Who Did Jesus Die For?

Last Sunday’s sermon was preached by Pastor Harry with the title “Who Did Jesus Die For?” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15 and 17; John 6:44-45). The sermon and the whole service can be watched on our WIC YouTube Channel.

Who did Jesus die for? You might think this question so simple that you could be wondering why I’m preaching on it! I know your answer: “He died for us folks”. OK! But dig a little deeper, and things aren’t so clear. For example, if you’re a Pentecostal, a Methodist or a Catholic, you’ll probably say: “He died for all”. But if you’re a Presbyterian, a Baptist or Reformed Church, your answer might be: “He died for some, but not for all”. I found that shocking, coming from my own church background, when I heard it for the first time as a young adult. It sounded crazy to me, because it meant God was so unfair. So I got confused: both teachings can’t be true.

 

I decided to search the Bible, and got even more confused! I saw that both teachings are represented in Scripture: Jesus died for all; and Jesus died for many, but not all! So my problem is: how to reconcile the two, so I can help you think consistently about these doctrines – because people all over the place are thinking to themselves: “Am I one of the lucky ones? Did Jesus die for me?” Let’s look at the Bible first.

 

So on the one hand we see, in the Old Testament, that God is choosy. He chooses the Israelites as His chosen people, ignoring the rest of the world. He’s got plans for His chosen nation. And He carries out those plans by, for example, anointing kings, appointing prophets, and making clear His intention to raise up His anointed Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ, 700 years later! And this Man will make it possible for many to be made righteous: many – but not all.

 

But on the other hand, God gives people their own choices and decisions to make. Adam and Eve themselves choose to disobey God. Esau chooses to sell his birthright to Jacob. Ruth chooses to follow Naomi. David chooses to commit adultery. Kings choose to turn away from God. So already in the Old Testament, there’s a tension between man’s decision to follow God and be saved, and God’s decision to save those He wants to save.

 

Now, when we get to the New Testament, the same dilemma is there. On the one hand, Jesus leaves the choice up to us: “Come to Me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest”. So we have a free choice to come to Jesus or not, because Jesus is there for everybody. As Paul says: “One died for all”. Anybody in the world can make a decision to come to Jesus and be saved.

 

But again, on the other hand, Jesus Himself says: “No one can come to Me, unless the Father draws them”. So now it’s God the Father who decides who will be drawn to Jesus and be saved – it’s not our decision at all! So in that case Christ can’t have died for everybody, can He? And so our confusion continues. But let’s see if we can somehow reconcile this contradiction. I want you to remember this illustration I’m going to give, to help you in the future. It happened to me five years ago.

 

I had just bought a 3-month bus and metro travelcard at a metro station. As I walked out of the ticket office, I heard my train pulling in. Luckily the gates were open at that moment, so I just rushed through them and caught the train, feeling pleased with myself. Next stop and a ticket inspector gets on – and when he checked my card the machine started beeping loudly! I thought his machine wasn’t working properly, but no – he was right. In my rush to catch the train, I’d forgotten to activate the card at the gate! All my protests, and the receipt I showed him to prove I’d paid for the card, were in vain. I had to pay a large fine!

 

You see, Jesus has given each of us a travelcard, but which He paid for. He paid for our sins on the cross – we all have a free pass to heaven (symbolised by the train). But in our rush to get to heaven, we don’t think of activating our card – activation is the individual decision we have to make. Scan your ticket. Validate in your heart what Jesus has done for you on the cross: receive Him into your heart as your Saviour. Believe and trust in Him – just as you believe and trust in your travelcard.

 

But unfortunately, very many don’t make it to their desired destination. They get kicked off the train and are punished for their failure to “activate Jesus”. All their excuses don’t help them – they’ve failed to obey the rules.

 

We only just recently baptised 3 wonderful sinners – by immersion, in some jacuzzi-like contraption. It was ideal! I was joking that it looked like a coffin from a distance, and our friends who were baptised said, correctly: “Well yes, it is – because when you go down into the water, it means you’re putting your old self to death: by drowning”. And when you come up out of the water, it means you are, as it were, raised from the dead by Christ, who becomes your new life. To use our previous image, you’ve activated Jesus and hopped onto the train that leads to eternal life. This does not mean that baptism itself or the water are in any way magical. The real magic is Jesus, who pulls you out of the water – not when you’re baptised, but before: when you give your heart to Him; not by being a good person, but by putting your faith in Him alone.

 

Think of the sea. We sinners are all drowning. Everyone’s drowning in their sins. So people naturally want to be saved. There they are, drowning in the sea, and they think: “I hope God will save me, because I’m a good person”. But when you are drowning, it absolutely doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad. You will still drown, unless someone pulls you out and saves you.

 

That Someone can only be Jesus, the Saviour. When you cry out in total despair to Jesus to save you, He’ll do just that. But not before. He’s there for everyone, because yes: He died for everyone. But will all be saved? No, they won’t; because so many rush through that open gate without activating their travelcard – their safe passage to heaven. Even though it was paid for by Jesus, they forgot that there was a condition to fulfil, for it to operate in their lives. They didn’t put their faith and trust in Him by being obedient and following His directives – only in their own schemes to get accepted by God in the after-life. Don’t make that mistake. Follow the rules in the Bible. Put your faith actively in Jesus. Yes, He died for you – but you must now make Him your Friend. Amen.