Christ KillersSample

Day 3: Why Christ Was Killed:

We live in a world obsessed with branding. From shoes to phones to coffee cups, we choose what we wear, drive, or drink based on how it makes us feel—and how it makes others see us. That branding mentality often bleeds into our view of God. We want a version of God who fits our preferences: loving, accepting, affirming—but rarely holy, just, or wrathful. But when we reduce God to a feel-good brand, we miss the God who actually saves.

The truth is sobering: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23, ESV).

Sin isn’t a glitch in the system or a minor hiccup in your spiritual life. It’s a death sentence. And that death is more than physical—it’s spiritual separation from the God who made us.

Still, many of us try to avoid the weight of that truth. We think if we’re generally good, we’ll be fine. If we keep up appearances, do nice things, or pray now and then, surely God will let it slide. But that’s not how a holy God operates.

In Luke 9:23 (ESV), Jesus lays out the call to discipleship plainly: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” That’s not casual faith. That’s costly surrender. To follow Jesus means dying to self every single day—letting go of our pride, our comfort, and our self-made salvation plans.

But God didn’t just leave us with a standard we couldn’t meet—He sent a Savior to meet it for us. The cross wasn’t a tragic accident. It was the plan—the only way for justice and mercy to meet.

“God put [Jesus] forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25, ESV). That word “propitiation” means that Jesus absorbed the wrath of God in our place. He didn’t just die for us—He died instead of us.

“Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18, ESV). That’s the gospel: the innocent dying for the guilty so the guilty can become righteous. Jesus didn’t die to make bad people good. He died to make dead people alive.

So, why was Christ killed? Because sin demanded justice, and love demanded a substitute. Because a holy God wouldn’t ignore sin, and a merciful God wouldn’t ignore us.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re too far gone, too broken, or too messed up for God to love you—look at the cross. It’s not just a symbol of suffering. It’s a declaration: You are worth rescuing.

Jesus died the death we deserved to give us the life we couldn’t earn. Don’t settle for a feel-good version of God that skips the cross. The real God stepped into your place, bore your punishment, and now invites you to live—fully, freely, and forever.

And when we begin to understand the weight of what Jesus carried, our response becomes worship. Not just with songs, but with our lives. With obedience. With surrender. With awe. Because grace is this costly, it should never leave us unchanged.

The question now isn’t why Christ was killed. It’s whether you’ll receive what His death was meant to give you: forgiveness, freedom, and new life.