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Why Did Jesus Have To Suffer And Die?
Brian Mashburn
May 18, 2014
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Why Did Jesus Have To Suffer And Die
It is the question of those who find themselves loving Jesus and wanting to spare him, and it is the question of those who find themselves resisting God and wanting to discredit Him.
Through whatever lens you look, it is a reasonable question:
Why would anyone calling Himself "all-powerful," able to design His story however He wanted, design it to be so gruesome and R-rated?
And how could anyone calling Himself a "loving Father" allow this to happen to His son, let alone design it?
And even if Jesus had to suffer, did he really have to die? Or if he really did have to die, did he have to suffer so much?
There are Bible answers to this question. They explain how God explains Himself on His own terms. They are worthy of consideration and exploration, and combined with faith, these answers will dependably lead you to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the gospel.
But there is also a less academic, more universally human answer to this question, too. I'll write it here in the form of a question that appeals to some mysterious law written on all of our hearts, and I pray you will close your eyes and contemplate it, allowing the Spirit to do His work in you - the kind that deepens and grows you.
The question: How could a God possessed by love show the full extent of that love more powerfully than through the suffering and death of His son on our behalf?