Knowing Jesus

1. Knowing Jesus Lesson #4:Why He Died? Text: John 15:13

2. Review: Knowing Jesus Knowing Jesus Who is He? How did He come? What He taught? Why He Died? What does He expect? We need to get to know Jesus!

3. “Knowing Jesus” Means Knowing Why He Died? His Love Motivated Him To Save Us From Our Sins! “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for His friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command.” (Jh. 15:13-14) “For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” (Lk. 19:10) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jh. 3:16) To know Jesus, we must understand, “Why He Died?” Let’s explore the deeper answers beyond the obvious.

4. Jesus Died To Remove The Curse Man has always been under law to God. Patriarchal Age –“For the Lord God commanded…” (Ge. 2:16-17) Mosical Age –“…You shall not…” (Ex. 20) Christian Age –“But who looks into the perfect law of liberty…” (Jam. 1:25) First century Christians faced challenges from Judaizers. They tried to compel them to be circumcised and accept other aspects of the Law - “…these try to compel you to be circumcised…For not even those who are circumcised keep the law…” (Ga. 6:12-13; Ac. 15) Christ is “nullified,” if we attempt to keep the Old Law – “…you have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace.” (Ga. 5:2-4).

5. Jesus Died To Remove The Curse Justification strictly on a “law basis” demands perfection all the time (Ga. 3:10-29). Those who attempt such justification place themselves under a curse –“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things which are written in the book of law, to do them.’ But no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘The just shall live by faith.’ Yet the law is not of faith, but ‘The man who does them shall live by them.’ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Ga. 3:10-14)

6. Jesus Died To Remove The Curse God never intended to justify man in such a way –“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made, He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.” (Ga. 3:16-17) The purpose of the law was to identify sin and lead us to Christ –“What purpose, then does, the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come…Read.” (Ga. 3:19, 22-29) The promise of Jesus is salvation to all - “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Ac. 2:29)

7. Jesus Died To Remove The Curse Jesus did what the Old Law could not do - “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh,” (Ro. 8:3) The imperfect Old Law was annulled - “For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. ”(Hb. 7:18-19) Jesus did something we could never do. He kept the law perfectly and took the Old Law out of the way forever as promised.

8. Jesus Died To Remove The Curse Jesus came to fulfill the law, thus removing the curse! Jesus fulfilled the Law, hence not applicable today - “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or Prophets, I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” (Mt. 5:17-18)

9. Jesus Died To Reconcile Us Not being under a curse is good, but we are still lacking. We need to be “reconciled” to God (Ro. 5:6-11). We are described as: “ungodly,” “sinners,” and “enemies.”(Ro. 5:6-10). Christ death restores friendship with God broken by sin – “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Ro. 5:10-11) Our sins separate us from God - “…youriniquities have separated you from your God...”(Is. 59:1-2).

10. Jesus Died To Reconcile Us We are enemies or friends with God - “…Whoever therefore who wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy with God.”(Jm. 4:4). We need to be “reconciled” to God (Ro. 5:6-11). After we commit sin, we don’t deserve God’s friendship. We deserve wrath - “Much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”(Ro. 5:9). Jesus’ death brings us back together as friends with God. Not only are we spared His wrath, but we can enjoy what we had before our sinful conduct.

11. Jesus Died To Appease God Yes…the curse has been removed. Yes…God has befriended us once again. Yet, there remains 1 important factor…God’s just nature. The removed curse and restored friendship does not address it. God is just and holy! Even though He forgives sin, His nature won’t allow Him to ignore or pretend sin never happened. “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven; and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” (Ro. 4:7-8) God must be appeased or satisfied.

12. Jesus Died To Appease God God deserves appeasement because He is inherently righteous (I Jh. 2:1-2). Our goal is not to sin - “My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin…” (I Jh. 2:1) All do sin - “…there is none righteous, no, not one…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Ro. 3:10, 23) Sin results in the death penalty - “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ro. 6:23) Yet when we sin, we have an Advocate who propitiates for us - “…And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” (I Jh. 2:1-2)

13. Jesus Died To Appease God God saw His Son’s death as an atonement that satisfied His just demands for the payment for sin. He is “just” to demand payment and He is “justifier” to proclaim our innocence based on our response to Jesus’ death - “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation [mercy seat] by His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Ro. 3:23-26) Jesus paid the price on our behalf to appease God!

14. Summary: Why Did Jesus Die? Why did Jesus die? It was more than the obvious answer, “To save us from our sins.” > He removed a curse, which is a burden we could not bear (Ga. 3:10-29). > He rekindled a friendship that we betrayed. (Ro. 5:6-11). > He satisfied the Divine demand for sin (I Jh. 2:1-2). Jesus loved us enough to die in order to remove a curse, reconcile us to God, and appease God.

15. Conclusion In a word, the best description the New Testament offers of Jesus’ death is: S A C R I F I C E Jesus sacrificed His body for our sins – “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” (Hb. 10:10-12) Jesus redeemed us by His blood – “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things…but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (I Pt. 1:18-19; Isa. 53) Jesus proved His love for us - “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for His friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command.” (Jh. 15:13)

16. What Will You Do In Return? Love Jesus in turn -“We love Him because He first loved us.” (I Jh. 4:19) Our love for Him should motivate us to live for Him -“For the love of Christ constrains us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” (II Co. 5:14-15) Obey His Words -“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (Jh. 14:15) Be baptized - “Therefore, we are buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3-6) Are we ready to show our love for Christ?