Chapter 7-WHAT GOD HAS DONE TO SAVE MANKIND

HOW THE RANSOM WAS PAID

In the fall of 29 C.E., Jesus went to his relative John to be baptized and thereby present himself to carry out God's will.  On that occasion Jehovah anointed Jesus with holy spirit.  Jesus thus became the Messiah, or Christ, the one anointed by God.  (Matthew 3:16, 17)  Then Jesus embarked on his three-and-a-half-year ministry.  He traveled  throughout his homeland, preaching about God's Kingdom and gathering faithful followers.  However, as foretold, opposition to him soon mounted. -Psalm 118:22; Acts 4:8-11.

Jesus courageously exposed the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. and they sought his death.  They eventually hatched up an ugly plot that involved betrayal, improper arrest, illegal trial, and a false charge of sedition.  Jesus was struck, spat upon, ridiculed and beaten with a whip designed to tear his flesh.  The Roman governor Pontius Pilate then sentenced him to death on a torture stake.  He was nailed to a wooden pole and hung there upright.  Each breath was excruciating, and it took hours for him to die.  Throughout that ordeal, Jesus maintained perfect integrity to God.

Thus, it was on Nissan 14, 33 C.E., that Jesus gave his life as  "a ransom in exchange  for many."  ( Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:5, 6)  From heaven, Jehovah could see his Son suffer and die.  Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen?  He did so because he loved humankind.  Jesus said:  "God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life."  (John 3:16)  The death of Jesus also teaches  us that Jehovah  is a God of perfect justice.  (Deuteronomy 32:4) Some might wonder why God did not waive his principles of justice that require soul for soul and ignore the price of Adam's sinful course.  The reason is that Jehovah always abides by his laws and upholds them, even at great cost to himself.

Jehovah's justice also required that Jesus' death have a happy outcome.  After all, would there be justice in allowing faithful Jesus to sleep forever in death?   Of course not!  The Hebrew Scriptures  had prophesied that God's loyal one would not remain in the grave.  (Psalm 16:10; Acts 13:35)  He slept in death for parts of three days, and then Jehovah God resurrected him to life as a mighty spirit being. - 1 Peter3:18.

At his death, Jesus surrendered his human life for all time.  Upon being raised to life in heaven, he became a life-giving spirit.  Moreover, when Jesus ascended to the holiest place in the universe, he was reunited with his dear Father and formally presented to Him the value of his perfect human life.  (Hebrews 9:23-28)  The value of that precious life could then be applied in behalf of obedient mankind.  What does that mean for you?

Next time: CHRIST'S RANSOM AND YOU

The Book - KNOWLEDGE  That Leads To Everlasting Life, 1995