Series: Engage
Sermon: Why did Jesus have to die?
Passage: 2 Corinthians 5:21

Main Idea: Jesus died so we can live

Purpose: Introduce topic and get the group talking.

1. Have you ever had a deal offered to you that was “too good to be true”? What were they selling? What was the hook? What did you learn from that exchange?

Purpose: Observe the passage and interact with the text

The question of “why Jesus had to die” is one that our entire faith rests on. As you explore this topic today, you’ll study a few different passages that form a full picture of the extent of what Jesus’ death means.

2. Read the following passages. What do we learn from them about the purpose of Jesus’ death and what it accomplishes for us?

2 Corinthians 5:21
Romans 3:25-26
Colossians 1:21-23

3. Based on these passages, if someone asked you, “Why did Jesus die?” what would you say? Aim for simplicity.

Purpose: Connect observations in God’s Word with observations in our world today.

D.A. Carson once said, “If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior. ” – D.A. Carson

4. React to this quote. What stands out to you about it and why?

5, If you were to ask 100 random people, “What’s your greatest need?” what answers might you get?

6. How might we help people understand that their greatest need is not a purely physical one, but a spiritual one—their sin and their alienation from God? What challenges might people need to overcome in accepting this as true about themselves and the world?

Purpose: Internalize God’s Word and apply the truth to your personal life.

7. When was a time you remember realizing that something was wrong with the world or yourself?

8. Oftentimes we’re tempted to rationalize away the gravity of our sin, or compare how bad we are with how bad others are. Where in your life are you tempted to take God’s forgiveness for granted or minimize your own sin?

9. Where might we be tempted to “make up” for our sin against God in other ways What does it mean that there is nothing we can do to make up for our sin, and instead accept that all of that was accomplished by Jesus on the cross?

Purpose: Spend time listening for God’s for direction and guidance as you seek to live out the truths of this passage in your everyday life.

10. How might we better communicate how good the news of what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross is to those around us?

11. Spend time as a group praying for those in your life who do not know Jesus, for opportunities during this series to Engage them with the Good News that Jesus offers a way back to relationship with God!

12. One of the options as you close is to spend time taking communion together. Here is a sample of how to facilitate communion together:

Start by reading 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Take the bread and cup, and give each person a blessing as they receive it. An example of a blessing you can give is, “This is Christ’s body and blood shed for you. He died that you may live.”

After everyone has received the elements, spend a couple of minutes in silence as you reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made for you. Then close the time by praying together and possibly singing a worship song or two.

Purpose: Introduce topic and get the group talking.

1. Have you ever had a deal offered to you that was “too good to be true”? What were they selling? What was the hook? What did you learn from that exchange?

This question is intended to get people discussing the idea of receiving something that was undeserved. Encourage the group to have fun with this question!

Purpose: Observe the passage and interact with the text

The question of “why Jesus had to die” is one that our entire faith rests on. As you explore this topic today, you’ll study a few different passages that form a full picture of the extent of what Jesus’ death means.

2. Read the following passages. What do we learn from them about the purpose of Jesus’ death and what it accomplishes for us?

2 Corinthians 5:21
Romans 3:25-26
Colossians 1:21-23

As you begin, designate a reader for each passage. Then answer the questions as they relate to that particular passage. Once you’ve discussed, move on to the next passage. In Question 3, you’ll have an opportunity as a group to synthesize all three passages to develop an overall answer to the question “why did Jesus have to die?”

Tip: Read each verse in both the NIV and the NLT versions (this will help make the language of each passage more accessible and potentially easier to understand).

2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 Notes
– “Jesus was made sin”: This could mean a couple of things. 1) He was treated as a sinner or 2) He was made as a sin offering. The first meaning treats Jesus as becoming what he was not – a sinner. The second meaning adds in the idea of Jesus being an actual offering for our sin (as the NLT version says). Both ideas communicate that Jesus was a sacrifice for what we could not remedy ourselves – he had to become like us in order to become an substitution for us.
– “Righteousness of God”: This describes what happens when we accept Jesus’ death – we become right with God, no longer having a debt owed to Him.

