Welcome to "The Messiah Beyond a Shadow of Doubt" My name is Don McCluskey and it's my privilege to be your host for this series. This lesson is entitled, Why Did He Have To Die? Taken from chapter two of "The Messiah Beyond a Shadow of Doubt"
Our goal in this lesson is to state the problem, if you will. So often we hear or read that "Jesus is the Answer!" but I always imagine people asking, "hmm... what was the question?" So, we need to state the problem before we can move any further into this study in order for it to make sense. The subject of Messiah and the prophecies about Him will seem like an academic discussion if we don't explain how close the subject is to each and every one of us. It is an extremely practical subject that demands a decision from every individual.
So, in this lesson I hope to make it abundantly clear why you and every one of us are in need of the Messiah so that everyone understands that there is not a person on earth who stands a chance of surviving that meeting with God without His merciful intervention. And after we make that point, we're going to spend a few minutes together exploring the historical background of the Appointed Times so you'll understand where they fit into world history and in the timeline of the Bible. So, let's begin.
Why Did Jesus Have To Die?
Now, I imagine at this point you're probably wondering about the reason behind this violence and bloodshed that were ordained from the throne of the Almighty toward His Messiah. Why did the Messiah have to suffer and die? Well, I'm pleased to tell you that there's a very very good reason for such a strange plan from heaven and I'm even more pleased to tell you that the plan was conceived in love for the great benefit of the people of this earth, including you and me.
In order to understand the necessity of the Messiah's death we must return to the early pages of the Bible and go back to the Garden of Eden after the days of creation. Do you recall from Genesis 1 how God expressed His pleasure at the end of each day after he looked down on His creative work and saw that it was good? Even more so at the end of the day on which He created man, male and female, it was declared to be very good, certainly if it was very good in the eyes of God then it was a world that was free of evil, sickness and pain.
Can we infer from the accountant Genesis that the relationship between God and Adam and Eve was tender and warm? I sometimes imagine God enjoying loving friendship with His creatures in the garden during the cool of the day listening to their stories of what they had seen and learned and their fascination with their new world. Perhaps He even winked at them as he dropped hints about the inner workings of His creation and ways they could enjoy its riches. Like parents marveling as they watched their infant child discover their fingers and learned to control their hands. So God must have felt great delight as he watched the amazement of Adam and Eve as they learned and increased an innocent understanding of His world.
The Fall Into Depravity
But something terrible happened, an unimaginable catastrophe occurred that corrupted creation down to its very core. And sometime after God's creation was declared to be very good the pride of Lucifer, the serpent and Satan swelled within him and drove him to rebel against the Almighty. As a result, he was banished from the heavens and cast down to earth with his minions. It was Satan who used a serpent as his mouthpiece to deceive Eve so that she spurned the words of the Lord and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Because of Adam's love for Eve he also spurned the command of God and ate the fruit.
The Knowledge of Good and Evil
The tree had somewhat of a sinister sounding name the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for which God gave the direst warning against eating. If the consequences for partaking of this fruit were so severe why did God allow it to flourish in plain sight within reach of innocent hearts? Regardless of our speculations, there it stood. The tree was delightful and its fruit was enticing. And whatever the knowledge of good and evil is it resulted in a devastating toxic effect, figurative or literal, that humans were not designed to possess.
The serpent's temptation hit its mark and resulted in the worst catastrophe that could have ever happened to humanity. And with the knowledge of good and evil in our systems our minds became hopelessly corrupt, treacherous, nefarious, and depraved. The hearts and minds and reasoning of humanity were distorted to the extent that our thoughts became exceedingly wicked and our every intention was driven by evil, the only possible hope being the intervention of the Creator Himself.
We are all beside ourselves because of the knowledge of good and evil within each struggling to master the other. Mankind was not designed to coexist with the knowledge of good and evil, and the result was a universal imbalance of the heart and soul. Solomon tells us that, "The hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives." Jeremiah tells us that, "The heart of man is sick and desperately wicked."
Does that explain some of the stories in the news headlines? Does the idea that mankind gravitates toward evil and is not basically good bother you? Can we really study history or read the news and honestly believe that man is basically good? Nonetheless it is certainly correct that man was created to be good, but it is only because of God's love and His plan to restore us to pure goodness through His Messiah that mankind has that Magnificent Hope.
Certainly, we see much good in our world and in many people, but even the best will admit that they sometimes face the struggle within. Even if we veil our anger as righteous anger, we must concede that our desires fall short of the innocence of the newly created Adam and Eve. The fall of man incurred an additional toll as the Lord cursed creation with hardships that were not part of its original design. The curse brought thorns and thistles onto the earth, sentencing the farmer to a lifetime of toil.
As the effects of the knowledge of good and evil multiplied, the earth became corrupt and filled with violence. There is no scheme or serum that can be concocted to restore the innocence of man. The hopes and worn-out ideas for reversing the effects of the evil within are incapable of restoring innocence to the race of men. The corruption and depravity in humanity are so thorough and complete that the only possible remedy must come from the hand of the Creator Himself. Jesus referred to the healing remedy as the regeneration and being born again. And because of His divine work, He is the only one who is able to restore humanity in this way. Indeed, the serpent who is Satan will be destroyed along with his minions never to corrupt the earth again.
The Holiness of God
Recall how the concept of goodness appeared so often throughout the story of God's creation. It is a goodness that is completely pure. It is the nature of God, completely other than evil. If we were to apply a word to this otherness it would probably be holiness. You see, God is holy, completely pure, thoroughly good to heights beyond our imaginations. But when Adam and Eve ingested the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, their nature and minds were enjoined by evil and became reprehensible to God. He cannot and will not have fellowship with evil.
