Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

In the Christian account, Jesus dies so that we can enter into full relationship with him.  For many, that seems ludicrous or even sinister. And so we get questions like; “Why would Jesus have to die?”  “Why can’t God just forgive us?” And sceptics say, “The Christian God sounds like the vengeful gods of primitive times who needed to be appeased by human sacrifice.” There are even a few Christian’s who ask, “Why don’t we just leave out the Cross; focus on the life of Jesus and his teachings rather than on his death? “  Before beginning in earnest to explore this matter, there are three principal points to grasp. 

First, there is no one fully complete answer. Instead there are depths that one can explore and you are encouraged to meditate on what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about Christ’s dying on the cross.  And while I will touch on some of what the Catechism covers, we will barely scratch the surface of all that God wishes us to know.

Second, when we ask questions like this, we must be careful that we are not calling God into question. To wonder why God has acted in a specific way could imply that the way He chose is not the best course of action and that some other approach would have been better.  Before we can come to grips with anything God does, we must first acknowledge that His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts — they are higher than ours.

To be continued…