Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth about 2,000 years ago for a very important purpose – to die on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. Even though Jesus was sinless and did not deserve to suffer, he willing endured immense suffering during his life and death because it was the Father’s will and part of God’s redemptive plan for humankind. The Bible explains several key reasons why it was necessary for the Savior to experience such deep suffering for our salvation.
To Fulfill Messianic Prophecies in Scripture
The Old Testament contains many prophecies about the coming Messiah – the anointed one of God who would deliver his people. Several of these ancient prophecies foretold that the Messiah would be “a man of sorrows” who would bear the griefs and carry the sorrows of his people (Isaiah 53:3-4). The Messiah would be pierced, crushed, and beaten for the transgressions of others, and by his wounds people would be healed (Isaiah 53:5). So in order for these prophecies to be fulfilled, it was necessary for Jesus to experience great suffering and death on the cross at the hands of sinful men.
Jesus himself explained to his disciples after his resurrection that “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). All the hundreds of prophecies – including those about his suffering for sinners – had to come true in every detail in order for him to prove he was the promised Messiah. So his suffering was inevitable based on God’s word.
To Serve as Our Sacrificial Substitute for Sin
Under the Old Covenant Law given to Israel, God required animal sacrifices as atonement for sins. But these sacrifices were merely a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice – the Messiah’s own life. As John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
Jesus fulfilled what the animal sacrificial system pointed to – the need for an innocent life to be given in exchange for the guilty. As Romans 3:25 explains about Jesus, “God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” A propitiation refers to a sacrifice that absorbs God’s wrath so that his mercy may be extended to sinners instead of his judgment.
As the perfect, spotless Lamb of God, Jesus willingly suffered scourging, beating, crucifixion and the wrath of God poured out on our sins while he hung on the cross. God’s righteous anger against sin was fully appeased by Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice on our behalf.
To Demonstrate His Incredible Love for Us
Besides fulfilling prophecy and providing atonement for sins, Jesus also endured such brutal suffering to demonstrate the depths of his love for humanity. He said “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The intense physical pain he bore proves his amazing love.
Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” As sinners, we did not deserve his love and sacrifice. But he suffered greatly out of his unconditional love for us. There is no greater love than Jesus laying down his life for those who hated and rejected him.
To Provide an Example of Godly Suffering
One of the reasons Jesus was able to endure such terrible mistreatment without retaliation was because he focused on the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2). His eyes were on the eternal purposes of redemption that God would accomplish through his suffering. This gave him the strength and endurance needed to not revile when reviled and not threaten when suffering (1 Peter 2:23).
Jesus serves as the supreme model of patient endurance through unjust suffering. His example of godly suffering teaches us how we can respond in a godly manner when we face trials and persecutions in life. By imitating Christ’s attitude of entrusting himself to God and enduring mistreatment without revenge, we partner in his sufferings so that we may one day share in his glory (Philippians 1:29, Romans 8:17).
To Equip Him as our Compassionate High Priest
In order for Jesus to be our merciful and faithful High Priest, interceding for us in heaven, it was necessary for him to experience human sufferings and temptations while on earth. As Hebrews 2:17-18 states:
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Jesus can now sympathize with all that we go through in this fallen world because he also suffered while on earth. He is able to have compassion on us in our weaknesses because he was tempted and suffered in every way as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). So his painful experiences on earth prepared him to be the perfect High Priest that intercedes for us.
To Redeem Us from the Curse of Sin and Death
While the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), Jesus’ own death paid the price for our sins and redeemed us from slavery to sin. His suffering unto death rescued us from eternal separation from God. As 1 Peter 2:24 declares, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”
Likewise, by willingly tasting death as part of God’s plan, Jesus also obtained victory over Satan and over the fear of death that enslaved humanity (Hebrews 2:14-15). His resurrection proved that death could not keep its grip on him. So through Jesus’ suffering and death on our behalf, he released us from the curse of sin, death and bondage to the fear of death.
To Make Our Salvation Possible
In summary, all the reasons Christ suffered show that his suffering was necessary for the complete work of redemption to be accomplished. Only through the perfect Son of God willingly enduring such extreme grief and anguish could the problem of humanity’s sin be dealt with and salvation made available to all who put their faith in Jesus.
As the author of Hebrews says, “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:10). If Jesus had avoided the cross and suffering, there would be no salvation. It was only through what he endured that eternal life is granted to those who believe (John 3:16).
So in short, the savior had to suffer because that was the only way a holy God could make unholy sinners righteous while still remaining just in all his ways. Our offenses against God required a perfect blood atonement, which only Christ could supply. The good news is that because Jesus bore God’s wrath for us, we can now bear Christ’s righteousness as children of God.
Despite the sorrow Jesus faced, he understood that his suffering would result in “bringing many sons to glory” in heaven forever. And so he endured the cross for the joy set before him – the joy of reconciling rebellious sinners to a holy God through the forgiveness and new life obtained by his blood shed on the cross. Without Good Friday, there could have been no Resurrection Sunday.
May we never take for granted all that it cost the Prince of Glory to suffer and die in our place so that we could be saved. As Peter reminds us, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).