(Jesus Talks About What His Death Will Accomplish)

Just recently, last Sunday, I had one of those moments where life itself flashed before my eyes. I was in my dining room, and suddenly, some pretty extreme movements caught my eye coming from the backyard. I ran to the back room to get a better view of what had just happened. I have a giant Maple tree in my backyard that provides a lot of shade during the Summer. It also provides plenty of activity for squirrels and birds to nest and play. Well, if you recall, we were in the midst of quite a windstorm last Sunday. As a result of the extreme nature of the wind, it somehow managed to dislodge a huge chunk of my tree. It was much more than a branch, but it wasn’t the trunk. And here is the deal: the log landed right by the garden box that Shelly and Ben love to do gardening. It struck me that had either one of them been out there, this could have been a freak accident that could have caused their deaths. It humbled me and made me grateful for their lives. It also reminded me of the brevity of life. At a moment’s notice, anyone’s life can change forever. 

         While a big part of my tree was apparently dead and broke off, the part that’s left now has even more life. You can see the red haze from all the tips of the branches beginning to bud. And as the new leaves mature, they also produce what I call helicopters! You know what I mean. Those little twirly things that are fun to throw up in the air just to see them make the circular patterns as they flutter down to the ground again. 

         We are in that season right now where some of you are already into the game of mulching your yard. The schools have their mulch sales, and there are all kinds of opportunities to get mulch at just about every store you go to. Getting gas? There are bags of mulch right there! Buying flowers or plants for your yard? Don’t forget your mulch! There is red mulch, brown mulch, and black mulch. Everybody is about to get into the mulch season right now. But not this guy! Why, you ask? Because the helicopters haven’t fallen yet! We have made the mistake of mulching before the flight of the whirly-gigs. When you do that, then those stinking little helicopters all fall into your mulch, and after a week or two, guess what happens? New little saplings all over my new mulch! Then the never-ending job of weeding begins! If I had my way, I would make one huge brick patio out of my entire yard, front and back. No more weeds. No more mowing. A done deal! But alas, that will not happen. We wait patiently for the helicopters to drop off the tree so we can use the blower to get them out of the flower beds and then get our mulch down.

         You see, in order for the tree to reproduce itself, a part of it must die. The helicopters contain a seed within them that detaches from the tree, falls to the ground, always embeds itself in my new mulch, and then out comes the start of new life! A seed is just a seed until it is buried. Then what seemed to be dead brings forth new life. In the same way, Jesus tries to prepare his disciples for what is about to happen to him. And Jesus uses this word picture of a seed. He states, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

         I don’t know about you, but there have been times throughout my faith journey where I had to ask the question of, why did Jesus have to die? And believe me, over the last two thousand years after his death and resurrection, there have been many smart people who have wrestled with this very question. What makes this complex is that many good people have come up with many different answers to this question. And it is not that one is right and all the others are heresy. Each answer has biblical support, along with strengths and weaknesses for each view. Let’s go to seminary just for about five minutes. I want to present to you the seven major views of why Jesus had to be crucified. Then we will come back to what Jesus himself said in the last section of our Scripture for today.

         So, what this is called is atonement theory. There are many different theories of why Jesus died on the cross and what exactly it accomplished. Seven theories have been presented over the past two thousand years. 

         On this slide, you can see the seven major theories at a glance, along with the time period in which they evolved, the core problem, and the solution to the question of why Jesus had to die. 

         Highlighting each theory, we will first look at Christus Victor. The core idea of this one is that the cross IS the cosmic battle. Jesus invades enemy territory, absorbs sin and death at their worst, and shatters their power through resurrection. Humanity is liberated from bondage – not merely pardoned. The key verse that supports this view comes from Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

         The second theory is called the Ransom Theory. The core idea here is that humanity was held captive by Satan. Jesus’s life was offered as a ransom price to free them. In some versions, Satan accepted – but was “tricked” when he could not hold Jesus through the resurrection. The key verse here comes from Mark 10:45: The Son of Man came … to give his life as a ransom for many.

         The third theory is called the Satisfaction Theory. The core idea here is that sin infinitely dishonors God’s majesty. Human beings cannot make adequate satisfaction. Only one who is both fully human (to represent us) and fully divine (to offer infinite worth) can restore the honor owed. The key verse here is Romans 3:25, which states that God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement … to demonstrate his righteousness.

         Next is the Moral Influence Theory. The core idea is that the cross is NOT a transaction – instead, it is a demonstration. Witnessing the depth of God’s self-giving love melts hard hearts and moves sinners to repentance and transformation. The change happens in us, not in God. The key verse is Romans 5:8, which states, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

         The fifth, which became popular during the Reformation, is called Penal Substitution. The core idea is that God’s justice requires that the penalty for sin be paid. Jesus takes the legal punishment humanity deserves – divine wrath falls on him so that sinners can be declared righteous (justified). The key verse comes from 2 Corinthians 5:21, which states, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

         The sixth is called the Governmental Theory. The core idea is that God is the moral governor of the universe – not a strict judge bound by ledger logic. He can waive strict punishment. Christ’s suffering demonstrates the gravity of sin and upholds moral order, allowing God to forgive freely. The key verse in this argument comes from Romans 3:26, stating that He is the one who is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

         And then the final one is called the Scapegoat Theory. The core idea is that a human community bonds by scapegoating an innocent victim. Jesus voluntarily enters this mechanism. The resurrection vindicates the victim, exposes the lie of sacred violence, and breaks the cycle permanently. The key verse here is from Isaiah 53:3-4, which states, He was despised and rejected… Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.

