By Brent Veyon
John 15:14
Understanding the 'why,' is just as important as understanding the 'who.' Moreover, the answer to 'why' is a very uplifting one. Consider what Jesus tells us, as to the reason 'why' God sent Him.
We know that Jesus told Nicodemus the reason 'why,' in John 3:16 when He said; "... God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..."; this seems to be about as clear as it gets, and the truth of this is displayed thoughout the scriptures.
God's love is also evident in nature, and some of the displays of God's power and majesty can be understood with our own observation (Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:19-20). However, it was not until He reached out to us that we could more fully undrstand His love for us; for there are some things we could only have knowledge of through His revelation (Psalm 19:7-14). Things like His law, His testimony, His statutes, and His judgements could not be comprehended without His direct intervention.
It is because God loves us that we seek Him. It is because our Father in heaven, sought our well being first, that we love Him (I John 4:17). Likewise, it is by His loving grace that we can have salvation, through the faith (Eph. 2:8-10; Romans 3:3:21-31). It is through God's mercy and grace that we have knowledge of His will, and it is by His mercy and grace that we can be saved in Christ Jesus.
We must also see, however, that although this grace is extended to all men (Titus 2:11), not all accepted it from the heart (Romans 9:30-33; 6:17). We must accept the knowledge He has given us, from the heart, for we know that "God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). If we have a clear understanding of this fact, this will lead us to the answer of 'who' Jesus died for.
The apostle Paul tried to explain this to the disciples, when he told them to "be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that she will also reap" (Galatians 6:7-8). So, if it is the kingdom of heaven you desire, then you must sow the good seed to be able to reap the good fruit. Moreover, he showed us that "[Christ] died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again" (II Corinthians 5:15). Knowing this, we should give a more sincere attention to Paul's admonition to examine ourselves (II Corinthians 13:5); lest we be disqualified. "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. " (Ephians 5:17)
Jesus warned of this in Matthew 7:21-23 when He said, "not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven...". Then we may ask, 'who' will enter the kingodm of heaven? "[But it is] he who does the will of My Father in heaven", Jesus continued. Jesus is telling us, that it behooves us to do the will of our Father, else we will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
With this in mind, we can see exactly 'who' it is that Jesus died for and 'why'.
Jesus Himself explained this to His disciples. He told them exactly 'why' He was to die and exactly for 'who' He was to die, when He said; "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" [emphasis added] (John 15:13. He goes on to show just 'who' His friends are when He said: "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you" (John 15:14). So, it is certain, we must abide by His commandments to be "His friend!"
This leaves us with and imploring question... 'Are you a friend to Jesus?'
If you know the answer to that question, then you will know the answer to this one...'Did Jesus die for you?'