Why did Jesus have to die?

A man breaks into an elderly woman's home, injures her and steals her life savings. In court the evidence is overwhelming: he is guilty. The judge smiles and says, "I'm a kind person, and I don't like punishing people. You can go."

How would the woman's family feel? Is that judge loving? Is he good? Most of us would say no. A judge who shrugs at evil isn't kind; he's unjust. That raises a real question about God. Christians say God forgives people freely. But if God is a good judge, how can he just let wrongdoing go? Why couldn't he simply say, "You're forgiven"? Why did Jesus have to die?

What you'll learn

• Why real forgiveness is always costly, and why a just God can't simply ignore wrong
• What "substitution" means, from Isaiah 53, Romans 3 and 1 Peter 3
• How Christians respond to some honest hard questions about the cross

The problem: a God who is just and loving

The Bible says two things about God that can seem to pull against each other:

If God were only just, with no love, we would all be condemned, because everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23). If God were only "loving", with no justice, evil wouldn't matter, and neither would its victims.

Think about something smaller. A friend breaks your phone, and you forgive them. What happens to the cost of the repair? It doesn't disappear. You pay it. Real forgiveness always costs the person who forgives. So how can God be completely just and completely loving at the same time? The Bible's answer is the cross.

Isaiah 53: in our place

About seven centuries before Jesus, the prophet Isaiah described a mysterious suffering servant. On the night before he died, Jesus quoted this very passage about himself (Luke 22:37).

"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5–6)

Look at the pronouns. He was pierced, crushed and punished. We went astray, and we are healed and given peace. The servant suffers, but not for his own wrongs. He suffers for ours.

That's what substitution means: one person standing in the place of another. Remember Barabbas in Luke 23, the guilty man who walked free while the innocent man was condemned?

To be fair, Jewish readers have often understood the servant as the nation of Israel. From the New Testament onwards, Christians have read it as being about Jesus (Acts 8:32–35). As you read it, ask yourself which details fit one innocent individual better than a whole nation.

Just, and the one who justifies

Paul explains the cross with some big words in Romans 3:23–26. It's worth learning them:

Then Paul gives the punchline:

"He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:26)

In the past, God had patiently let sins go unpunished for a time. That might have made it look as if he didn't care about evil. The cross shows he does: sin is really paid for. So God is both just (sin is dealt with) and the one who justifies (sinners are forgiven). He doesn't lower his standards. He meets them himself.

Peter puts it even more simply in this lesson's key verse:

"For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit." (1 Peter 3:18)

Notice three things. How often? Once for all; it never needs repeating. Who for whom? The righteous for the unrighteous: substitution again. Why? "To bring you to God." The goal isn't just a legal fix, but a restored relationship.

The Bible also uses other pictures for what the cross achieved: a victory over evil powers (Colossians 2:15), a ransom (Mark 10:45), reconciliation between enemies (2 Corinthians 5:18–19) and an example of love to follow (1 Peter 2:21). Christians emphasise these differently, and many see substitution as the centre that holds the others together.

Hard questions

This teaching raises real objections, and thoughtful people (including some Christians) have wrestled with them. Here are four, with the direction Christians usually take in answering:

You might find some of these answers convincing and still be bothered by others. That's fine. Honest questions are the way to understanding.

Key words

• Substitution: one person standing in the place of another and taking what they deserved.
• Justified: declared "not guilty" and right with God.
• Redemption: being set free because a price has been paid.
• Atoning sacrifice: a sacrifice that deals with sin and turns away God's just anger by bearing it.
• Suffering servant: the figure in Isaiah 52:13–53:12 who suffers for the sins of others.

How this points to Jesus

Go back to the judge. Imagine he says, "The penalty must be paid," then takes off his robe, steps down and pays the whole penalty himself. Every illustration breaks down somewhere, but that is close to what Christians believe happened at the cross. The judge doesn't just let it go, and he doesn't leave us to pay. In Jesus, God steps down from the bench and pays it himself. That's how he can be just and still forgive.

Think about it

Take it further

Read 1 Peter 3:18 a few times this week until you can say it from memory. Then think about this: if the Christian message is true, what does the cross show about how God sees evil, and how God sees you? If you're still exploring, ask yourself whether this idea hangs together, and which hard question you'd most want answered.

A prayer you can pray if you want to:

Lord Jesus, thank you that you took my place. Thank you that God's justice is satisfied and his love is shown at the cross. Help me to understand it, and to trust you. Amen.

Your worksheet helps you sort out Isaiah 53, put the key words into your own words, and prepare your own answer to one of the hard questions.