Why did the Father allow Jesus to die?

Q: A couple of weeks ago you spoke about a group of people who sacrificed their first born child as an offering – and that sounds so awful to us, but God sacrificed His son for us and we think it’s a noble, worthy cause?? Why would a father do that to his child? And I guess Jesus had a choice, but did he really have a choice – a little bit of guilt there – taking on the sin of the world? Why would he allow his son to go through that? He is supposed to be a loving God. The other people who did it were monsters for it, but God is love?

A: There is a world of difference between the two. As you already point out, Jesus had a choice. He said, “No one takes my life from me. I lay it down on my accord.” “The good shepherd lays down his life for...

...the sheep.” “Greater love has no one than this; that a man lay his life down for his friends.” In Galatians Paul said, “the son of God loved me and gave himself up for me.”

God, the Father, gave his son as a gift to the world. The son, as a gift to us, offered himself as the Lamb of God, taking away the sins of the world. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” To say that the Father did this to Jesus misses the key point that the Father, through his son, took the cross upon himself. They are one.

God allowed his son to go through the agonies of the cross because of his love for us. The penalty for sin is death. That is what God established in the garden and throughout history. Sin is a serious matter. Just as prison time is required for some crimes, blood is required for sin. Justice demanded that our blood be shed. Mercy meant Jesus shed his blood on our behalf. The One sacrificed for the many that the many could be saved.