Why Did Jesus Die on the Cross? (EP.163)

Devotional

Day 1: The Grand Story of Redemption from the Beginning

God’s plan for salvation was not a reaction to human failure but a divine intention set in motion from the very start of creation. The events of the cross were not a sudden, desperate measure but the fulfillment of a promise woven into the fabric of history. Even in the midst of humanity’s first sin, God’s grace was already present, foreshadowing the ultimate redemption to come. This grand narrative provides a lens through which to see the entire Bible as a unified story of God’s love and purpose. [02:08]

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. [09:29]
Genesis 3:15 (ESV)

Reflection: Where in your own life have you been tempted to see God’s actions as reactive rather than part of his sovereign, pre-ordained plan of grace?

Day 2: The Cost of Covering Our Shame

Our sin and shame require a covering, and that covering always comes at a great cost. From the very beginning, God himself provided the means to cover humanity’s nakedness and guilt, which required the life of another. This act was a profound demonstration of grace, pointing forward to a greater sacrifice that would not merely cover sin but ultimately remove it. The substitutionary death of an innocent for the guilty is a central theme that runs from Genesis to the Gospels. [11:11]

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
Genesis 3:21 (ESV)

Reflection: In what ways do you try to cover your own shame or guilt, and how does the truth that God himself provided the ultimate covering through Christ invite you to respond differently?

Day 3: The Final Atonement That Removes Sin

The old covenant sacrifices provided a temporary covering for sin, a system that required constant repetition and renewal. Jesus Christ, however, inaugurated a new and final covenant through his own blood, which does not merely cover sin but completely removes it. His sacrifice was a once-and-for-all payment, securing an eternal redemption for those who believe. This is the gift of a permanent right standing with God, based not on our work but on his finished work. [15:49]

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Hebrews 9:13-14 (ESV)

Reflection: Are there areas in your life where you are still trying to ‘renew your own tabs’ through performance, rather than resting in the final and complete forgiveness purchased by Christ?

Day 4: Righteousness Credited Through Faith, Not Works

Our right standing before God is not a wage we earn but a gift we receive through faith. To believe that our works contribute to our justification is to misunderstand the very nature of God’s grace. He justifies the ungodly, counting faith itself as righteousness, apart from any merit of our own. This truth frees us from a life of guilt-driven obligation and empowers us to live a life of joyful, grateful response. [21:25]

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
Romans 4:4-5 (ESV)

Reflection: How might your daily routines, like prayer or service, look different if they flowed from a heart secure in God’s gift of righteousness rather than from a place of insecurity or obligation?

Day 5: Living as Sent People in the New Covenant

The resurrection of Jesus Christ confirms his authority over all creation and commissions his people to be sent into the world. We are not called to establish a physical kingdom through force but to proclaim the good news of a spiritual kingdom established by grace. Having been transferred from darkness into light, our lives are now to be characterized by making disciples, fueled by the confidence that Christ is with us always. [46:22]

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)

Reflection: Who in your immediate sphere of influence—your neighborhood, workplace, or family—is God specifically placing on your heart to share the hope of the new covenant with this week?

Sermon Summary

The Bible forms a single, unfolding story of creation, fall, promise, and redemption. Scripture traces how human freedom led to rebellion, brought death, and set the world under a curse, yet also revealed God’s layered plan to restore what was lost. From Genesis, the narrative shows substitutionary grace: God provides garments of skin and pronounces a seed who will crush the serpent’s head, foreshadowing later atonement practices. The sacrificial system in Israel formalizes that atonement: blood covers sin to allow divine presence, pointing forward to a final, decisive work.

The repeated offerings under the tabernacle and temple illustrate a covering that required renewal, because animal blood could not ultimately remove guilt. The New Testament explains that Christ’s one offering accomplishes what repetitive sacrifices could not—he removes the legal claim of sin and grants permanent standing before God. Paul’s argument in Romans reframes righteousness as imputed by faith, not earned by works; justification becomes a gift, not a wage.

Jesus reframes Israel’s memory—especially Passover—so that his body and blood signify the inauguration of a new covenant that fulfills Jeremiah’s promise: God will write his law on hearts, forgive iniquity, and remember sin no more. The resurrection vindicates that covenantal work, breaks death’s legal right, and ushers believers from slavery into adoption. Finally, the story moves outward: the new covenant people receive a commission to make disciples of all nations, bearing the reality of the kingdom now while awaiting its full, visible consummation. The narrative thus invites both sober awe at the cost of redemption and active participation in God’s mission to reconcile a broken world.

