The Necessity of the Cross

Why did Jesus have to die? To Christians who have been raised in church and have repeatedly heard the story of the cross and resurrection, it may seem an irrelevant question. Of course He had to die. How else could we have eternal life?

Yet, when we sets aside the fact that most of us (baby boomers at least) were raised with the facts of Christ’s death, it is a fair question. What exactly was the point of Christ’s death? Why does it require the death of one innocent man to somehow “atone” for the sins of millions, or billions of guilty men? How does the horrendous suffering that Jesus endured make it somehow OK for liars, thieves, and adulterers to go to heaven and live in happiness and bliss with God forever?

The first point that must be made is that it was indeed necessary for Jesus to die as He did. There was no other way. As He came face to face with the prospect of the suffering that lay before Him, and the rejection of God the Father, our Lord offered up the sad cry, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:36).

Jesus knew that there was nothing too difficult with God. Miracles were a daily business in His life. And in His humanity He hoped that perhaps God could find some other way of bringing about the salvation of mankind, some way that would not require such a price. But there was no other way. Even the One who knew no impossibility could find but one way to spare His errant, rebellious creation – the way of the cross.

Job’s Question

Jesus’ death on the cross is actually an answer to an age old question – one first uttered by Job as he was debating with his “friends” over his many and varied trials and tribulations. Job’s buddies were convinced that all Job’s problems were due to his wicked life. “Just clean up your act and all will be well,” was their motto. Blessings always follow righteous men. At one point Job agrees that theoretically this is so, but utters in frustration: “Truly I know it is so, but how can a man be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2).

How can a man be righteous before God? This is indeed at the heart of the matter. Instinctively recognizing that our Creator is righteous and demands righteousness, men and women have wrought for themselves all sorts of patterns and styles of fig leaves in order to somehow cover their moral nakedness.

The Jewish nation is God’s object lesson to the whole human race. The Scriptures tell us: Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. (Romans 9:31,32)

Israel went looking for the land of righteousness but never got there. They depended on their own ability to keep God’s righteous laws. As you read the Old Testament history of the Jews, you find that theirs was a history of failure. Here’s a surprise for you: this was not just a Jewish thing; it is a human thing. God was using these sons of Abraham to shout out a message to the whole human race: “You’ll never find righteousness by virtue of your ability to keep the rules.”

This message, which is one of the most foundational of all Biblical truth, is virtually ignored by most of humanity. We are still finding creative things to do with fig leaves, rather than applying God’s own prescribed solution to our moral dilemma. We see this “fig leaf” righteousness all the time. The popular “oldies” rock song laments, “Where oh where can my baby be? … She’s gone to heaven so I got to be good, so I can see my baby when I leave this world.” The former boxing champion, Muhammed Ali, when asked why he would spend hours signing autographs for youngsters, expressed his Islamic theology in saying, “I’m just trying to get to heaven.” And former president Bill Clinton said these words when his good friend, Vince Foster, committed suicide, “My deepest hope is that whatever drew Vince away from us this evening, his soul will receive the grace and salvation that his good life and good works earned.”

Paul’s Answer

Job’s query was finally answered by the former Jewish Rabbi, Paul of Tarsus. Church planter, miracle worker, evangelist, and apostle, Paul was also the premier theologian of the early church. With a razor-sharp mind and a passionate love for Christ, Paul was God’s chosen delegate to explain the cross. While Jesus accomplished the atoning sacrifice, God left it to Paul to tell the world how it works. Liberals have never forgiven Paul for this. They are quite happy with a Jesus who heals the sick, multiplies bread for the hungry, and teaches us to love one another. But Paul’s teachings on the cross, the new birth, the necessity of repentance, and the cross of Jesus as the only way of salvation are just too much for them to bear.

The book of Romans is Paul’s masterpiece. It is God’s definitive answer to Job’s question, “How can a man be righteous before God?” In this magnificent treatise Paul wades into theological waters boldly and unapologetically. He declares the following truths:

1. All of us are sinners who deserve God’s wrath. Paul writes that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This puts us in a desperate position. A holy God cannot possibly ignore sin or allow it to go unpunished. From scholar to serial killer, from philosopher to common thief “there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).

2. Through attempting to keep God’s moral law, no one will be accepted. Paul contends that it is impossible for sinful man to keep God’s righteous requirements in his own strength, for “by the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified in His sight” (Romans 3:20). Indeed Paul declares that the very purpose of the law was not to justify us, but to show us the utter absurdity of finding acceptance with God through our own efforts, for “by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20).

3. God has provided man’s greatest need – perfect righteousness through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection. Contrary to popular opinion, our greatest need is not food or clothing or shelter, or sex; it is righteousness. Without righteousness we are sunk; we are doomed to face a holy God with the stains of sin all over us. Meeting our spotless Creator will not be some blissful travel down a dark tunnel to some welcoming bright light; it will be the absolute horror of facing Absolute Holiness with all our filthiness exposed. Yet Paul declares there is hope. “Having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:9).

4. This gift of righteousness is appropriated through faith in Jesus. Christ’s righteousness is offered to us as a free gift, “even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:22). Over and over again Paul hammers away at the theme that salvation is accomplished through faith. According to Paul, the heart of all that God wants to communicate to us through the gospel has to do with righteousness and faith: “For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:17). By faith in both the Person of Jesus and in His sacrificial death and resurrection, we are given eternal life and a place in the family of God.

These four basic principles are familiar to every evangelical Christian. They are the “meat and potatoes” of our faith. This is how a man may be righteous before God. Some have wanted to delve deeper than these rudimentary truths. Just how does Christ’s death and resurrection save us? By what means does the death of a righteous man bring about the forgiveness of multitude of guilty men? They want a philosophy of the cross, a detailed spelling out of the why’s and the wherefores.

No such philosophy is given. The most explicit answer to the why of the cross is this simple statement by Paul: “to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Had God simply excused our sins without the benefit of the cross, it would not have been just. It would have been an act unbefitting the King of the Universe, the One whose throne is surrounded by those mysterious beings who constantly cry, “Holy, holy, holy.”

Whether you fully understand the depths of Christ’s passion or not, (and who of us can say that we do?) the important thing is that you partake of it. The great Christian writer, C. S. Lewis, said it well:

All sensible people know that if you are tired and hungry a meal will do you good. But the modern theory of nourishment – all about the vitamins and proteins – is a different thing. People ate their dinners and felt better long before the theory of vitamins was ever heard of; and if the theory of vitamins is some day abandoned they will go on eating their dinners just the same. Theories about Christ’s death are not Christianity; they are explanations about how it works…

You may ask what good will it be to us if we do not understand it. But that is easily answered. A man can eat his dinner without understanding exactly how food nourishes him. A man can accept what Christ has done without knowing how it works; indeed he certainly would not know how it works until he has accepted it.

The Passion of Christ was more than just a movie; it was a real life event. Indeed it was the major event in the history of our planet. By Christ’s death and resurrection, God provided a cure for that terminal disease of the soul called sin. The cross speaks eloquently of God’s hatred for sin and his love for the human race. He who knows us the best loves us the most.