263 It had to happen - or did it?

It had to happen – or did it?

This week, as I was reading through the Gospel accounts of the resurrection of Jesus, I was struck by a statement in John 20:9 which tells us that the disciples did not yet understand the Scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead.

I found myself asking:

·      Why didn’t they understand?

·      What was the scripture that John was referring to?

·      Why did Jesus have to rise from the dead?

We’ll deal with the first two questions fairly quickly, before answering in more detail why Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Why didn’t they understand?

Four possibilities:

Some things we don’t understand until after they have happened

Their minds were clouded by unbelief – too good to be true?

Jesus had not yet opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45)

They had not yet received the Holy Spirit who would guide them into the truth (John 16:13).

What was the scripture that John was referring to?

It’s clear from Acts 2:24-32 that Peter, having been filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, now understood Psalm 16:8-11 to be a clear prophecy that Jesus would rise from the dead. He says in verse 24 that God raised (Jesus) from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

Quoting where the psalm says

my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay,

Peter applies it directly to the resurrection of Jesus, saying in verse 31 that David saw what was ahead and

spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.

There are, of course, many other OT passages which prophesy the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (notably Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53). But we can’t be sure exactly what scripture John had in mind because he doesn’t tell us. What we do know is that Jesus himself had explained to his disciples that

he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life (Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22).

But notice that these verses not only say that he must be raised to life, but that he also must suffer and be killed. So that now widens our question. We need to ask not only why Jesus must be raised to life, but why he must suffer and die in the first place.

Why did Jesus have to suffer, to die and to be raised to life?

Because:

·      The Scripture must be fulfilled

·      It was the only way that we could be saved

The Scripture must be fulfilled

Matthew 26:53-54

Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

Luke 24:25-27

He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Luke 24:44-47

He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Why are these references to the fulfilment of Scripture so important? Because what God says in the Bible MUST come to pass. He said, Let there be light, and there was light. What he says, happens. Jesus had to rise from the dead because in the Bible God had said he would. We’ve also seen that it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Why? Because he was God’s holy one.

But why did Jesus have to suffer and die. The NT gives us clear reasons for this, but, before we come to that, we need to think about what the words had to mean in this context. Did he really have to die? Didn’t he have a choice about it? Yes he did. Notice what he said in John 10:17-18:

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.

So Jesus didn’t have to suffer and die. But before man ever sinned he voluntarily chose to do so, because he loved us. He knew that if he chose not to, there would be no hope for us. The only way to save us from the just punishment our sins deserve was to take that punishment for us by dying on the cross. So in Gethsemane he ratified the decision he had made before the world began. He knew he must suffer. He knew he must die. It was the only way that we could be saved.

It was the only way that we could be saved

Let me explain it like this. Because God loves us, he wants what's best for us.

Because he knows what's best for us he sets boundaries for our actions.

If we go beyond those boundaries, there can be serious consequences.

For example, we heard about the tragedy in Baltimore recently where a bridge collapsed.

I imagine that as soon as it happened, they erected a NO ENTRY sign to prevent traffic from crossing the bridge. If anyone ignored it the consequences could have been fatal.

It’s like that with God. NO ENTRY signs like You shall not kill…You shall not steal… You shall not commit adultery… You shall not lie are there for a good reason.

And the Bible has a word for ignoring God’s NO ENTRY signs. It calls it sin.

And if we disobey those signs, there’s a price to pay.

And the Bible is clear that this applies to all of us:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

There is no one who does not sin (1 Kings 8:46).

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8).

And the Bible warns us of the seriousness of sin. Sin separates us from God.

Our sins have hidden his face from us (Isaiah 59:2)

And unless our sins are dealt with, our separation from God will be eternal.

Jesus himself talked eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46).

Paul tells us that the price we pay for our sin is death (Romans 6:23)

So sin is serious. It separates from God. And there is nothing we can do about it.

We cannot hide it, for our sin will find us out (Numbers 32:23).

We cannot cleanse ourselves from it.

Turning over a new leaf today won’t eradicate yesterday’s sin.

No one can be righteous in God’s sight by keeping the law (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16).

We have all sinned. We are all separated from God. There is nothing we can do. We all need a Saviour.

And this is why Christ died.

He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

He died on the cross to reconcile us sinners to God (Colossians 1:20).

He did this by offering himself as a sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2).

He died in our place. Because of our sin, we should die. Instead, Christ has died for us.

He took the punishment for us. He was wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5).

He suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

We deserved to die because of our sin, but because he loved us, he came and died in our place, so that we could live.

So why did Jesus have to suffer and die? So that we could be saved.

But what must we do?

You must be born again

Listen to what Jesus once said to a very religious man called Nicodemus:

I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again… You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'

Of course, Jesus was not talking about physical birth. He was talking about a spiritual birth where God so completely changes us that we become a new person. This happens when we repent of our sin and trust Jesus for forgiveness, relying on the fact that he has already taken the punishment for us when he died on the cross. The Bible also calls this being saved and it’s important because it’s the only way to get to Heaven. Jesus said,

I am the way… no one comes to the Father except by me (John 14:6).

And Peter said

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

And that’s why the gospel must be preached.

The gospel must be preached

Mark 4:43

But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God …because that is why I was sent."

John 9:4

As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

Mark 13:10

And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.

And finally, in 1 Corinthians 15 we find two more MUSTs.

1 Corinthians 15:22-25

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

1 Corinthians 15: 50-53

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

Your immortality is as certain as his reign!