A Big Problem Requires a Big Response

This week, we’ve cracked open a spicy topic: sin and its consequences.

So, we left off with this image of the “Suffering Servant” from Isaiah. This righteous person had to bear the sins of all people.

Is it fair? Why did God choose this route? Couldn’t He have waved a wand and dismiss the sins of the world?

Why did Jesus have to suffer and die for the sins of all people?

Before I attempt to answer this, let me share a story.

Deepwater Horizon

Do you remember the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010? (Is it really a decade already!?)

An oil rig out in the Gulf of Mexico failed, exploded, and allowed nearly “4,900,000 barrels of oil” to leak into the Gulf and flow towards Louisiana.

I remember watching news feeds capture the dark plumes billowing out for days underwater. I had thought to myself, How can the ocean recover from this?

Then, the came the massive response (you can read about it here)…

Controlled burns.

Skimming.

Boats.

Helicopters.

Lawsuits.

More lawsuits.

Community outrage.

We knew the spill would wreck corals and other marine ecosystems. It was a tragedy for nature and for the livelihoods of those dependent on the ocean.

Big Problems Demand Big Solutions

To reverse the damage of the failed rig, it took a massive response and years of recovery (I imagine we still feel its effects).

Simply wishing the oil spill away would not have helped.

Sending in one boat would not have contained the oil.

And never demanding reparations from BP would have been unjust and dismissive to the those affected.

So, let’s turn this story back around to our big topic: Why did Jesus have to die for our sins?

We can’t wish our sins away.

We can’t dismiss murders, injustices, lies, racism, genocides, lust, or greed or it would make us unjust and evil-minded.

If someone steps on our toes, we yell, “Ow! What the heck was that for!?”

If someone cuts us off in traffic, we demand immediate justice and four firm “taps” on the horn.

According to the Bible, “the wages of sin is death.” It’s a big issue which demands a big solution.

No amount of well-wishing, philosophical relativism, pseudo-gospels, or karma can solve the issue of sin and evil in the world.

Only Jesus the Messiah can.

"the Creator Himself took on human form and paid the debt Himself"

Nothing but the Blood

In a world where millions of gallons of oil can flow into our oceans, the same God who created this world sent His only Son for His blood to flow for all of humanity.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2:1-2 (NIV)

Because the life cycle of sin will lead to death, the shedding of blood was necessary.

But, to shed the blood of one person? Five people? How many deaths would have justly atoned for the millennia of sins?

However, if the Creator Himself took on human form and paid the debt Himself…

Well, that would be the most massive and loving response anyone could fathom.

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