Easter Sunday
April 12th, 2009
Why did Jesus die
Ac 2:22 Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. Ac 2:23 This man was handed over to you by Gods set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. Ac 2:24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Jesus of Nazareth is not only one of the most famous men in all of history. He is also one of the most misunderstood men in all of history. We know that He was an actually historical figure. We know He was born around 4 BC. He grew up in Galilee as the son of a carpenter named Joseph. It was not until around 28 AD that he emerged as a public figure teaching about the kingdom of God and calling people to repent. He gathered a few disciples and was said to have performed some remarkable healings and miracles. Over the years His fame and popularity would increase greatly until He was arrested by the religious leaders put on trial. It is unlikely that either Pilate the Roman governor or the Jewish leaders truly saw Jesus as a revolutionary threat. Yet still the Sanhedrin declared Him guilty and turned over to the Romans to be executed. The Romans held their own trials but did not find Him guilty of any crime and yet they crucified Jesus on a cross. This much we know. Yet this knowledge alone fails to answer one extremely important question: why? Why did Jesus die? Why did Roman authorities punish a teacher as a rebel? Why did religious leaders want to kill a man who preached on the kingdom of God? Why did Jesus die?
We believe that Jesus was not just a man but that He is the Son of the living God and that He came to earth as a man to proclaim the kingdom of God and to testify to the truth. We believe that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and that no one comes to the father except through Him. We believe that though He was innocent of sin and of the crimes He was accused of He suffered and died on a cross. But why? Why did Jesus have to die? Let us look at it from the perspectives of the parties involved.
The first important party of note is the group that physically put Jesus to death-the Romans. At this time Rome was a vast empire that had stretched itself thin. They were a great military power that wanted to advance and expand their empire. To be successful in this they had to ensure that the regions they had already conquered stayed in line. For an empire few things can be so destructive and revolution. Naturally those in power fear being overthrown by their subjects. In conquering so many areas the Romans had to be prepared for potential uprisings and from time to time they would occur. One problem area for such attempts at rebellion was Judea. The Jewish people had a number of men attempt to deliver their people by leading a revolution. The Roman answer to this problem of revolt was crucifixion. Crucifixion was a harsh and terrible punishment maximizing degradation, pain, and humiliation. Its message was clear: Rome is in charge, Rome is sovereign, this is what happens to rebels. You cant win and dont even try or this will happen to you and this method was very effective. The cross was a form of punishment often reserved for rebels. Many would be Messiahs had come along like Judas the Galilean or Simon bar Giora but they failed and they ended up on a cross. So Jesus was executed as a rebel by the Roman empire at least this would be the impression that the people of Jerusalem would have, because He was on a cross He must have been another failed Messiah that had tried to overthrow Rome.
The Jews arrested Jesus and wanted to put Him to death but because they were controlled by the Roman empire they had no authority to carry out capital punishment. So they turned Jesus over to the procurator of Judea a man by the name of Pilate. Pilate was appointed this position by Emperor Tiberius in 26 AD. Almost immediately after arriving in Palestine Pilate created conflict with the Jews. He proved to be obtuse if not completely ignorant of the people he was governing. He had Roman standards which bore the embossed figures of the emperor into the city of Jerusalem. Previous prefects had taken very special care not to do this for they knew to do so would offend the Jews. Since the Jews considered graven images idols and were commanded by God to avoid them and Jerusalem was their holy city this act nearly caused a national revolution. This was but one of several acts that created conflict with the Jews.
Our historical accounts of Pilates leadership are not flattering. He was reported to be a ruthless, brutal man who kept law and order by force. It is unlikely that he was much in the ways of competent as a leader. He was reported as being greedy, inflexible, cruel, a robber, and an oppressor. He would according to Philo often have executions without trial which was illegal by Roman law. The picture we sometimes see of Pilate as a white knight doing everything that he can to save Jesus is not totally accurate. It does seem from Pilates actions that he does not view Jesus as a threat to Rome or even as a rebel leader of any sort. It is also apparent that Pilate tries a number of venues to exonerate Jesus and set Him free. His intentions however were not likely so pure. It is more fitting with his character that we worked to free Jesus not because he cared so much for the law or was concerned for the life of an innocent man but because he wanted to spite the Jewish leaders. On a number of occasions in his reign we see Pilates sincere desire not to appease the Jews in any way. He may have tried to save Jesus from death and he may have even tried to wash his hands of the situation but the guilt of innocent blood still stains them. He was governor and ultimately he was responsible for Jesus death. This was his attempt to avoid taking responsibility. So do you ever wonder why Pilate went alone with it? Whatever his motivation was if he wanted to save Jesus or to oppose the Jews why does he allow Jesus to be killed?
As a result of his poor leadership decisions word had reached the emperor from complaints that were filed. The Emperor was displeased with Pilate and even warned him that if he heard of any other problems as a result of Pilates leadership that his rule and life would be brought to an end. Why did Pilate agree to execute Jesus? Because of what the religious leaders said in John 19:
Jn 19:12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
Now Pilates hands are tied. Pilate might have spared Jesus just to spite the Jewish priests but not likely out of any sense of justice had his own self preservation not been on the line. It was when it came down to kill Jesus or be an enemy of Caesar that Pilate finally caved. Jesus died at the hands of the Romans for fear of Caesar and potential rebellion that could come from not killing Him. In the end the Romans crucified Jesus because they feared rebellion. Jesus preached about the kingdom of God where God is sovereign over all. The natural repercussion is that all earthly kings would find their power significantly lessoned. In the end it is simple: Jesus claimed to be king. Anyone who claims to be king that is not Caesar deserves to die, unless it is true. If Jesus had been anyone else the Romans would have been right to kill Him. The problem with the Romans is that they killed Jesus without investigating to see if His claims were true. The Romans may have crucified Him but they were not the driving force behind His death but that is not why He died. We still do not know why He was brought to the Romans in the first place. Why did the Jews want Jesus dead?
