Why did He die?

It’s Holy Week.  It is a week of remembering the events that occurred those many years ago when Jesus entered Jerusalem for Passover.  We remember His suffering and the tortuous death on the cross.  We celebrate His victorious resurrection – the Conqueror of sin and death.  No matter how many times we read what the scriptures say Jesus endured, no matter how many movies attempt to portray the events of that week, we will not fully grasp all He endured until we see Him face-to-face.  But that’s ok as long as we understand why.

Why did He die?

If an unbeliever came to you today provoked by all the attention given the cross and asked “Why did He die?”, what would your answer be?

My first answer is “So we could be forgiven of our sins!”  I asked a couple of friends this question today; they answered “Because He loved us” and “It was God’s will”.

All very correct answers!  And just as we won’t fully understand all that He endured until we are in heaven, neither will we completely understand all that He accomplished for us through His resurrection.

But think about this:

When God created Adam they had perfect, uninterrupted fellowship.  There was no sense of even the slightest separation between them.  Sin came between them.  Sin changed their relationship.

Jesus came to be the sacrifice for all sin providing our forgiveness.  But why are we forgiven of the sins?  So that we can once again be in a right relationship with God.  No interruptions.  Nothing coming between us.

“…all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself – received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself…”  2 Corinthians 5:18

He died so that we can be reconciled to God.  Reconcile:  to restore to friendship or harmony.

So I wonder, how many Christians have come to Jesus, accepting His sacrifice, accepting the forgiveness for sins, but never entering into the sweetness of reconciliation with the Father?  He has made it possible for us to have the same relationship with Him as Adam had before sin was in the picture!!!

Suppose I have greatly sinned against another.  They have chosen to forgive me and desire to be friends again.  But I have a choice as to whether or not I enter this open door of friendship extended to me.  I may be very thankful they’ve forgiven me, but if I don’t talk to them, listen to them, spend time with them, I’ve missed the reconciliation, the restoration of the friendship.

He died for our sins, yes.  But He died for our sins SO THAT we could have this amazing fellowship with our Holy Father.  We have the opportunity to live everyday in uninterrupted, precious, love-filled harmony with God!!  If we don’t know Who He really is, what He likes, what He doesn’t like, or what He can do, we can read the Bible and learn about these things.  And that’s good.  We can learn about Him.  We can learn about forgiveness.  We can learn about His character and His commands.  But that’s not all He wants.  He wants us to experience Him in a real, very alive way – talking to Him about everything, learning to listen to His voice, enjoying His presence as He enjoys ours.

Reconciliation.  It’s ours.  Let’s accept it and enjoy our Father like never before!