Why Did Jesus Come to Die? (Reason 1)

March 4

Why Did Jesus Come to Die? (Reason 1)

Easter Sunday is four weeks away. Beginning today, I’m going to share an excerpt from an impactful book by John Piper titled Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Each Sunday leading up to Easter, I want to choose one these fifty reasons to condense and share with you. Today I’m sharing reason number one:

Jesus came to die…

1. To Absorb the Wrath of God

God put [Christ] forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Rom. 3:25)

God’s law demanded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). But we have all loved other things more. This is what sin is—dishonoring God by preferring other things over him, and acting on those preferences. Therefore, the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn’t God.

Therefore sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign. …The Creator of the universe is infinitely worthy of respect and admiration and loyalty. Therefore, failure to love him is not trivial—it is treason.

Since God is just, he does not sweep these crimes under the rug of the universe. He feels a holy wrath against them. They deserved to be punished…

But the love of God does not rest with the curse that hangs over all sinful humanity. He is not content to show wrath, no matter how holy it is. Therefore, God sends his own Son to absorb his wrath and bear the curse for all who trust him. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13).[1]

Thank you for reading,

Bethany J.

[1] By John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org; Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, pp. 20-21