From early on in His ministry the Jews had a problem with Jesus. Jesus advocated an agenda which was not the agenda of the religious leaders and this bothered them. He did away with central Jewish symbols and elements they revered in their faith because they were man made customs not from God. He neglected their laws and taught others to do the same. Essentially Jesus didnt play by the rules. The Jews had suffered when they were in exile and they viewed this as Gods discipline for their lack of faithfulness. So a group called the Pharisees rose to power which labored to bring the Jewish people back under the law. In order to accomplish this they built new system of man made laws that were designed so that if a man broke their laws he might not also break Gods law and thus they could avoid being punished by God again. It was a nice idea. People are always going to break rules so lets build a set of rules around the rules so that when people do they dont actually get themselves in too much trouble. While the motivation may have been good this perhaps inadvertently gave these new leaders a significant amount of power. Certainly that power would have been something they got addicted to and wanted to keep.
Then Jesus comes along this nobody son of a nobody and He ignores all their rules. Jesus disrespected Jewish laws. He ate and spent time with dirty sinners tax collectors and the like. He paraded Himself as a Rabbi but had no proper authorization or credentials to do such, He broke the Sabbath, acted in a way considered inappropriate by the leaders, He criticized the religious leaders for caring more about regulations than people, He called the leaders hypocrites and blind leaders of the blind, and a number of intolerable accusations. Worse He undermined their authority and was leading away their people threatening their power. John 11-Jews saw Jesus as a threat to the temple, their power, He was a political liability, and went against the standard accepted teachings of their time. So He must be killed before He destroyed everything they were working towards.
Now it is important to note that these men are not likely as wicked as we sometimes see them. Some of them would have been would have found fault with Jesus and genuinely believed Him to stand in opposition to the people of God. They even have decent Biblical backing for this from Deuteronomy 13 which basically says: If a prophet comes and announces a miraculous sign and that comes true and he then says let us follow other gods do not listen to him it is a test from God. Put that prophet to death because he preached rebellion against the Lord your God. Jesus fits the bill. In John 8:58 He makes the statement: “before Abraham was I AM.” Do you know what this means? Immediately after He said this the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him. Why? I AM is the Holy name of God. Jesus is claiming to be God and that is blasphemy. Jews hated Jesus because they viewed Him as a blasphemer. Anyone who claims to be God as Jesus claimed to be deserves to die, unless it is true. If Jesus had been anyone else the Jews would have been right to kill Him. Problem with Jews was they reacted to Jesus claims without trying to see if they were true.
That is why the Jews wanted Jesus dead but they were not the driving force behind His death either. At any time Jesus could have said or done something differently that likely would have resulted in His own survival. He could have avoided capture. He could have not provoked the Sanhedrin. He could have explained to Pilate that He was not a threat. He could have done so many things differently that might have spared His life yet He didnt. Jesus had ample opportunity to save Himself and He chose not to take them because the truth is Jesus was not killed He willingly laid down His life. When considering why Jesus died we understand that the Romans killed Him at the insistence of the Jewish leaders but that is not truly why He died.
So why did Jesus die? What is the point of the Son of God coming to earth to die on a cross? It seems looking back at His life and some of the things Jesus said that death was His intention from the very beginning. He spoke of it, predicted it, and willingly walked into it. Why did Jesus die? On the human level Judas gave up Jesus to the Jewish leaders who turned Jesus over to the Romans who agreed to crucify Him but ultimately that is not why Jesus died. The human level only scratches the surface. On the divine level God gave Him up and Jesus willingly gave up Himself for us. He died so that the price for sin could be paid and so we could have life with God. He came to save us.
Why did Jesus die? On the human level He died because we sinned. Our sin put Him on the cross. In the movie that passion they vividly display the crucifixion. In one of the shots the soldiers are nailing Jesus to the cross. Mel Gibson the director and producer insisted on one of the hammer shots being his hand nailing Jesus to the cross. This is a profound message. Jesus went to the cross because our sins nailed Him there. Again the human level only scratches the surface. On the divine level Jesus died because of love. So great is the love that God has for us that He would send His only Son to save us from our sins. Which is the true meaning of John 3:16:
Jn 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Jn 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of Gods one and only Son.
Jesus died for two reasons. We sin, and Gods response to that sin is to love. How do we know His claims are true? The empty tomb. Jesus didnt just die, He rose again to validate His claims and to bring us resurrection from the dead. Dont you see what this means? Our Lord is RISEN. The resurrection of the Son of God should be a constant reminder to us of these wonderful biblical truths. We honor our Masters victory over death—not once a year, but every week! That is what communion is all about. It is more than just a somber time to remember that Jesus died for our sins that is only the surface of the human level. The divine level is that communion is a celebration of the love that God has for us. Sometimes we get so focused on the fact that Christ died, that we forget that He rose again. So this morning as we take our Easter communion let this not be a sad time to think about His death, let this be a celebration of His life that through His death and resurrection we have new life. Let this communion be a celebration of the victory of God in Christ Jesus.
