To pay for the sins of mankind. First John 4:10 says, [God] loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sin. The key word is propitiation, meaning payment. It wasn’t enough for Him to die. Jesus had to pay a debt—our debt, for our sin. The payment was necessary.
To satisfy the demands of God’s wrath. As much as God loves you, He hates your sin with a holy, burning hatred beyond comprehension. The only way He could embrace you in spite of your sin was for someone else—someone perfect and holy—to pay for it (Romans 5:1).
To purchase the opportunity for our sins to be forgiven. No longer do you have to carry your sin. You can be forgiven. God laid all your sinfulness on Jesus as He willingly suffered and died upon the cross. The debt was paid, opening the door to your forgiveness.
To provide the way to eternal life. To have a gift, you must choose to receive it (Romans 6:23). Do you know Jesus Himself is the gift of eternal life? His suffering is the reason that gift is possible.
The glory of the gospel is this: Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. While we are the ones who need to be saved from God’s wrath, He is the one who saves us—through His Son, Jesus Christ. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
So as you pursue the week ahead, remember the above and ponder this poem below.
I laughed and mocked as He walked that day,
up a hill to redeem my soul.
I joined the crowd to spit and jeer,
and I watched His sorrow grow.
I drove every nail deep in His hands
with every sin in my heart.
My rebellion shoved the thorns in His head, and my strife tore His robe apart.
I used my hatred to give Him a bitter drink, and I glared down on Him with pride.
I thought of past disappointments, and with my anger, I pierced His side.
I denied His power and ignored His worth
and stood waiting for His life to end.
I watched the last drop of His blood fall,
not knowing my grief would begin.
I looked around to find His accusers,
but no one was there but me.
I looked at my hands;
they were stained with blood,
and then I began to see.
Conviction slowly entered my heart,
and I dropped all my weapons of choice:
the pride, the anger, the hatred, the lust,
and then I heard His voice.
"Forgive her Father, I died for her.
I paid the price for her soul,
I bore her sickness and all of her pain,
and now I have made her whole."
He looked down on me with loving eyes.
He saw my present, my future, my past.
He knew I needed a Savior,
and my soul had found Him at last.
I looked around to find His accusers,
but no one was there but me.