Romans 3:25-26 Notes
– “Sacrifice of atonement”: That is, Jesus’ death atoned for the punishment that we deserved (which is death). Death is not just physical, but spiritual. When we are “dead” to God, it means we’re cut off from him. In order for this death to be undone, we must receive Jesus’ sacrifice (v. 25).
– V. 25 “In his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished”: God did not treat sinners before Jesus in the way that sin demanded they be treated. This was his forebearance – meaning He put up with and allowed them to continue without ultimate punishment, knowing that Jesus was coming to make an ultimate way for people to be made righteous.
– V. 26 – “He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just”: If God just forgave sin without punishment, He could not be considered just. His own standard of justice requires punishment, because He is perfect. But BECAUSE he wanted to demonstrate His righteousness, He offered Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice that would satisfy His perfect need for justice. Both justice and mercy are found in Jesus’ sacrifice.

Colossians 1:21-23 Notes
“Alienated” = a relational barrier
“Reconciled” = a relational barrier removed

– Notice the language “You WERE alienated from God. But now you ARE reconciled with God.”
– Alienated and reconciled are relationship language.
– We are NOW presented as holy, even though we do not act holy. God sees us as holy despite our mis-steps.

3. Based on these passages, if someone asked you, “Why did Jesus die?” what would you say? Aim for simplicity.

This is a critical question for the group. We suggest crafting a statement together as a group using the above passages. Try to keep it to one sentence. This will help the entire group develop a basic grasp of what they might say to anyone who might ask.

Purpose: Connect observations in God’s Word with observations in our world today.

D.A. Carson once said, “If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior. ” – D.A. Carson

4. React to this quote. What stands out to you about it and why?

6. How might we help people understand that their greatest need is not a purely physical one, but a spiritual one—their sin and their alienation from God? What challenges might people need to overcome in accepting this as true about themselves and the world?

The first step with all of these questions is to accept that there’s a deep, systemic problem with our world. What sits behind a lot of these needs is the problem of sin. All needs are a result of sin, going deeper than politics, social issues, monetary strife, relational discord, etc. People have a hard time acknowledging that something is fundamentally wrong with themselves.

Question 6 shifts the conversation from talking ABOUT the outside world to talking TO the outside world. Part of our Engage series is helping our groups engage others with the big questions of faith and life. “Why did Jesus have to die” is a critical question that has long-reaching effects! Encourage the group to think about how they might use the answers from these questions to help guide conversations in their lives towards the deeper questions we are all asking.

Purpose: Internalize God’s Word and apply the truth to your personal life.

7. When was a time you remember realizing that something was wrong with the world or yourself?

9. Where might we be tempted to make up for our sin against God in other ways? What does it mean that there is nothing we can do to make up for our sin, and instead accept that all of that was accomplished by Jesus on the cross?

Questions 8 and 9 take a look at how we view sin from two different angles. The first angle is from the standpoint of “it’s not that bad…I’m not as bad as ____”. The first angle is to see ourselves as providing our own salvation from sin. The second angle is the idea that “If I just do ____, then God will view me as righteous or acceptable.” In light of the above scriptures, both of these views are false ways of viewing ourselves in relationship to sin.

When we look at Jesus, we see that He did for us what we could never do for ourselves. If we’re unable to grasp this reality in our own hearts, we will have a very hard time communicating this same concept to the world around us. Make sure to spend significant time on these questions.

Purpose: Spend time listening for God’s direction and guidance as you seek to live out the truths of this passage in your everyday life.

10. How might we better communicate the goodness of the news of what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross to those around us?

When we trust in Christ, we make an exchange. He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. This is an incredible bargain! In the world, bartering works only when 2 people exchange goods of relatively equal value. This is not a barter – this is something of immeasurable worth (His righteousness) being exchanged for something worthless (our sin).

When communicating this to the world around us, this is a great perspective to keep. People have a natural skepticism towards things that sound “too good to be true” (think back to Question 1). But Jesus’ offer is the real deal.

11. Spend time as a group praying for those in your life who do not know Jesus, for opportunities during this series to Engage them with the Good News that Jesus offers a way back to relationship with God!

12. One of the options as you close is to spend time taking communion together. Here is a sample of how to facilitate communion together:

Start off by reading 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Take the bread and cup, and give each person a blessing as they receive it. An example of a blessing you can give is, “This is Christ’s body and blood shed for you. He died that you may live.”

After everyone has received the elements, spend a couple of minutes in silence as you reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made for you. Then close the time by praying together and possibly singing a worship song or two.