         This final slide helps us see how these seven theories fall into three categories, attempting to answer what humanity’s fundamental problem is. Some theories see it as bondage and liberation. Others see it as guilt and justice. While others see it as ignorance and violence. But notice what is at the bottom of this slide. It states that most theologians today see the cross as large enough to encompass all three of these simultaneously. So, instead of one theory being the correct one and all the others being heresy, all these theories have something to teach us as we study each angle here. Personally, I lean into Christus Victor and Penal Substitution theories. But that is not to say that those two are without criticism, or that there is nothing we can learn from the other views. 

         With all that said, I want to turn to what Jesus himself said about why he had to go to the cross. Jesus gives us three points about the purpose of his death. He states, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

         The first point about the cross is that it will judge the world. In the devotional The Unvarnished Jesus, author Brian Zahnd states, “The cross exposes the principalities and the powers as neither wise or just, but simply greedy for wealth and power. The cross judges the system of the world as capable of unimaginable crimes.” The love displayed on the cross is in stark contrast to the evil we see in the world. 

         The second reason that Jesus makes is that the cross will cast out the ruler of the world. If you recall, when Jesus was tempted after fasting for 40 days in the desert, the devil did everything in his power to get Jesus to avoid the cross. He offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would just bow down and worship him. But this was a shortcut that Jesus was unwilling to take. Jesus knew that the defeat of satan would occur through the cross. The cross was the ultimate victory over the grip that the devil had on the world. 

         The third reason that Jesus makes is that the cross will draw the whole world to him. Brian Zahnd states that “When we see Jesus lifted up on the cross, perfectly displaying the love of God by forgiving the sins of the world, we find the place where human society is reorganized. Instead of a world organized around an axis of power enforced by violence, we discover a world organized around an axis of love expressed in forgiveness. As we gaze long upon the sacred mystery of Christ crucified, we find ourselves being drawn into the saving orbit of love and forgiveness.” You see, Jesus offers the world a new way of doing life: dying to ourselves and now living into the fullness of his love and forgiveness. 

         Author N. T. Wright sees the cross as the pinnacle turning point in history, as the day the revolution began. Wright states that “The cross itself, in short, stands as the center of the Christian message, the Christian story, and the Christian life and mission… The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth was a one-off event, the one on behalf of the many, the one moment in history on behalf of all others through which sins would be forgiven, the powers robbed of their power, and humans redeemed to take their place as worshippers and stewards, celebrating the powerful victory of God in his Messiah and so gaining the Spirit’s power to make his kingdom effective in the world.” Wright saw the crucifixion as the point at which Christ’s kingdom was established once and for all, with the resurrection being the first sign of new life and restoration. When I was growing up, I always thought that the devil was responsible for Jesus’s death, but then the resurrection was a shock and a surprise to the forces of evil. But remember that in the temptation of Christ, it was the cross that the devil wanted Jesus to avoid because he knew his reign on earth would be over, and Jesus would be victorious.

         The last point I would like to make here is to emphasize what Jesus told his audience as he knew he was heading to the cross. He stated, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” Jesus is inviting all of us to let go of the ways of the world, to die to ourselves, and to live our new life through Him. He is calling us to follow him! The statement I want to focus on is this: “Where I am, my servant will also be.” This is our job: to find where Jesus already is and then join him in his work. It is one thing for us to gather as a congregation or a small group to learn about Jesus, but it cannot stop there. We must go out into the world and find where kingdom work of love, forgiveness, restoration, and renewal is happening, and join in. We cannot hide the light of Christ within us when we leave church or go to work on Monday morning. If we are living into the fullness of our faith, I would propose that we would also be able to see the powers of this world for what they are, dying ways of trying to maintain power and control, that we would understand that the devil was ultimately defeated at the cross, and to be the kind of Christ-follower that literally attracts people to the faith through our deeds of service, kindness, love, and compassion. If you are struggling with how to do this, then please, please, please sign up for any number of opportunities to serve with other people at our church. All of you should be getting a Monday email that goes out every week showing you the most recent opportunities to serve. The most recent opportunities would be with Mountain Top Ministry in Goshen on Friday, March 27; serving those in need at the Loveland Care Center on Wednesday, April 1; and serving breakfast to the homeless in downtown Cincinnati at Prince of Peace on Easter Sunday, April 5. These are awesome opportunities to serve and show the love of Christ to those in need. If you can’t make any of these, there are even more opportunities coming up. Find where the work of Jesus is already going on, loving people, caring for people, restoring people’s lives, standing up for people, and then get involved. It will radically change your faith. 

Amen.