A Grandsons Question


Why did Jesus have to die?

My grandson asked me a question the other day that I should have been able to answer, but it caught me by surprise. It went like this; why did people have to kill Jesus?

After some thought, I decided to write it down to keep my thoughts and understanding intact.

It all started back at the beginning of time when God created the heavens and the earth. Oh, I know, some people believe that everything happened by way of a big boom. The thing is, science continues to show that someone had to orchestrate it, even though they don’t want to tell us.

You might ask, what does this have to do with why they killed Jesus? It’s just that the answer takes a bit of background information.

The Bible tells us that the first man and woman were created in Their image, meaning God and his son Jesus. He created the first man and woman (Adam and Eve) to love Him and to live forever. However, he was not going to force them to love Him, he gave them that decision, and today we have that same choice.

But then someone, the Bible tells us it was Satin, or a serpent influenced by Satin, said to them that they didn’t have to listen to God, that they could do their own thing. And they did the one thing God asked them not to do, and that was when everything changed.

Many books are written about the historical information in the Bible, showing the accuracy of the Bible’s written words. But we must step forward through time to give the question an answer.

God used people to tell the story about His son Jesus early on in the Bible. They were the prophets that we read about in the Bible. They tell the story about Jesus hundreds of years before Jesus showed up on earth. The religious leaders at the time of Jesus’ life on earth knew about this but didn’t want to believe Jesus was who he said he was. I can only guess that they didn’t want their lives disrupted. They loved being in control of their people. So, they worked to have Jesus put to death. To prove He was a fake. The thing is, how Jesus would die was also made known hundreds of years before it happened.

So now Jesus was killed and buried. But what happened next is the most important part. After three days of being buried, actually he was place in a tomb, God raised Him from the dead, just as He said He would hundreds of years earlier. God allowed this to prove to everyone that He and His son Jesus are real. That death is not the last thing that happens when we die.

I truly believe that there is a part of us that never dies. Our bodies may get old or maybe sick and eventually give up, but the part of us that makes us who we are, our spirit, our soul, lives on. I believe that is how Jesus was born a baby on earth. God placed his spirit in that unborn baby at the time of conception. I think we’re the same. When we are conceived in our mother’s womb, our spirit is placed in us. And if God created the Heavens and the Earth, He can most definitely do this also. That is what makes us who we are. We are a real person way before we are physically born.

It’s now a matter of where we decide we want to go after we die. Remember, we are given a choice, a mind, and the ability to choose. No one wants to force someone to love them. That is not true love. Our mom or dad does not force us to love them. If they did, we probably wouldn’t love them very much.

So, the answer to the question is that if Jesus did not die and then come back to live again, to be seen by and talked with by hundreds of people, to show people the truth about what was written in the Bible about Him, then everything written in the Bible would not be true. There are many people that have a hard time believing in God, believing in Jesus, even after all these predictions have taken place.

Let’s try to draw a conclusion to the question.

Jesus told us that if we would love Him and His father, tell Him about the things we know we have done wrong, and put our faith in Him, then we become one of his children. And because He love’s us, when we die, we will go to live with Him forever. There is the saying, ‘there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend.’ Actually, Jesus also said this. And Jesus laid his life down for each of us.

I’m not saying we won’t do anything wrong again after we place our faith in Jesus. But we cannot earn this by doing things we think are good to do, even though we should be doing good things. Going to Heaven when we no longer are alive here on earth is something we put our faith in, something that we believe in, and trust will happen after we die. And if God and Jesus are real, then it’s important that we decide what we want to believe and what we want to put our faith in. Do we want to place our faith that all life is over once our bodies give out and we die? Or do we want to believe in Jesus and everything He told us?

I’ve often stated that either full blown evolution is true or what’s written in the Bible is true. Well, if the Bible tells the true story, then making a decision of where to place our faith is the most important decision we will ever make.

“Decisions”


When Making that “Decision,” do we look at what makes us comfortable, or do we dig into areas that differ from our comfort zone?

We all make decisions every day. Some work out great, just like we planned, and some do not. Decisions are generally based on what we have learned over time, experiences, and sometimes just our human desire. Finally, a decision is made, even if it’s subconscious. Even religious teachings are an influence, and just as significant the lack of religious teachings also influences decisions. C.S. Lewis said, “If Heaven is real, not much else matters. If Heaven is not real, nothing matters at all.”

If we broaden our scope of influence and step out of our comfort zone, we recognize that some form of religious belief has existed since the beginning of time, at least human time as we know it. So if we discount religion, we base life’s most significant decisions on something short of all the influences required to have a solid basis for our decisions. To narrow down the discussion about religions, of which we can find books and books written on them, let’s focus on the oldest known and recorded religious writings. The Bible. Especially the first part of it. This part is where we find information about God’s creation of the heavens and earth. However, many scientists want to argue that this is not correct. That science and the recorded events of the Bible do not line up. Or do they?

Some people take what they understand, the concepts, the teachings learned during their education years, and scientific findings, and then search for ways to interpret the words written in the Bible, or possibly the plethora of other religious beliefs, to fit these influences neatly. Finally, we make a decision: This is how it all happened!

Maybe it’s time to take what’s written in the Bible and look at how science fits God’s written word. One big question continues to rise to the surface. I believe this has to do with how evolutionary science try’s to explain the world into existence. Some interpret verse 8 in 2nd Peter, “a day to God is like a thousand to us,” to support the millions of years that evolutionary science teaches how everything came into existence. The question should be asked: under what context is this written? Does it have anything to do with God’s creation, or is it in context to the eternal, everlasting God of the Bible? Is Peters writing about creation or about how our human mind needs to grasp that all things are in God’s timing, not ours?

In the creation account, as told in the first two chapters of Genesis, are we to interpret the words about a day and night as maybe a thousand years or perhaps a million years or more? Or are we to understand that when God said there was night and day, He meant one night and one day? We should also understand that throughout the Bible, prophecies and events are based on a 24-hour day.

So this brings back the question about the science discovered and defined by humans that many things are millions or even billions of years old. How could this be true if we believe God’s written word that a day and night is a day and night as we experience it? What was different at the time of creation that would alter what science tells us? What was different on earth before the recorded flood of Noah’s time versus today?

One question I have asked myself is how could any of the recorded ages of the men in the Bible before the flood of Noah be correct when we know that is not possible today? What was different? Could today’s scientific knowledge be used to explain this?

This important question needs answering: Is God real, is His written word accurate, or are science and the theory of evolution true? This is critical information! When you boil it down, all other religious beliefs fail in comparison to this question.

So it’s decision time. Do we attempt to make God’s written word fit into our human scientific findings, or do we allow our human scientific findings to fit into God’s written word? This question challenges the evolutionists’ view that God does not exist and that only time and some mysterious explosion exist. We must remember that this event is scientifically unproven even though so many believe it as fact, even though it is a theory only.

So, where does one go from here? Is it time to discover, or are we content with our current understanding? Now that’s a ‘Decision’ each of us should make. But, it truly has ramifications if God’s word, as recorded in the Bible, is true.