Lesson 27 How Can Jesus’ Death Save Us?
[Image:] Jesus’ body being taken down from the stake.
[Press play to hear the MP3 of the Lesson]
We sin, suffer, and die because the first human couple, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God. * But our situation is not hopeless. Jehovah has provided a way for us to be delivered from the curse of sin and death by means of his Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that by his death, Jesus provided a ransom. A ransom is the price paid to release someone. The price Jesus paid was the value of his perfect human life. (Read Matthew 20:28) When Jesus willingly surrendered his right to everlasting life on earth, he opened the way for us to regain all that Adam and Eve had lost. Jesus also revealed how much he and Jehovah love us. This lesson will help deepen your appreciation for Jesus’ death. [Footnote] * Sin is not just the action of doing something bad. Sin also refers to the damaged condition that we inherited. [End of footnote]
[Read scripture] Matthew 20:28: Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many.” [End of Read scripture]
1. How can we benefit from Jesus’ death today?
Because we are sinners, we do many things that displease Jehovah. However, if we are truly sorry for our sins and ask Jehovah through Jesus Christ to forgive us and if we do our best not to repeat those mistakes, we can enjoy a close bond of friendship with God. (1 John 2:1)
[Quotation] 1 John 2:1: My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not commit a sin. And yet, if anyone does commit a sin, we have a helper with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one. [End Quotation]
The Bible says: “Christ died once for all time for sins, a righteous person for unrighteous ones, in order to lead you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)
2. In the future, how can we benefit from Jesus’ death?
Jehovah sent Jesus to offer his perfect human life “so that everyone exercising faith in [Jesus] might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Thanks to what Jesus did, Jehovah will soon undo all the bad things caused by Adam’s disobedience. This means that if we exercise faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, we will have the opportunity to enjoy life forever on a paradise earth! (Isaiah 65:21 through 23)
[Quotation] Isaiah 65:21 through 23: They will build houses and live in them, And they will plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build for someone else to inhabit, Nor will they plant for others to eat. For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, And the work of their hands my chosen ones will enjoy to the full. They will not toil for nothing, Nor will they bear children for distress, Because they are the offspring made up of those blessed by Jehovah, And their descendants with them. [End Quotation]
Dig Deeper
Deepen your understanding of why Jesus gave up his life, and consider how you benefit.
3. Jesus’ death frees us from sin and death
Play the video Why Did Jesus Die? Part 1 (2:01), and then discuss the question that follows.
[Disclaimer: The following video is created by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society; however, the audio description has been added by independent blind and sighted volunteers to assist those who are blind or have low vision]
[Click for Transcript]|[Why Did Jesus Die? Part 1]
[Text: Why Did Jesus Die? A funeral procession]
Presenter: Billions of people have died throughout history. But the death of one person stands alone, that of Jesus Christ.
[Jesus hanging on a stake]
Why did he die? Did his death have a purpose? To find the answer, we need to go back to the beginning of human history.
[The garden of Eden]
The Bible explains that God created the man Adam perfect, without sin. He was free to eat from all the trees in the garden of Eden, except one. God gave the simple command not to eat from that particular tree.
[Text: Genesis 2:15-17]
This tree symbolized God’s right to set the standards of good and bad. As long as Adam remained obedient to Jehovah, he had the prospect of living forever on a paradise earth. But Adam did not appreciate all the good things God had done for him.
[Eve gave Adam a fruit]
He chose to disobey God.
[He bites the fruit]
As a result, he lost the opportunity to live forever.
[Text: Genesis 3:17-19]
But he was not the only one affected. All of his descendants have inherited the fatal effects of sin.
[Text: Romans 5:12]
By themselves, humans could not break free from sin and death. They needed someone to rescue them.
[The funeral procession]
For this reason, Jehovah miraculously caused one of his perfect spirit sons to come to earth as a human.”
[Within the Universe, the earth shifts forward]
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2016 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania) [Click to close]
What opportunity did Adam lose when he disobeyed God?
Read Romans 5:12, and then discuss the question that follows:
[Read scripture] Romans 5:12: That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because they had all sinned. [End of Read scripture]
How has Adam’s sin affected your life?
Read John 3:16, and then discuss the question that follows:
[Read scripture] John 3:16: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. [End of Read scripture]
Why did Jehovah send his Son to the earth?
