For what did Christ die?
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.5 But 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 53:4-5
23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. I Peter 2:23-25
Today a carnal gospel is being preached around the world. Time after time I hear people declaring that God wants us to be prospered in that which is disappearing, that He wants us to be rich in that which will be destroyed. Today, Saturday of “Holy Week” here in Colombia, we are awaiting the celebration of Christ’s resurrection which we will have tomorrow. As we transition from remembering how He died and was buried to celebrating His return to life we have time to reflect on the simple question: “Why?”
To hear many preachers today, the “Why?” can be summed up as “Christ died so that you will have an abundance of earthly wealth and never suffer from a cold again.” To hear them preach one is left wondering “If Christ heals all my bodily ills – from what will I die?” Did Christ indeed die on the cross only in order to give us freedom from illness and disease? I think not. A careful examination of the scriptures above gives us a clearer picture of the answer to the question “Why did Christ die?”
In Isaiah the prophet gave clear reference to the healing ministry of the Lord Jesus, the Christ. He said “surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows” and this the Christ did. It is recorded that ALL who came to Him received full healing, unlike those who flock to modern “healers” and yet return home with the same illnesses more often than not. But then Isaiah says “But 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.” The reason Christ was pierce was “for our transgressions” - not for our illnesses. The reason He was crushed was “for our iniquities”, not for our diseases. His wounds were a punishment, of which is written “the punishment that brought us peace was upon him” and “by His wounds we are healed.” The whole purpose of Christ going to the Cross and suffering humiliation, torture and death was to take our place and pay the price for OUR sins. That is the “Why?” we asked before, as in “Why did Christ die?” He died to take our place and to pay for our sins.
That is why the Apostle Peter wrote: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” Christ’s death on the cross healed us of our sin so that we can “die to sins and live for righteousness.”
Does this mean that Christ does not heal our bodies? Of COURSE He heals our bodies!!! But His healing is dealt out according to His will – not ours. And if He were to heal all our sicknesses – of what would we die? This corruptible flesh can not inherit incorruptibility – it must be transformed. Those who die in Christ will be raised up with a new body – one that is not bound up in corruption like the one they formerly dwelt in. Those who remain until He comes will be “transformed in the twinkling of an eye” – because this body we currently dwell in is destined to be destroyed!
However, our soul is the object of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. While our body must be transformed our soul is already ready for eternal life. All that is needed is for it to be cleansed by God’s redeeming power through the washing of Christ’s blood. And that is why He died. He went to the cross willingly – if reluctantly – in order to pay for the transgressions that we have committed against our God and Creator. That, my dear friends, is a far greater benefit than one’s corruptible body being relieved of one of a multitude of infirmities. This body will one day die or be transformed. We should care for it as it is the “temple of the Holy Spirit” – but we should always remember that it is merely a temporary arrangement and that it WILL pass on and be replaced at Christ’s coming.
Sin is what separates us from God – not physical infirmity. In fact, many people have come to God because of their illness. But it is sin that divided Adam from his Creator and it is sin that took Christ to the cross. That is why Christ died – so that we can live in unity with the Father because the Son took our place and was punished for our transgressions.
One Response to “For what did Christ die?”
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Hello,
I stumbled across your blog and found this article. I was truly blessed by it, for I am experiencing some misconceptions with some scriptures on to why Christ died on the cross. Recently, one of my loved ones had this question because they were confused by the exact scriptures you posted in this article and it was on healing. I tried my best to explain to them but I ended up leaving them more confused than they had ever been and it sadden me to hear them say that they were more confused in their walk with the Lord than ever and I felt largely to blame for this. This person felt that it is always in God’ will that we be healed and sickness is not of God. But on the other hand, they thought that sometimes God could use sickness for his purpose for others. Which is contridicating themselves. Then I tried to explain that the curse of Adam and Eve is why we have sin and even sickness and that we will someday have glorified bodies and there will be no more sickness at all but we would have to wait until we received those bodies. And then the question was asked, then what did Christ die for? I mean if we are to have to wait for everything till later, what about now? It sounded to them that Christ’s death for now was all for nothing. But this article helped answered the questions that I couldn’t have on my own. And I praise the Lord that He decided to use you to post this. I have sent this to my loved one and to my other friends. I hope and pray they take the time to read this article so that they may understand the questions they were having and get a peace about their walk with the Lord again.
P.S. I also added this to article to my blog as well, and gave you full credit for the article and a link back to it.
Thanks again,
God bless you!