Key Takeaways

1. Grace appears amid the Fall The Fall does not end God’s resolve to restore; it exposes human culpability and simultaneously introduces a divine promise of rescue. The first covenantal response includes substitution—garments of skin—that both covers shame and signals a greater remedy to come. That early act frames all later atonement language as God’s initiative to bear the cost for sinners. [08:24]
2. Blood functions as holy atonement Sacred blood in the covenant system marks a way for a holy God to dwell with guilty people without annihilating them. Ritual sacrifice demonstrates that sin brings death and that divine communion requires a cost paid on behalf of the sinner. These rites prepare the mind to see why a single, divine offering had to occur. [11:50]
3. Christ removes sin once for all Repetitive sacrifices covered transgression; the risen Christ abolishes its legal claim. His one offering effects true removal, not temporary covering, so believers receive a permanent change of standing before God. This changes the posture of obedience from guilt-driven performance to grateful fruit born of secure identity. [15:49]
4. New covenant fulfills prophetic promise The new covenant does what the old could not: it writes God’s law on hearts, forgives iniquity, and restores intimate knowing of God. Jesus’ words at the Passover reassign meaning to Israel’s festivals and show that the kingdom promise centers on reconciliation, not merely political liberation. Believers live now as heirs of that fulfilled promise while awaiting final consummation. [40:35]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:45] - Bible as a unified story
[02:08] - Following the Old Testament thread
[04:31] - Prophets and Holy Spirit inspiration
[05:32] - Freedom, consequence, and responsibility
[07:09] - Dominion, curse, and its scope
[08:24] - The Fall and first promise
[11:50] - Sacrifice and the meaning of blood
[15:49] - Lambs cover; Christ removes sin
[35:14] - Last Supper: body and blood
[40:35] - Jeremiah’s new covenant fulfilled
[46:22] - The Great Commission and mission
[47:50] - Resurrection hope and closing invitation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Genesis 3:9-15, 21 (ESV)
> But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”... And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (ESV)
> “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Observation questions

In Genesis 3, what was the immediate consequence of Adam and Eve's disobedience, and what was the first act God performed to address their shame? [08:24]
According to the passage in Jeremiah, what are the specific promises God makes under the terms of the "new covenant"?
What does the Genesis 3 narrative say will happen between the serpent and the woman's offspring? [09:29]
In the Jeremiah passage, how does God describe the difference between the new covenant and the one made with the fathers after the exodus from Egypt? [40:35]

Interpretation questions

The animal skins God provided for Adam and Eve came at a cost—the life of another. How does this act of substitutionary grace set a pattern for the rest of the biblical story? [08:24]
The new covenant promises that God will "remember their sin no more." How does this differ from the temporary covering of sin provided by the Old Testament sacrificial system? [15:49]
The promise in Genesis 3:15 speaks of a future offspring who will crush the serpent's head. How does this "first gospel" shape the entire biblical narrative and its view of evil? [09:29]
Jeremiah says the new covenant will be written on people's hearts rather than on stone. What does this change indicate about the nature of our relationship with God and our motivation for obedience? [40:35]

Application questions

The idea of substitutionary grace—someone else paying the cost for our shame—appears immediately after the fall. How does recognizing this as God's initiative from the very beginning, and not a later human idea, change the way you view your own failures and God's heart toward you? [08:24]
The old covenant sacrifices provided a temporary covering for sin, but Christ's sacrifice removes it completely. In what ways do you sometimes live as if your sin is only "covered" and not "removed," leading to a life of guilt-driven performance rather than grateful obedience? [15:49]
The new covenant means God's law is written on our hearts and we can know Him personally, not just know about Him. What are some practical signs in your life that show your relationship with God is based on this internal, personal knowledge rather than just external rule-following? [40:35]
The promise of the "seed" in Genesis 3:15 gives humanity a hope that evil will be ultimately defeated. When you see the brokenness of the world—sickness, injustice, pain—how does this ancient promise fuel your hope and patience today?
The new covenant offers complete forgiveness and God "remembering our sin no more." How can you practically embrace this truth when past failures or regrets come to mind and try to accuse you?
The sermon mentioned that our obedience should be the "fruit of the tree," not the "root." What is one area of your life where you are learning to obey God out of a secure identity in Christ rather than out of guilt or fear?
The Great Commission is the mission of the new covenant people. How does being a part of this "unfolding story of redemption" affect your purpose and the way you interact with people in your everyday life? [46:22]

Sermon Clips

35s

#ShareTheEmptyTomb

“And I hope this doesn't become numb to you. Those that have heard this, know, I've heard this before. I I pray it never becomes numb, that there's still an awe, a wonder, a thankfulness, and soberness when we look at the cross of Jesus, and and that it would compel us to go and be sent like the disciples after they had witnessed all that Jesus had done. If you have witnessed Jesus in your life, you too are called to be sent and to preach this message of the empty tomb to your neighbors as if it happened today.”

44s

#RisenAndRedeemed

“been risen. He's overcome death. Death had no legal right over him. He's been raised to life. In that case, we are justified when we believe in him. He has paid it all. We don't need to work because we're insecure of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. You put your trust in him. You are forgiven. You have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of of light. He has ransomed us by his blood. Once slaves, now free, and sons of God who have been adopted. So I I pray that you would believe that if you've never heard of that before, that hopefully this would give you an understanding of what Jesus truly accomplished and give you a better context.”

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