Why Jesus Died for you and me

There is a man who came to this Earth about 2000 years ago, who willingly died on a cross by crucifixion to bring salvation to mankind and rose up three days later. I’m writing this post to explain to you why he had to die and why He had to go through a very gruesome and horrific experience to bring a much needed salvation to mankind.

Lets start with a story recorded in the Bible which took place around 1400BC about Moses, the Children of Israel and their journey out of Egypt.

Around 1800BC, a world wide drought affected the whole world for 7 years. This forced Israel (Jacob) and his entire family to migrate from Canaan to Egypt which had enough food in storage to outlast the drought. The food storage and distribution was under the supervision of a Pharaoh appointed leader (Joseph) who was also the son of Israel (Jacob). When Israel and his family migrated to Egypt, Pharaoh gave the land of Goshen to the Children of Israel to live with their families and look after their children and cattle’s. After the seven year drought, Israel and his family remained in Goshen where they multiplied and grew in population.

However, 400 years later (around 1400BC), a different Pharaoh arose into power and did not remember Joseph nor his people Israel, and out of fear for their growth and multiplication turned them to bitter slaves. He killed their male children at birth to reduce Israel’s population and caused them to work under hard rigor and labor while building cities for Pharaoh. This hard life caused the Children of Israel to cry out to God to deliver them from the bondage and slavery of Egypt and God answered their prayers and sent Moses to Pharaoh to let His people (Israel) go.

When Moses went to Pharaoh to give him the message from God to release Israel from Egypt so that they could go to their own land and worship their God, Pharaoh being full of arrogance and pride, refused to obey God’s command and hardened his heart, wanting the Children of Israel to remain his slaves. God therefore unleashed ten plagues on the land of Egypt to force Pharaoh to willingly allow Israel to leave Egypt.

From the first plague to the ninth plague, the children of Israel were not required to perform any exercise to be safe from the plagues, God protected them supernaturally, and they were not affected by any of the plagues, however, for the tenth plague, God gave the Children of Israel a prior instruction to be carried out in other to be safe from the plague.

Now what was this instruction? God was about to take the lives of every first born in Egypt, both of human and of cattle and he asked each house hold in Israel to kill a lamb without blemish and use the blood of that lamb to paint the top and two sides of their home’s entrance door.

God was going to pass through Egypt to kill every firstborn and execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt, and required the blood of a lamb without spot painted on the door’s of His people’s home so that as He passes and sees that blood, he will pass over that house keeping every firstborn in that house safe from death. However, any house without the blood on the door, will be visited and every firstborn there will die.

You might wonder, was the blood just a sign so God would know who is His and who is not? Well, the answer is yes and no. The blood was a sign, but also much more than a sign. The blood signified that a lamb had already been killed for that house hold, and has paid the price for any firstborn inside, therefore, there is no need for any firstborn inside that house to die again, since that lamb had died on the firstborn’s behalf.

Now, I want you to look at that spotless lamb that was killed on behalf of the firstborn, and then look at Jesus the spotless (sinless) man who was killed on behalf of the whole world.

He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.

Isaiah 53:7 KJV

Right from the time the first man and woman (Adam and Eve) sinned against God in the garden of Eden, man had fallen from Grace. Man became less than what God intended him to be. We became infected with the nature of sin to do evil without the power to stop ourselves. Have you ever wondered why some people are addicted to smoking, drugs, alcohol , fornication and many other terrible things that are bad for them and their health, and terribly want to stop doing it, but are unable to do so.

No wonder Paul the Apostle by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote:

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

For I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 7:18-21.23-25a

The writer saw that even though he tried to do good, he couldn’t, he saw another force in his body that was in total disagreement with the intentions of his heart, and finally cried out, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

Just like Paul, all of mankind have a different internal force pushing us to do things that are contrary to what God wants us to do, making it so natural for us to lie, steal, fornicate, kill and then see nothing wrong with it at all, blinded to the fact that it drags us down to the pits the of hell; This is the deception of the devil. This nature of sin was born into every man, because the first man and woman, where infected by it, so all generations where also born infected by it. That is why it is so natural for even a toddler to do something he/she already knows is wrong, and that is why the bible says in Romans 3:23 KJV “All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God”  and in Psalm 51:5 KJV “Behold I was shapen in iniquity: and in sin did my mother conceive me” 

God being Holy, cannot have sin go unpunished. He is a Just God. Every action has its consequence, and every man must pay for his/her actions.

God seeing this, the eternal consequence of it, knowing we cannot clean ourselves from it, nor remove that terrible nature from our lives, sent Jesus His only begotten Son to come and pay the price for all our sinful actions. Just like a drowning man cannot save another drowning man, Jesus came to pull us out from the nature of sin, and to pay the price for all the sins that we have ever committed so that we could have a clean slate like we never sinned before.

Just like the blood from a lamb without spot had to be shed to save the firstborns of Israel, so also, the blood of a man without sin had to be shed to save all of mankind from the consequences of their sins.

To therefore place this shed blood of Jesus on our lives, so that the wrath of God can pass over us (like the Israelites placed the shed blood the the lamb of their doors so that the Angel of death would pass over them), we need to accept Jesus as our Lord, Master and personal savior. Asking him by faith to forgive us of all our sins, and wash us clean in His blood.

Its only when you do this that you will be free from the bondage of sin and its nature. You will also be free from the guilt of all sins ever committed, and God won’t look at you like a sinner anymore, because the price to be paid for your sins has been made by Jesus. Jesus then gives you His own very nature and as you yield yourself to Christ, the more like him you become.

Just like sin was a nature to you before, so also Holiness becomes a nature to you now, because you’ve yielded your will to the will of God. You become brand new, with the hope of eternity with God forever.

This is why Jesus is the only way to heaven, because He is the only one who paid the price for us. He is the only one who has taken the punishments that we should have taken. He is the only one whose blood is valid to make the coming wrath of God pass over us. It is only His blood that God recognizes in heaven and on earth and under the earth. It is the only blood that can save from sin.

Just like the Angel of death came to take every firstborn in Egypt, so also, the Wrath of God is coming to the whole earth. Remember, God is Holy and Just and He cannot have sin go unpunished. A time is coming when God’s punishment will come to the whole world, and only those whose lives have been washed by the blood of the lamb will be exempted. Why don’t you accepts Jesus Sacrifice for you and don’t let his sacrifice be in vain in your own life. With every passing second countless people are dying, going to an eternity without hope, without the covering of the blood of Jesus, reaching a point where it has become too late to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, but you are still alive, accept him NOW if you haven’t and do all you can to help others accept Him before its too late.

God bless you for reading this, I pray your life never remains the same after this. I pray you surrender and re-dedicate your life to Jesus and make Him Lord over your life and then join in telling others how wonderful Jesus is, and the blessedness that abides in Him.

Jesus went through a gruesome death to save us from a gruesome eternity.

Elizabeth Eluh