The Solution: Jesus Christ

But there is GOOD NEWS---GOD LOVES YOU, IN FACT HE IS CRAZY ABOUT YOU AND HAS DONE SOMETHING SO THAT YOU WON’T HAVE TO GO TO HELL. He has provided the way to be declared not guilty. This is why Jesus came. The same verse in Romans that says that the penalty for sin is death goes on to say, “but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to take our punishment for us, to bridge the chasm of sin that separates us from God. This was the only way for God to remain just and fair, and still provide a way for us to be forgiven and made right again (Romans 3:26).
Jesus’ death on the cross was a substitutionary death—He paid the penalty of death in our place. He was completely sinless, and did not deserve to die. He died for us. But because He was sinless, His death satisfied God’s justice, and Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.

1. Why Jesus can Bridge the Gap
Jesus came to this earth with a clear objective in mind: to bridge that gap between us and God.
When the Israelites of the Old Testament sinned, the high priest would go into the temple and offer an animal sacrifice to God to atone for their sins. In a symbolic sense, this was a way of putting one’s sins on the animal, which stood in the place of the guilty person. The Bible teaches, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22).
The sacrificial rituals carried out by the Israelites in the Old Testament foreshadowed what Jesus would do when he came to this earth. He took the sin of the world upon himself when he hung on the cross so many years ago.
Numerous Old Testament prophecies pointed not only to his birth and life but also to his death, including the way in which he would die.
Jesus knew from the beginning that he had come expressly to die for the sins of humanity. He also knew that this sacrifice would be made on a Roman cross. He was arrested on false charges after Judas Iscariot, one of his own disciples, betrayed him. But it was no accident. If humanity was going to be put in touch with God and have the barrier that separated them removed, something drastic had to be done. In essence, with one hand Jesus took hold of a Holy God, and with the other hand he took hold of the sinful human race. As crude nails were pounded into his hands, he bridged the gap for us!
We must not forget, however, that three days after his crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead!

2. We put Jesus on the Cross
The necessity of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross shows just how radical our situation was as fallen people. It’s been said that you can tell the depth of a well by how much rope is lowered. When we look at “how much rope was lowered” from heaven, we realize how grave our situation really was.
For that reason, don’t blame the people of that day for putting Jesus on the cross. We are just as guilty as they. In reality, it was not the Roman soldiers who put him on the cross, nor was it the Jewish leaders: it was our sins that made it necessary for Jesus to volunteer for the torturous and humiliating death.
Whenever you are tempted to doubt God’s love for you, take a long look at the cross on which Jesus died. Then realize that, for all practical purposes, it was not nails that held him to the cross, but love.*
Many of us have heard this story at some point in our lives. Yet the significance behind this heart-wrenching scene is often missed or misunderstood. This was not simply some “good teacher” being crucified for his beliefs. It was God in human form who hung on that cross, bridging the gap between sinful people and a holy God.*
Matthew’s Gospel tells us that when Jesus hung on that cross, he
cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Many Bible scholars believe that those words marked the precise moment at which God placed the sins of the world upon his Son. The Bible, speaking of God, says, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness” (Habakkuk 1:13). For that reason, the holy Father had to “turn his face” and pour out his wrath upon his own Son. On the cross, Jesus received the wages that were due us. He was not heard that we might be heard. The ear of God was closed to Jesus for a time that it might never be closed to us.

3. Does it Have to be Jesus?
Haven’t there been other religious leaders who have claimed to have the way to God? Haven’t some of them also died as a result of their message?

While the answers to these questions may be yes, the truth is that not one of these others leaders was fully God and fully human. That is why Jesus is uniquely qualified to deal with sin. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Acts 4:12 tells us, “there is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them.” And, most important, Jesus Christ rose from the dead!* This is one of the most reliable truths of ancient history. There were hundreds of witnesses, many later willing to give their lives for what they actually saw. It’s one thing to die for something you believe to be true (i.e. current day suicide bombers); however it would not make sense for someone to sacrifice their lives for something they knew to be false.