Why was Jesus Christ Crucified?

As a Christian we often heard this question asked by the non-believers, "Why was Christ Crucified? Is God after blood?" There is a clear answer to it in the Christian creed of faith, "It was for us human and for our salvation He came down from heaven and was born of the Holy Spirit by the Virgin Mary. He became a man and was crucified for us in the days of Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried and rose again on the third day and ascended into heaven."

As we know the Holy Bible starts with Jesus and completed with Jesus. There are so many verses in the Holy Bible about His suffering and crucifixion and it is not possible to mention details in this article but the following are a few;

Genesis 3;15 , "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers, he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Isaiah 50;6, "I offered my back to those who bit me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting."

Isaiah 53:5, "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Isaiah 53;7, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."

Isaiah 53;9, "He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth."

Zechariah 11;12, "I told them, 'If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’  So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.”

Zechariah 12;10, "And I will pour out the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”

Psalm 22;1, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saying me, so far from the words of my groaning?"

Psalm 22;16-18, "Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing."

Psalm 34:20, "He protects all his bones; not one of them will be broken."

Psalm 69;21, "They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst."

Since God is merciful, He wanted to show us his mercy to man and save him from the fires of hell. Therefore he has ordained the work of Redemption from eternity. At first when Adam and Eve sinned God clothed them, using skins from an animal’s which God Himself sacrificed.

This is the message of Christianity; that we can be known and yet clothed at the same time. Yet being clothed is not accomplished ultimately with the skins of animals. The clothing of Adam and Eve was only a symbol, an acted parable, of what was to come for all when God sent Jesus Christ to die for our sin so that guilt might be removed. On the basis of his perfect and atoning sacrifice, God would then clothe all who believe in Christ with the Lord’s own righteousness. Because of Christ’s work, God no longer looks on us sinners but as those who have become righteous in Christ. Now we can stand before him rather than hide-not because God has been ignorant of our sin or has refused to care about it, but because he has known about it and has dealt with it perfectly. Now we can cry with Isaiah, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61;10)

Now a question may come why salvation had to be achieved in this way?

Anselm and Calvin gave two answers. The first is that salvation had to be achieved by God, for no one else could achieve it. Certainly men and women could not achieve it, for we are the ones who have gotten ourselves into trouble in the first place. We have done so by our rebellion against God’s just law and decrees. Moreover, we have suffered from the effects of sin to such a degree that our will is bound, and therefore we cannot even choose to please God, let alone actually please him. If we are to be saved, only God, who has both the will and power to save, must save us. Anselm’s second answer is that, in apparent contradiction, salvation must also be achieved by man. Man is the one who has wronged God and must therefore make the wrong right. Granted this state of affairs, salvation can be achieved only by one who is both God and man, namely by Christ.

It would not have been right for the restoration of human nature to be left undone, and.... it could not have been done unless man paid what was owing to God for sin. But the debt was so great that, while man alone owed it, only God could pay it, so that the same person must be both man and God. Thus it was necessary for God to take manhood into the unity of his Person, so that he who in his own nature ought to pay and could not should be in a person who could......The life of this man was so sublime, so precious, that it can suffice to pay what owing for the sins of the whole world, and infinitely more. Therefore it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Hebrew 10;3)

Now we have been seen that there is no way to obtain pardon for sin and cleansing of heart except in Christ, and no book or religion which reconciles the justice of God and his mercy, showing us God’s love to man except Lord Jesus Christ. We have to accept him as our saviour, we have to confess our sin to him, we have to repent for our sin and we have to follow him every day in our life.