WHY JESUS DIED

Is. 53:4  Yet, it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.  And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins!

        Jesus did not carry His own weaknesses to the cross, because He had none.  He was God incarnate, God in the flesh.  He was in firm control of every facet of His being: mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  He spent countless hours alone with God in fellowship and as a result was in perfect harmony with God’s will in everything He said and did.  He was not fazed by man’s threats.  He knew exactly what He came to do and when He was going to do it.  He was strong in character and always in control.

        It was our weaknesses that Jesus carried to the cross.  We are prone to wander away from God, prone to not obey Him, prone not to pray as we should, prone to make excuses when we falter and fail.  On our own, we simply are not well or strong enough to stay in fellowship with God.  We must have the help that only Christ can give.

        It was our sorrows that Jesus took with to the Christ.  Jesus was not plagued with sorrow because He lived a perfectly righteous life.  He faced all the temptations we face in life and never sinned.  He never had to regret the things He said or did, but we do.  We sin against God.  We often have to confess our sins before God.  We are often sorry we have sinned and messed up our lives.  We often have to live with the consequences of sin.  Jesus made it possible for our sins to be forgiven and our burdens to be made light.  He conquered sin’s hold over us and gives us victory and the freedom to not sin.

        No, Jesus did not die on the cross because He deserved it.  He did not die because He had failed God and sinned against Him.  He died because of our sins.  He died so we can be forgiven by God and have eternal life.