It is only reasonable to wonder, “Why was this necessary? “when considering Jesus Christ’s agony and death on the cross, especially when we consider that He, the Son of God, suffered and died as a result of OUR sin. Why doesn’t God pardon us instead of permitting His own Son to perish on a cross? God could have pardoned our sins without having to have Jesus die on the cross, right?
1. The logic behind our question
We Christians have extensive knowledge about forgiveness. After reading passages like Matthew 6:14, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:37, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13, and others, we are aware of how crucial it is for us to extend forgiveness to those who harm us. And not just once or twice—Jesus instructs His disciples to provide forgiveness “up to seventy times seven” in Matthew 18:22. This essentially indicates that we ought to pardon without fail. Forgiveness that is freely given is a virtue.
And God is a forgiving God. “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” according to 1 John 1:9.
All we need to do, then, is confess our sins if God is forgiving? God is all-powerful (see, for example, Revelation 1:8, Psalm 91:1, or Psalm 80:19). Based on Jesus’ own words in Mark 14:36, “Abba, Father… everything is possible for You,” we can readily conclude that God has the authority to pardon sins at will. Nevertheless, according to Hebrews 9:22, “there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.” It follows that in order to make peace between God and the world, Jesus had to die on a cross. What did we overlook?
2. The logic behind God’s decision
Naturally, the person who was harmed by the injustice is the one who extends forgiveness. When someone offends us, we are the ones who have to forgive them and their offensive statement. Maybe they didn’t even say sorry. We are the ones who pardon the robber if they rob us. It’s possible that they never even gave us back the stolen goods. We are the ones who must forgive someone who severely hurts our emotions or bodies. The pain cannot be undone by the one who created it. We pardon because it is the will of God (Ephesians 4:32) and because it frees us from resentment, bitterness, and desire for vengeance.
Even the soldiers who executed Jesus were pardoned by Him (Luke 23:34). It might have helped them deal with thoughts of regret, worry, or dread for killing the Son of the Almighty God when they eventually discovered Who He was after His death. Nevertheless, the crucifixion took place. The individual who insulted us may still be free to damage us and others in the future, and our stolen goods are still gone. We are also still grieving over the insult. Stated differently, justice has not been carried out.
3. Yes, but, could God not simply overlook our sin?
God is totally deserving. God would cease being entirely righteous if He condoned injustice, which is exactly what He would be doing if He disregarded our sins. Therefore, the idea of justice—rather than a “lack of power”—is what keeps the all-powerful God from overlooking our guilt. When a father chooses to forgive his child, he need only think about how his actions will affect him personally. God must take into account how people’s activities affect other people since there are those who have been wronged and should be held accountable.
And if God allowed us to enter His celestial Kingdom while we were still sinners, He would discover that He was surrounded by sinners. God is holy and cannot look upon sin (Matthew 27:46), thus this would not be acceptable to Him, and it also shouldn’t be acceptable to us. Relying on 1 John 1:9 requires us to acknowledge that God is at liberty to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” because the penalty has been paid.[1]
It is conceivable for this to happen. The good news is that we won’t even be responsible for paying the fine!
4. What is the principle of redemption?
Someone who chooses to forgive graciously does not become immune to legal consequences. Regardless of whether our victim extends forgiveness, we still have to face consequences if we violate the laws of the nation in which we reside. Legal consequences are not an alternative to forgiveness. This holds true for God as well as for any legal system in the world. God IS forgiving, but justice must also be served by His “legal system.”
All around the world, cultures and communities maintain that those who have paid a price for their crimes by serving time in prison or receiving other forms of punishment have done so willingly. So how could we atone for a sin against our Creator, the All-Powerful God? Will a term in prison be adequate? Maybe a lifetime of arduous work? A penalty? However, what could cover this fine? – All things on Earth are ultimately the property of God, who created them all (Psalm 24:1, 1 Corinthians 10:26, Haggai 2:8). It is obvious that something far more valuable and unique is needed for this kind of redemption.
5. How is it possible that Jesus died for us?
The right punishment has already been decided, according to Romans 6:23, which states, “For the wages of sin is death.” God provided the Israelites the system of animal sacrifices described in the Old Testament. A symbolically transferred sin was placed on an animal, which was then killed. All that would be needed to ensure the animal’s temporary salvation is its death. The system of sacrifice was not a haphazard decision; rather, it was a prefiguration of the blood of Jesus Christ, which forever atoned for our sins (Hebrews 9:12-14).
The only sacrifice worth enough to guarantee mankind’s eternal salvation from its sins is Jesus, the Son of God and the sinless Lamb. Because He has never sinned, He is without sin. Jesus is the most precious person in the world; Jesus’ birth was necessary because of his “had to” death. According to John 3:16, his death was not a regrettable turn of events; rather, it had been [God’s plan all along]. Although this may make us uneasy, as Christian author and preacher Tim Keller states in his book “The Reason for God”[2]:
At this point, it is important to keep in mind that Christians have always believed that Jesus Christ is God. Therefore, God did not cause suffering for others; rather, on the cross, God took on all of the suffering, violence, and evil in the world. Thus, the God of the Bible is not like the prehistoric gods who required our blood in order to placate their wrath. Instead, He is a God who takes on human form and gives His own blood to uphold morality, justice, and mercy so that one day He can eradicate all evil without eradicating humanity.
Romans 6:23 therefore continues after “death.” The passage goes on to state, “But eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord is the gift of God.” God gave us Jesus’ death as a gift since it was during his death that we were saved. For this reason, it was vital that Jesus die in the way that Isaiah predicted some 700 years prior (Isaiah 52:13–53:12); otherwise, His mission would have been meaningless and His resurrection would not have established His status as the Son of God.
[1] Sin is grave and necessitates bloodshed. Refer to What is sin in the Bibleword article as well as Genesis 3:21.
Timothy Keller, The Origin of God [2]. faith in the Skeptic Age. Penguin Books, 2009.
