Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

why did jesus have to die?

What a loaded question that is. And that one question, "Why did Jesus have to die?" brings up so many other queries -- queries that ultimately explain the plan of salvation itself.

Did Jesus have to die?
Did Jesus die just for us?
Does the death of Christ appease God?
What does "atonement" mean?
What does "without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins" mean?
Is the "Larger View" equivalent to the "Moral Influence Theory?"
What is justice?
Did Jesus die a "substitutionary death?"
What happens if we obey for the wrong reasons?

The list of questions could go on -- and the ones above (and more) are discussed in a thorough interview that Jonathan Gallagher did with Graham Maxwell. We have both an Adobe Acrobat version and an HTML version (the Adobe Acrobat version will retain formatting better, but requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader). Thanks to Brian Nixon for converting it from a paper copy to an electronic version (although our webmaster is responsible for the formatting -- which is done to mimic the original).

Graham also wrote an article, "How God Won His Case," that touches on the subject (available on-line in HTML form).

Are the articles not enough? Graham held five sessions on the subject in Vancouver, Washington, U.S.A. on October 13 & 14, 1995. There is a good chance that somewhere within these discussions your questions about the death of Christ are answered. At a minimum, they're a good place to start .

Tape 1 -- Streamed | File
Tape 2 -- Streamed | File
Tape 3 -- Streamed | File
Tape 4 -- Streamed | File
Tape 5 -- Streamed | File

The "Streamed" version allows you to listen directly over the web without downloading the whole talk (the normal and best way). If your Internet connection is not reliable or fast enough, the "File" link will permit you to download the talk to your PC. Your browser should allow you to choose to save the "target" of the "File" link (for personal use only, all copyrights remain in effect).