One way
to understand the meaning of the death of Jesus is to imagine a courtroom scene
in which we are on trial for our sins and God is the judge. Our sins against
God are capital crimes. God Himself is our judge, and according to divine law
our crimes deserve the death penalty. Death, in a spiritual sense, means
eternal separation from God in unending torment. That's a very serious
judgment.
By
shedding His blood on the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserve and
offered us His righteousness. When we trust Christ for our salvation,
essentially we are making a trade. By faith, we trade our sin and its
accompanying death penalty for His righteousness and life.
In
theological terms, this is called "substitutionary atonement." Christ
died on the cross as our substitute. Without Him, we would suffer the death
penalty for our own sins....
The
writer to the Hebrews puts it this way: "And according to the Law, one may
almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22). For God to
forgive our sins, His judgment had to be satisfied and that required the
shedding of blood.
Some object,
"Shedding blood seems so barbaric. Is it really necessary? Why doesn't God
simply forgive us?" Because God is holy, He must judge sin. Would a just
and righteous judge let evil go unpunished? At the cross, God poured out His
judgment on His Son, satisfying His wrath and making it possible for Him to
forgive us. That's why Jesus shed His blood for your sins, my sins, and the
sins of the whole world....
God
unleashed His wrath on His Son so that we might be spared that awful fate. This
is the central message of the cross and the reason for our hope: God forsook
His Son so that He might never forsake us. God assures us, "'I will never
desert you, nor will I ever forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). Isn't that a
wonderful promise?
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