Why Did Jesus Have to Suffer?
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
Recently, we did an Easter egg hunt in a local neighborhood. We had not been there in a few years, as it had been closed for remodeling.
To tell the story of Christ, I use a set of 12 plastic eggs. Inside each one is a little item which illustrates the story of Jesus in His last week on earth. (Actually, the twelfth one is empty, symbolizing the resurrection!)
When I came to the part about Jesus’ suffering, particularly the whip and crown of thorns, one or two of the children looked astonished and asked: “Why did Jesus have to suffer?”
Good question! I felt led to explain it this way…
“Suppose you had done something wrong, and you were about to get a spanking. Just then, someone stepped up and volunteered to take your place, and they took the punishment for you.”
Jesus took our place… He suffered and died for our sins.
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
Isaiah goes on to explain:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”
Isaiah 53:6-8
The Apostle Paul said:
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:6-8
Jesus took our place so that we could have eternal life through faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ!
An old hymn says:
| “Man of Sorrows,” what a nameFor the Son of God who cameRuined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah! what a Savior!” |
Sing it again… “Hallelujah what a Savior!”
