Have you ever heard someone say, “Jesus died for our sins”? Perhaps you were that someone who said those words when you were a little boy or girl in children’s Sunday school. Maybe you still say it today as an adult. Was it wrong to say, “Jesus died for our sins”? Is it wrong to say that? Absolutely not. How do I know?
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures... 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit... Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
As you can see, there are many places in the Bible that says Jesus died for our sins. He took the sin of all in the world, and put it upon himself. He couldn’t stand to see us pay the penalty ourselves. So he paid the penalty in our place. It should have been ours to pay. But he paid it all. Jesus died for our sins.
Because Jesus died for our sins, all sinners are reconciled to God and have eternal life. Jesus’s mission accomplished. His work is done. Or is it? What I meant to ask is when Jesus died on the cross, did the Father accomplish everything he set out to accomplish? Jesus was crucified. He died. His body was taken to his tomb. Three days later, he remained dead. A week later, he was still dead. What if Jesus remained dead? What if there was never a resurrection?
God gave his only Son. The Son died on the cross. The world was saved through him. But the Son remained dead after three days. He is dead forever. The Father doesn’t get his Son back. The world is forever impacted by the fact that it is saved from eternal destruction, but only at the cost of the Father’s only Son. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in the Son shall not perish, but have everlasting life, but the Father loses his Son forever. Now that sounds like the kind of storyline from an Academy award-winning movie, doesn’t it? What if Jesus remained dead? What if there was no mention of the resurrection of Jesus anywhere in the Bible? What is wrong with that? Answer: Everything. The reason? Jesus raised from the dead is non-negotiable because the penalty for sin is death. Let me explain.
I don’t need to tell you the power of sin is great. Sin causes one to lie, cheat, hold a grudge, slander, retaliate, even murder, and makes our everyday plain messy in every way. But there is something else that reveals to us the raw power of sin: Death. God talked about this as early as the second chapter of Genesis when he warned Adam and Eve if they were to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. Paul also wrote about this in Romans 6:23a: “For the wages of sin is death.” If the penalty for sin is death, then for us to be able to say Jesus fully paid the penalty of our sin, he must defeat death. Death is the one our eyes are watching. Jesus’ work on the cross paid the penalty that you and I could not pay ourselves, but if he remained dead, it must mean that the debt for sin is in some way still outstanding. You and I would still have to face death. Death still wins. If Jesus remained dead, it says he was powerless to defeat death. Put it in another way, if Jesus came to pay the penalty of sin, but he remained in the grave, he would technically be still paying the penalty.
1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. Revelation 1:17–18 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” 1 Corinthians 15:55 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It may make for good and entertaining storytelling to say that the Son died for the sins of the world, but the Son remained dead, the Father did not get his Son back, and the world is forever changed by the sacrifice the Father made. But a scenario like this simply won’t do. If this were true, you and I would still have to face death, and Jesus’ work is only partially done. God must come up with something extra to complete the job. But Jesus resurrected from the grave. The resurrection is absolutely crucial. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the penalty you and I couldn’t pay for our sin. But when he rose again, he defeated death. Jesus’ work is done. It is finished.
John 14:19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
The Bible guarantees that in the same way Jesus was raised from the dead, those who place their trust in Jesus will also be raised from the dead. Because Jesus defeated death, we no longer fear death. There is no more worry. Instead, there is great hope for you and for me. It was not wrong and it is not wrong to say, “Jesus died for our sins.” This statement is true. But if I wished to be more complete, I would say, “Jesus died and resurrected for our sins.” Thanks be to our God for Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, and he brought victory over death! He is risen! He is risen indeed!