Why did the Father send His Son if He knew His earthly life would end in crucifixion? While we are deeply grateful for the gift of God’s dear Son, it is troubling to think of the agony Jesus endured on our behalf on the cross.
Amazingly enough, the Father knew from the beginning that His Son would die for the sins of the world. Then, why did He send Him if He knew that He would be rejected? The answer is found in observing God’s attributes of holiness and justice. Man’s dilemma may be summarized as follows: (1) The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). (2) We are sinners who have fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). (3) God’s holiness demands that sin be punished.
Sounds hopeless, doesn’t it? On the basis of human resources, this is a dilemma from which there is no escape. But, the good news is that God provided a means whereby we can avoid paying the penalty for our sins. Jesus paid the penalty for us when He died on the cross. The good news is summed up in these words: “God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
If there was any other way to provide atonement for our sins, God’s love would have found it. But there was only one way and that by means of the sacrificial death of one had kept the Law’s demands — the innocent and sinless Son of God (Hebrews 4:15). The writer of Hebrews affirms that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins…” (Hebrews 10:4). There is only one sin-sacrifice — the sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29). He “is the propitiation for our sins… (1 John 2:2). Why did the Father send His only begotten Son? Because there was no other way to provide a hope of everlasting life. Divine justice and mercy meet at the cross of Christ. Justice is satisfied and mercy is provided. There “is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
— Glen Elliott —