Being prepared to answer questions on The Passion
To help people understand the significance of Jesus suffering and death we must be ready to explain why it happened. It is important to distinguish between the human reasons why this occurred and the divine purposes behind it.
The human reasons why Jesus was put to death.
The Jewish religious leaders had a view of the Messiah and the coming of the Kingdom of God that was radically different from Christ’s. They believed that God would send an anointed leader to rescue the Jewish people from the domination and oppression of their enemies. He would bring God’s justice to the world. He would be a warrior king. The Jewish people would be lifted up above all the nations of the world. Christ attacked this view. He presented Himself as a Messiah who had come not to set up a military, political kingdom but as one who was bringing the rule of God into the ordinary experience of human life. He showed this by setting people free from demonic oppression, healing them of disease, demonstrating His power over the natural world by doing miracles and changing people’s lives by giving them forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He was a threat to all the Jewish religious leaders stood for. They believed He was a false messiah and was leading the nation of Israel down a path of failure and destruction. (Matt 11:1-6, Luke 17:20, 21)
Jesus also attacked their own shallowness and hypocrisy. He exposed their pride, arrogance and self serving motives. ( Matt 23, Luke 11:37-53). This created tremendous animosity towards Him.
These two reasons explain from a human point of view why Christ suffered and was crucified.
The Divine Purpose behind Jesus death
God ordained and orchestrated the terrible death that His Son Jesus Christ endured. Acts 2:23 tells us that He was delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God into the hands of lawless men to be crucified and put to death.(Acts 4:27). It pleased the Lord to do this to His Son ( Isaiah 53:10). This was a deliberate purposeful act on God’s part. Why?
God meant this for good ( Romans 8:32, and Genesis 50:20 i.e. God uses evil to accomplish good). God’s purpose in crucifying His Son was so that His Son would absorb His righteous wrath and judgment towards sin enabling God to freely offer to all men the gift of salvation from sin( i.e. it’s penalty, power, and ultimately it’s very presence). This salvation includes freedom from punishment, a full forgiveness and pardon, union with Jesus Christ, adoption into God’s family, and eternal life. Jesus death allows God to uphold His justice while at the same time show His incredible mercy and love towards undeserving people. This salvation is offered to all on the basis of simple faith not by works but by turning from sin and trusting in Christ alone and the sufficiency of His great act of obedience and suffering in dying.
