)?

After all, can’t God do whatever he wants? Why couldn’t he just make our sins vanish into thin air like some sort of cosmic magic trick?

In other words, was the Cross really necessary?

What’s It Mean?

These are intriguing questions. If you’ve wondered these things, you’re not alone. Many others have asked similar questions over the centuries.

But sin (i.e., breaking God’s laws) cannot be taken lightly. Our rebellion against God has subjected his good creation to chaos, corrupted our nature, and threatened to sentence us to an eternity in hell.

God’s holiness cannot allow for sin to simply vanish. That would defy his justice. Because he always does what is right, God has to punish disobedience against him.

Thankfully for us, though, God is both perfectly just and loving. In his great love, he provided his Son to bear the punishment and die the death that we deserved.

Yes, the Cross was absolutely necessary because the cost of sin was so high. As today’s verse says, forgiveness of sin requires a blood sacrifice. Likewise, Romans 6:23 declares, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God’s will to sacrifice his Son was for your salvation. Rejoice and believe!

Now What?

Meditate on the “Suffering Servant” passage of Isaiah 52:13–53:12 to better appreciate the Savior’s sacrifice for you.

Did You Know?

More than a thousand years before Christ’s death, God taught his people the importance of atoning sin-sacrifices through the Mosaic law, which ultimately pointed ahead to the Cross (e.g., Leviticus 1:4-5 and 17:11).