God led Jesus to a cross, not a crown, and yet that cross ultimately proved to be the gateway to freedom and forgiveness for every sinner in the world.
– Bill Hybels
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Defined: The coming of a Messiah, one who would save mankind from sin, was clearly foretold in early Scripture. Jesus was the fulfillment of those prophecies. As promised (Isaiah 7:14), Jesus was born to a virgin. As promised (Isaiah 53:10; Hosea 6:11), Jesus lived a sinless life, and died nailed to a cross, a cruel Roman method of capital punishment held for only the vilest of offenses. As promised (Hosea 6:11), Jesus came back from the dead after three days.
John 1:14 says that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Jesus is God’s son, and therefore, fully God. So, why did Jesus need to become man, live among us, and die?
For an eternal sacrifice to really work and fully cover the sin of humanity, the sacrifice had to be perfect, sinless, spotless. But, there is not a single person on earth without sin. Jesus Christ, the son of God, who is perfect, came in the flesh to be that sacrifice for us.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) (NIV)
By becoming human, Jesus experienced everything we experience. Jesus knew pain, hunger, thirst, and all the limitation of the physical human body. He was also tempted; however, through all of this, He remained sinless.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) (NAS)
Being acquainted with the things that grieve and trouble us, His sacrifice – being beaten, tortured, and killed on a cross – was the perfect substitution for ours. Because He died, we can live. Because He rose again, we can be confident in our eternity with Him in heaven.
"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:6) (NIV)
The entire Christian faith rests on the life, death, and resurrection of one man. He was able to conquer death because He was also the Son of God.