Why Jesus? Part 1

Why Jesus?

It's a very legitimate question that we all have to ask ourselves. But before we delve into the scriptures to find the answers, I would like to tell you how this question came about.

Growing up in a Christian family, I never thought to ask myself, "Why Jesus?" But it was a question I had to get the answer to by constantly talking to God and meditating on His words.

Yes, it's obvious that Jesus died for our sins and that He was sinless, but why didn't God make another way for our salvation?

It was around August/September of 2013 as I lay in bed that I heard the devil whisper these words to me: "Why Jesus?" I had been born again for almost two years, and those words, though they were just, were spoken to me in a way that would make me doubt my faith in Jesus Christ. Quickly, I did what anyone who is born of God will do, and that was to rebuke the devil, which I did, and he did what Jesus said he would do, which was to flee.

About a month later, or some weeks to be precise, I laid in bed again in the evening, and here came that old devil again and spoke to me the same words, “Why Jesus?" I rebuked him again, and off he went.

Starting from that time, I began to ask God the same question, not because I doubted him but because I wanted Him to reveal the scriptures to me. Though I would admit, there were things that seemed like some real questions in my mind from that time onward. I felt a seed of doubt had been planted in my mind, though it never germinated.

Though the devil meant it for my destruction, Jesus allowed him to ask those questions so that I could fully pursue the Lord and begin a journey of asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to me mysteries from the scriptures. Before Jesus went to the cross, He promised us that the Holy Spirit would come and that when the Holy Spirit comes, He (the Holy Spirit) would guide us into all truth and show us things to come.

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John 16:12-15 KJV.

Here, Jesus made it clear to us that the role of the Holy Spirit to us, or one of His roles, would be a revealer of mysteries, and this is the reason it's very important to get acquainted with the Holy Spirit and to rely on Him for answers and not on men's philosophies.

Now, we shall start on this journey to see for ourselves in the scriptures why Jesus had to die.

1. EVERYTHING GOD MADE, HE MADE IN FAMILIES (KINDREDS).

We need to understand that all that God made, he made in their likeness or kind. God created everything in sort of kindreds or families.

Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

In verse 6 of Genesis 1, we see God grouping the waters in firmaments. One group is separated from another group by firmaments.

Genesis 1:19 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

In verse 9, God separates the water from the dry land, each to its own group, the water and the dry land.

This same pattern continues for the animals from the waters and the animals from the sea. Everything has its own kindred and its own source and can't just be interchanged. Then, when it came to humans in verse 26, God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

God created man and made man God's kinsman. Our kindred as humans is God's kindred. We are not of the animal kingdom, and no other kindred can properly display our nature than the kindred of God. That's the reason the Bible calls Jesus the kinsman redeemer.

Hebrews 2:11 states that "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers." Jesus is not only our redeemer from sin, but as Hebrews 2:16-18 and 4:14-16 point out, he is a kinsman to us and understands our struggles. Thus he is able to help us in our times of need.

Now that we have established this fact about kindreds, we have to move on to one of Jesus's famous teachings in John 6. The people in his days didn't understand this, so they fought against him. Some just out of envy, as stated in the scriptures.

2. Life Exists AT THE EXPENSE OF ANOTHER.

This is one of the basic principles of life. Regardless of your dietary choices, something has to die every time for you to live. From the coffee you drink to the rice we eat and the meat we eat, something dies for us to live. And that was a principle God established in the earth in Genesis.

Genesis 1:29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

So, in the beginning, God gave both man and beasts seed-bearing plants on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it as food. So, those plants have to die; those seeds have to die for both man and beast to survive because life exists at the expense of another.

Here come the famous words of Jesus Christ; Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. John 6:53 NRSUVE.

Man is a spirit, having a soul and living in a body. Man is not the body we see, but the spirit that is not seen.

When we eat food according to Genesis 1:29, we feed our flesh, and when we feed on God's words, we feed our spirit man. Jesus was basically telling them that for a spirit to live and not die, that spirit has to feed on life. The body feeds on natural food, but the spirit of man can only feed on life itself. And who is life?

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

How then was this achieved?

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Why Jesus.