I’ve heard it asked before, “Why was Jesus’ death such a big deal if He knew He would rise again in a few days?”

It’s a great question. And one we all should ask. Many people throughout history have stood strong in their faith under imminent threat of torture and death with the assurance that they would come alive again. In fact this is the very promise that we Christians have in the resurrection. Nearly every apostle and countless martyrs throughout history experienced gruesome deaths because they would not deny their Lord Jesus. They went willingly… joyfully even. Indeed, because of the power of the Holy Spirit burning inside them, they were emboldened and strengthened to persevere through it all with the promise of redemption and eternal life.

However, this same grace is not evident when we read about Jesus’ behavior leading up to His death. By His own admission, His soul was crushed with grief to the point of death. (Mark 13:34) He was in such distress that He quite literally sweated blood. The real stunner however is when He asks the Father three separate times if there is “another way”(Mark 14:36). Why was God in the flesh so hesitant and fearful of death? Especially when we see so many others after Him going confidently to a torturous end.

The answer lies in understanding why Christ had to die. It wasn’t the fear of physical pain and death He was agonizing over. Jesus’ sacrifice was the payment for all sin. The punishment for every sin, committed by all people, past, present, and future was laid on Him while He hung on that tree. The wrath of God the father, The God of perfect justice, came down on His beloved Son, all so humanity could be saved and restored.

Scripture says that He (Jesus) became sin. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.“ (2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬ NIV). ‬‬All that we deserve was transferred onto Him in those few hours while He hung there amidst the physical agony. I believe that in the garden, prior to this, He was getting a taste of what was coming, and it was utterly shocking to Him. All that Jesus had known for eternity, perfect intimacy and relationship with the Father was being broken down, and in that moment on the cross, God turned His face from Jesus, causing more pain, suffering, and anguish than we could ever understand or even contemplate.

Jesus lived a perfect life, obeying the Father with perfect love and devotion, and yet He was abandoned, rejected, punished for our sake. He did it willingly. It is sin that separates us from God, and so Jesus chose to be cut off as payment, so that we may be rejoined.

There are two cups in this grand story. Firstly, the cup that Jesus mentions in the upper room during their Passover feast. ”In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.“ Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This cup, which we have the privilege of partaking in, and is symbolized by taking communion, is the cup of salvation. When we receive Jesus as our savior, and the blood of Christ covers all of our transgressions against the Lord, we are made whole and restored to the family of God. Not only are we forgiven the debt that we owe, but we are grated an eternal inheritance as adopted children of the Lord most high. Jesus’ blood makes us blood.

This cup of the new covenant is only possible because of the second cup. The cup of wrath. God is perfect, and He must balance the scales and make all things right. Yet, because of His great, boundless, and unfathomable love, grace, and mercy, He chose to bear the consequences of our sin Himself, so that we might be restored to Him.

This truth astounds me. It is life altering, confusing, hope inspiring, glorious, beautiful, unbelievable, and undeniable all at once. I pray that this truth impacts you the way it has me and countless generations of souls before us.

But as we all know, the story doesn’t end there. For even though He bore the sins of the world and paid the ultimate price that only He could afford, He is still God, and death could not hold Him. He is alive and we owe Him our everything. Only our King Jesus could take on the debt of the world in the most humble way possible, and yet still conquer the grave and rise to rule and reign forevermore.

Glory to God in the highest!

“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

-Jason