Jesus had to Die

The shift in authority on earth is also the reason why Jesus had to die on the cross. He might be able to forgive those who have sinned, but he also had to deal with the powers of evil. God had given them a place in his creation, but they had rebelled against him and chosen to work for evil. Human sin gave them authority on earth, and they have played it for all that it is worth.

The powers of evil demand the same penalty for all who have sinned. Because God is just, he must treat all his creatures consistently. He cannot forgive and forget the powers of evil, or they would live on to mess up the future world that God has planned. They have to be destroyed at the end of the age, so their evil is finally ended, but they demand a similar penalty for all who have sinned, especially humans. Satan is the accuser of all humans prosecuting them before God. He points out every sin and demands that because God is just, they must die for their sins. Satan is a court prosecutor, who is definite about the penalty required. He has even offered to inflict this penalty himself.

God could have chosen to ignore the requirements of justice, but that would be against his nature, so he came to earth as a man to pay the penalty himself. Jesus handed himself over to the forces of evil to inflict the penalty that they wanted to impose on all sinful humans. His death satisfied their warped form of justice, but it won salvation for everyone who puts their trust in him. God then defeated the plans of evil by raising Jesus from death and lifting him up to his throne in heaven. The accuser was thrown out (Rev 12:7-11) and the Lord of Lords took his place.

Jesus died to satisfy God’s justice, but he also died to satisfy the powers of evil who claimed ownership of all sinful people on earth.

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:44).

Jesus gave his life to buy back the lives of the people who had been kidnapped by the evil one. The ransom was not paid to God. It was paid by God to the powers of evil who had gained control of people seizing authority over the earth.