As a result, His tender fellowship with the man and woman came to an abrupt end, even though His deep love for them continued. And as offensive as it may seem to our civilized 21st century world the only way to restore that fellowship and absolve the guilt of the race of men is by bringing about the death of the offenders. It was as God warned in the beginning: The day that you eat of the fruit, you shall surely die.
The words of Jesus and the Apostles and the Psalms and the Prophets clearly explained the reason for the Messiah's death. He died so that we could be forgiven by God and live but not just live, but live forever as immortals in paradise with God as our tender loving father. That's why the Messiah had to die. It was for a very good reason. As you will see in the series of lessons, we find some unexpected and fascinating insights about the Messiah when we explore the Lord's Appointed Times in the Law of Moses. So that is our direction.
The Historical Background of the Appointed Times
But before we jump into our study of the Appointed Times we have to make one more important stop. We need to understand the historical background that led up to them. At what point in world history were they given? So, let's take a look at the historical background of the Appointed Times.
The first 11 chapters of Genesis tell of three events that are sometimes viewed as elementary Bible stories for children. But when the stories are understood properly, we find that they create an illuminating backdrop to the global theater that is presented in the Scriptures.
The three events are the Fall of Man, the Great Flood, and the Tower of Babel. The Fall of Man changed the direction of humanity in a profound, horrific way. From that point, the Book of Genesis takes us from innocence to iniquity. From the murder of a brother to global violence. Humanity had degenerated to such a low level that God chose to destroy the entire world with a horrific global flood. But the knowledge of good and evil still flowed through the veins of Noah and his family extending its effects to our day.
What was God's reason for this? I believe it was to convey to the following generations how abhorrent and odious sin is to His holy character. It was not a simple matter of exercising some parental discipline upon the human race. More importantly, the flood reveals the potency of the toxin and the intense anger that was kindled within the Almighty because of the sinful nature of the heart of man. Sin is not a small thing that God will simply overlook and then move on.
After the great flood, human civilization revived and flourished to the degree that God once again had to take action to limit the growing power of mankind. So, He brought confusion to their single worldwide language at the Tower of Babel by preventing them from understanding each other through their common language.
All three of these events, the Fall of Man, the Great Flood and God's action at Babel occurred within a 2000-year timeframe. It's interesting that they are condensed only into 11 chapters in Genesis while the remaining 39 chapters span only a couple hundred years. And at this point, the Bible shifts. Rather than recounting the global events that shaped the world, the Scriptures turn their focus to one man, Abram who had become the forefather of the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
You may know the story. God changed Abram's name to Abraham which means the father of many nations. And one of Abraham's grandsons, Jacob who became known as Israel, had 12 sons. And as you can imagine the antics of 12 brothers can get pretty wild and some of their antics were truly shameful. Even so, God used one of their more deviant acts to bring about His goodwill and His most loving act. And through a series of miraculously ironic events, He moved Israel and his entire family into the land of Egypt to escape the great famine that had reached their homeland in Canaan.
Now, you should be aware that Israel and his family were not squatters in the land of Egypt. On the contrary, they came to Egypt at the invitation of Pharaoh himself as his honored guests, since he highly esteemed Joseph. Pharaoh insisted that they settle in Goshen, which was the best of the land of Rameses. Israel and his 12 sons and their entire families were in the land of Egypt under the protection and care of Pharaoh. They were living good lives in a good land enjoying ample food, provisions and security provided by the sovereign of Egypt.
But the good life of the Israelites was not intended to last forever. You see, God had determined to forge Israel into a nation in a unique way that would gain the attention of the entire world. If you will, God used Israel as a theater to teach the entire world about Himself and especially as the nation through which He would send His Messiah into the world.
So, let's jump forward from the last chapter of Genesis to the first chapter of the Book of Exodus. Here we find the entire nation of Israel in a very different situation in Egypt, many years have passed since Israel and his family were the honored guests of Pharaoh, and over time, Israel and his sons died and a new king had come to power. As Israel's family grew the Egyptians became concerned about the strength of this foreign nation that was living within their borders. They were worried that Israel might side with their enemies if they were attacked by another nation. Thus, the new King's shrewd solution was to enslave the entire nation of Israel forcing them into hard labor.
Life was bitter for the Israelites. Fortunately, God heard their groaning as they writhed in the agony of their slavery. He turned His attention to them and orchestrated their deliverance through an Israelite named Moses against the mightiest nation on earth. And through Moses, the Lord would soon devastate the land crops, cattle people, and even Pharaoh himself.
As Pharaoh refused to comply with Moses' requests to allow the people to leave, God responded by assailing the land of Egypt with plagues of apocalyptic severity. Even so, Pharaoh was unbending. But it was on the heels of the plague of darkness that Pharaoh became enraged with Moses. But Moses forewarned him that the worst plague was yet to come, a plague that would take the life of the firstborn in every household in Egypt. And Moses left the presence of Pharaoh in hot anger. Now, it was in this prophetic threat that we encounter the Appointed Times which not only speak of Israel but they cast shadows of something far greater, shadows of the Messiah.
In our next lesson we will explore the spring Appointed Times to see how they cast shadows of things to come through their timing and their hidden meaning about the Messiah. Please join us in the next lesson as we look into the fascinating truths of God's Messiah in the Appointed Times. I'm Don McCluskey and it's been a joy to bring this information to you. Thank you for joining us.
