John 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Why was it necessary that the Prince of Glory should become that Lamb of sacrifice, and undergo the horror of Calvary? Was there no other way? Well, if the Bible reveals the Word of God, and if our Lord Jesus is truly the incarnate Son of God, then according to their clear teaching there certainly was no other way.
The Cross was a necessity if mankind was to be saved. We are not merely arguing in a circle when we say that the very fact of its being divinely ordained proves its necessity. God would never have indulged the agony of that awful cross as a theatrical indulgence, to display a love which was not needed redemptively. If damnation were not a reality, then redemption would not have been a necessity.
Those paltry thinkers who glibly profess that God could easily have forgiven men’s sins if He wanted, without any need for the cross, don’t know what they are saying. They do not adequately estimate either the holiness of God or the sinfulness of man. It is inconceivable that the all-holy God should govern His universe with even the slightest hint of sin. If the principles of absolute righteousness were not strictly upheld, there could be no true heaven; the universe would become a moral chaos, if not an inferno. The very safety of the universe depends upon the inflexible righteousness of a Holy God.
Sin, whether in Satan and his angel-army, or in the human race, is not only moral leprosy, it is ugly enmity against Him Who is pure light and love. If God is to save mankind, it must be in a way which is in harmony with the divine holiness and which honours the necessities of the divine government. It must be in a way which demonstrates to an onlooking universe the awful sacredness with which God Himself looks upon His holy law. It must be in a way which shows God’s hatred of sin; and nowhere else was there ever such a revelation of divine wrath against sin as on Calvary.
We only need to ponder carefully these truths to see how necessary was the Cross of Christ if God was to save us. It was not that God “required blood” but that sin necessitated an infinite substitutionary recompense if mankind was to be saved according to the principles of eternal righteousness. And who could make that infinite recompense but the infinite God Himself?
No less a marvel was required than a member of the divine Triunity should assume our humanity, live our life, conquer our foe, and yield Himself an atoning Substitute to “take away the sin of the world.”
This is what the Son of God did. There was no binding obligation that He should do so. He did it because of love.
“God so loved the world that He gave . . .”
“The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me.”
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Thank God, He bore once for all, so it will never be a barrier between us and God again. Why the cross? Because there was no other way to bring you home to your heavenly Father, that’s why!