0312. Christ Must Die

Christ Must Die

"As Moses lifted up the serpent, in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (Joh_3:14).

This "must" stood before Jesus Christ just as imperatively, as "ye must be born again" stands before each sinner.

Christ knew the full force of this "must." At Caesarea Philippi Christ began to show unto His disciples, "How that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day."

There was an eternal "must" that faced Christ every day of His life, yea, it faced Him from before the foundation of the world, it was the "must" of the Cross.

But what was this compelling "must" that drove Jesus Christ to Calvary?

1. Did Christ say, "The Son of Man must be killed," because He saw the multitudes turning away from Him? Once the populace had heard Him gladly, they had eaten His bread and His fishes; they had applauded the power of His miracles; they had applauded when He taught the things of God; but now they were leaving Him. So swiftly and so sweepingly did this defection of the common people set in, that Christ turned to His disciples and said, "Will ye also leave Me?"

Did Christ mean that He must be killed because the populace had turned against Him?

2. Did Christ say, "The Son of Man must be killed" because the scribes and Pharisees were going about to slay Him? These men had never loved Him. For envy they were about to deliver Him. It was their power and their prestige that turned the populace away. They sat in Moses’ seat, they dominated the synagogue, and wielded a tremendous power in Israel. Did Christ mean that He must be killed because He could not withstand the surging waters of the wrath of the scribes and Pharisees?

3. Did Christ mean, "The Son of Man must be killed," because He knew the weakness of character that Pilate possessed? Did He mean, "This Roman governor cares more for Caesar’s friendship than for Me; this Roman governor is afraid of his very shadow, he fears the mob; he weakly washes his hands, and says, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person, see ye to it;’ he releases Barabbas and turns Me over to the fury of the mob"? Did Christ mean the Son of Man must be killed because Pilate, the Roman ruler, was swayed by the populace and the priests who, like ravenous and roaring lions, beset Christ round?

4. Did Christ mean the Son of Man must be killed because satan had marshaled all his hosts to meet Him in one final conflict, and because He feared He could not stem the tide? Satan possessed tremendous power, he made the world tremble; he, with all subtlety swayed the hatred-filled scribes and Pharisees; he inspired the maddened cries of the multitudes. Did Christ mean, that He must die because of satan’s overwhelming power?

5. Away with the thought! Christ did not die a martyr to a holy cause, helpless and overwhelmed by His foes. Christ could have called twelve legions of angels, had He wished their aid; He, who merely by the words "I am He" caused the mob in the Garden of Gethsemane to fall back as dead men, could have thrown back all of the combined forces which beset Him round. For Christ was God.

6. And yet, He said: "The Son of Man must be lifted up;" "He must be killed." What then, was the "must" that drove Him to the Cross? There is but one answer. It was the "must" made necessary by, "Ye must be born again." The one was wholly dependent upon the other.

The "must" that nailed Christ to the Cross, was God’s answer to the question, "How can God be just, and justify the ungodly?" Christ must die because there was no other way by which His burning love for sinners, and His certified promises to saints could be fulfilled. Salvation is dependent on the Cross.

The Son of Man must be killed because apart from the shedding of Blood there is no remission.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR