I hope you’re looking forward to Resurrection Sunday as much as I am. It truly is the best day of the year, when we sing the glorious truth that Christ the Lord is risen! But when the disciples expected Jesus to rescue them from Rome, they never imagined he would die—especially not on a cross, which was considered cursed by God.

Yet his death was absolutely necessary if any of us were to be forgiven. Even if we could somehow pay for our own sins, we would simply die in them. The price would be paid—death—but there would be no redemption. Jesus, the perfect Son of God, had no sins of his own to pay for, so he alone was qualified to take ours upon himself. He paid the price we could never pay so we could be forgiven and have access to God through his sacrifice.

Scripture tells us without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22). The cross was God’s chosen way for his Son to die—his blood shed, the curse taken, the penalty paid.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).

And here is the good news: though the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). As we approach Resurrection Sunday, it’s the perfect time to deepen our understanding of why Jesus died—and why it had to be on a cross.

The disciples didn’t understand at first. But once they grasped why he came, saw him risen from the grave, and were filled with the Holy Spirit, everything changed. Their despair turned to unshakable faith in their crucified and risen Messiah, and because he lives, so can we.