Why did Jesus have to die and rise again?
Christianity is based upon the belief that Jesus died and rose from the grave to redeem all of humanity from our sins. St. Paul said, “But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.” 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
So, why did Jesus have to die and rise again? We must go back to the beginning of the sacred scriptures. God provides two stories of salvation. In the first one, he speaks to the fall of humanity when Adam and Eve disobeyed the one command he gave, “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden, except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.” Genesis 2:16-17
Adam and Eve had the best that God offered. They lived in the presence of God. They did not have to labor at all, for God provided everything they needed. When God says, “you shall die”, he is speaking of a spiritual death, separation from God. Once they both ate from the fruit of this tree, they were forever destined to die physically and spiritually. But how did this come about?
Lucifer (a.k.a. Satan) is seen in the garden as the serpent who tricked Eve into eating from the tree and then giving some to Adam. He twisted the command God had given them telling Eve, “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” Did you catch it, “you will be like gods”. Throughout human history this has been the elusive lie that we could become like God. Here, we are shown who Satan is, the father of lies.
He was one of the highest angels in heaven living in the presence of God, yet Satan let pride bring him to a place where that was not good enough. Rebelling against God, we see that St. Michael fought against Satan and the angels who rebelled with him. In the end, Satan was cast down to the earth. “Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it.” Revelations 12:7-9.
From the very beginning God wanted to right the wrong Satan caused when he lost everything and was thrown out of heaven. God wanted all of humanity to be restored to who God created us to be. For that to happen, Jesus, the Son of God, had to die for our sins, the final sacrifice, so we could receive eternal life and live with God forever. But he did not only have to die, he also had to suffer because of what each human being had done throughout history. Jesus tells us about the relationship he has with the Father. He came to fulfill what God the Father asked of him. God is an all-holy God. Jesus was scourged, ridiculed, mocked, and left to hung on a cross. It is easy for us to say, “well the Jews did that to Jesus.”. No, each human sinned and it was precisely for our sins that Jesus went to the cross. The Roman Catechism states, “Finally, the resurrection of our Lord was necessary to complete the mystery of our salvation and redemption. For Christ liberated us from the slavery of sin by His death and restored to us through his resurrection the most important privileges which we had lost by sin. Hence the Apostle Paul teaches: ‘Jesus was to put the death for our trespasses and raised for our justification‘ (Rm 4:25).”
St. Peter tells us, “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit.” 1 Peter 3:18. Jesus told his disciples that he would lay down his life and in three days, he would raise it up. By fulfilling the Father’s command to him, he showed what the Father showed him, that humanity was worth saving. By rising from the dead, we now can live with God forever by accepting the grace Jesus gave in his dying and rising. It is not just to live, but to know God, to live in God and be free from the bonds of slavery to sin. Bishop James T. Schuerman says, “One of the most moving biblical stories concerning a confession of faith in the resurrection is the dialogue between Jesus and Martha before Jesus goes to the tomb of his friend, Lazarus. Jesus says to Martha, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?‘ And Martha answers, ‘Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into this world.’ (John 11:25-27)”
God loves you as he does all of humanity. Believe Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Satan’s only purpose is to rob you of God’s promise by twisting his truth. In John 10:10 we read, “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” Jesus overcame sin. In the desert Satan, the thief, tried to use his lies and allurements to tempt the Son of God, but it did not work. Jesus is life! He is the one who can raise you from the dead.
My prayer and challenge for you in 2026 is to search out this truth. Find out for yourself the truth Jesus came to bring and decide where you want to spend eternity. None of us will completely die. We will live on after this life is over. The choice is whether you want to spend eternity with the God who created and loves you or separated from him. This is why Jesus had to die and rise, so we could know we are loved, forgiven and can have eternal life. Choose carefully! May God give you wisdom and understanding to know this truth.