I’ve been thinking a lot about questions lately. You know, those questions that catch us off guard, the ones that maybe shouldn’t be asked (like asking if it’s snowing when someone just has gray hair – true story from my life!), and especially those big questions that have followed humanity for generations.
One question that I find myself returning to, even after years in ministry, is: “Why did Jesus have to die?” I know the story. I know how it ends. I’m deeply grateful for God’s grace in my life. But sometimes I still wonder – wasn’t there another way?
Today, I want to explore this question with you through the powerful story that unfolds in Luke 23 and 24, specifically focusing on what happened on the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ resurrection.
The Road Away from Faith
After Jesus was crucified, some of his followers began a journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus. This wasn’t a joyful journey – they were dejected, confused, and heartbroken. They had dedicated their lives to following Jesus, believing He would change everything. Then suddenly, He was gone.
As they walked, something remarkable happened. Jesus himself appeared and began walking alongside them, though they didn’t recognize him. This led to a conversation that I believe Jesus wants to have with many of us today.
When Jesus asked what they were discussing, they were shocked that this “stranger” didn’t know about the events in Jerusalem. With downcast faces, they explained about Jesus of Nazareth – notably referring to him as a “prophet powerful in word and deed,” but not as Messiah, Lord, or King.
I can’t help but see the parallel between these disciples and some of us today. Maybe you’ve been slowly walking away from your faith because Jesus didn’t turn out to be who you thought He would be. Perhaps disappointment, hurt, or confusion has led you to put Jerusalem – your faith – in the rearview mirror. You’ve had trouble reconciling the Jesus you expected with the Jesus who is.
Jesus Reveals the Scriptures
What happens next is beautiful. Jesus responds with empathy, but He doesn’t leave them in their confusion. Instead, He begins to explain the Scriptures to them:
“Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
I wish Luke had given us more details about this conversation! Which scriptures did Jesus point to? How did He unpack the Jewish texts to answer the question of why He had to die?
Perhaps He referenced Isaiah 53, revealing how the Messiah would be a suffering servant, bearing the consequences of the world’s sins so we might be saved. Maybe He turned to Psalm 22, which foretold how the Messiah would be pierced in His hands and feet – pierced for our transgressions, taking upon Himself what was meant for us.
He might have pointed to Genesis 3, which foretold the day when Eve’s descendant would crush the serpent’s head. Or maybe Exodus 12, teaching that death is necessary for redemption – a concept they understood through the Passover lamb sacrificed for sin forgiveness.
Perhaps they sang Psalm 16 together, a familiar song revealing that the Messiah’s death wasn’t the end but the beginning of His glory. Or maybe Jesus highlighted Zechariah’s prophecy that even though God’s people would reject the Messiah, God would still offer restoration through Him.
While we don’t know exactly which passages Jesus used, we do know how He answered the question “Why did Jesus have to die?” He pointed to Scripture. He showed them that throughout history, God’s Word had been revealing that the Messiah would give His life for our salvation, redemption, healing, and restoration with God.
The Personal Truth
If you’re wondering today why Jesus had to die, here’s the profound truth: Jesus died for you. His death was your pathway to redemption – the only way. It has always been the plan.
Your path to restoration is through the cross. Your path to redemption is through the cross. Your path to healing is through the cross. Your path to forgiveness is through the cross. Your path to everlasting life is through the cross.
Jesus died so that your story of redemption might begin.
Recognition in Breaking Bread
Even after this powerful explanation of Scripture, the disciples still didn’t fully understand. But they were intrigued enough to invite this “stranger” to stay with them for a meal.
At the table, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it. This simple act – breaking bread – was the moment their eyes were opened. Just days before, Jesus had sat with them at the Last Supper, breaking bread and saying, “This is my body broken for you.”
In that moment of recognition, Jesus disappeared from their sight, but the impact remained. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Returning to Faith
What happens next is crucial: “They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.”
These were people who had been walking away from Jerusalem – away from their faith. But after encountering the risen Lord, they immediately turned around. There was no waiting, no lingering. They encountered the risen Jesus, and it changed their direction completely.
Church family, hear me on this: This turn-around only happens when we encounter the risen Lord. Going to church alone, as important as that is, cannot do this for you. Reasoning alone cannot do it. You cannot be disciplined enough to make it happen yourself.
The only way to truly turn your life around is to interact with and encounter the risen Savior. The power comes when we engage with Jesus – when we walk with Him, sit with Him, eat with Him, and allow Him to reveal who He truly is, not who we thought He was going to be. Because who He truly is is so much better than any idea we’ve created in our minds.
You Are Not Alone
Some of you have been walking away from your faith. Jerusalem is in your rearview mirror. But I need you to know something important: You are not alone. Just as Jesus walked every step with those disciples even when they didn’t recognize Him, He has been walking with you.
Jesus is present. He wants to walk with you and reveal Himself to you. He is on this journey with you.
Maybe what you need today is to allow Jesus to walk with you, to sit with you, to show you what His Word says about Him, and to open your eyes to who He really is.
Asking the Hard Questions
I believe there are questions you’ve wanted to ask but thought you weren’t allowed to. That’s why next week, we’re launching a new series called “Can I Ask That?” designed to tackle those hard questions that have kept you on that journey away from faith or prevented you from going deeper in your relationship with Jesus.
The Gospel of Luke was written this way – Luke set out to create a detailed, accurate account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. As a physician, he interviewed witnesses, had conversations, and asked the hard questions – the same kinds of questions the men on the road to Emmaus were asking, the same kinds of questions you’re asking.
What Luke discovered is that some answers are hard to find, hard to hear, or even ones we don’t want to hear. But he also discovered that when we draw closer to Jesus – when we walk with Him, sit with Him, and allow Him to reveal Himself to us – He will always open our eyes.
The Answer
So why did Jesus have to die? The answer is found throughout Scripture: Jesus died to fulfill the promise that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
Jesus died so that you may live. He died so that you may be healed and set free. He died so you can be redeemed and forgiven. Jesus died so that you wouldn’t have to.
The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death,” and without Jesus doing what He did – without His sacrifice on the cross – your wages would still be death. But because of what He did, you are set free and redeemed.
Maybe today is the day for you to turn around and start coming back to your faith – not because I said so, not because the church said so, but because Jesus said so.
Some of you remember a time when everything was great, when Jesus felt present and active in your life. And then something happened – you lost a loved one, received bad news from a doctor, experienced betrayal, were hurt by a church leader, or lost trust in the church.
When we walk with Jesus, He opens our eyes. Sometimes we’ve been looking for answers in all the wrong places, when the answers we seek are in God’s Word and in the person of Jesus. And He wants nothing more than to open your eyes to this simple truth: Jesus died so your story of redemption could begin.
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