[Image:] A. Collage: 1. Adam after he disobeyed God. 2. A casket being carried in a funeral procession.
Caption A: Adam was a perfect man who disobeyed God and put humans on a path to sin and death
[Image:] B. Collage: 1. Jesus Christ. 2. People of various ages, races, cultures, and backgrounds.
Caption B: Jesus was a perfect man who obeyed God and put humans on a path to perfection and eternal life
4. Jesus’ death can benefit all people
Play the video Why Did Jesus Die? Part 2 (2:00), and then discuss the question that follows.
[Disclaimer: The following video is created by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society; however, the audio description has been added by independent blind and sighted volunteers to assist those who are blind or have low vision]
[Click for Transcript]|[Why Did Jesus Die? Part 2]
Presenter: Jesus was a perfect man, just as Adam had been. However, unlike Adam, Jesus remained obedient. This allowed him “to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many.”
[Text: Matthew 20:18]
But how could the death of one man benefit all of mankind?
[A factory building]
Well, imagine that the manager of a large factory steals money from the company.
[A manager takes money from a safe and puts it in his briefcase]
His actions plunge the company into debt, forcing it to shut down.
[Man pulls a lever at the factory. The lights go out]
The workers lose their jobs and cannot pay their bills. Many suffer because of that one man’s corruption.
[Rows of houses, the lights go out]
Now suppose a kind and generous man feels sorry for all those who are suffering.
[A man contemplates as e closes his newspaper]
He is moved to pay off the debt and reopen the company.
[The gates slide open. Factory workers enter. The factory in full operation]
By cancelling that one debt, he brings relief to all the employees and their families.
[Rows of houses, lights turn on]
Adam is like that corrupt manager. When he rebelled, he incurred a large debt of sin and passed it on to his children.
[Text: Romans 5:19]
Jesus is like the generous man. When he gave up his perfect human life, he paid off the debt of sin and reopened the prospect of living forever for each of us.
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2016 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania) [Click to close]
How could the death of one man benefit all people?
Read 1 Timothy 2:5 and 6, and then discuss the question that follows:
[Read scripture] 1 Timothy 2:5 and 6: For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all, this is what is to be witnessed to in its own due time. [End of Read scripture]
Adam was a perfect man who put humans on a path to sin and death. Jesus was also a perfect man. In what way did he provide “a corresponding ransom”?
5. The ransom is Jehovah’s gift to you
Jehovah’s friends view the ransom as a personal gift. For example, read Galatians 2:20, and then discuss the question that follows:
[Read scripture] Galatians 2:20: I am nailed to the stake along with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who is living in union with me. Indeed, the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and handed himself over for me. [End of Read scripture]
How did the apostle Paul indicate that he viewed the ransom as a personal gift?
When Adam sinned, he and all his descendants were condemned to death. But Jehovah sent his Son to die so that you can have the opportunity to enjoy everlasting life.
As you read the following verses, imagine how Jehovah must have felt while his Son suffered. Read John 19:1 through 7 and 16 through 18, and then discuss the question that follows:
[Read scripture] John 19:1 through 7: Pilate then took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head and clothed him with a purple robe, and they kept coming up to him and saying: “Greetings, you King of the Jews!” They also kept slapping him in the face. Pilate went outside again and said to them: “See! I bring him outside to you in order for you to know that I find no fault in him.” So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them: “Look! The man!” However, when the chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted: “To the stake with him! To the stake with him!” Pilate said to them: “Take him yourselves and execute him, for I do not find any fault in him.” The Jews answered him: “We have a law, and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself God’s son.” [End of Read scripture]
[Read scripture] John 19:16 through 18: Then he handed him over to them to be executed on the stake. So they took charge of Jesus. Bearing the torture stake for himself, he went out to the so-called Skull Place, which is called Golgotha in Hebrew. There they nailed him to the stake alongside two other men, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle. [End of Read scripture]
How do you feel about what Jehovah and Jesus did for you?
[Box]
Someone May Ask: “How could one man die for all people?” How would you answer? [End of box]
Summary
Jesus’ death provides the basis for Jehovah to forgive our sins, and it gives us the opportunity to enjoy life forever.
Review
Why did Jesus die?
In what way was Jesus’ perfect human life a corresponding ransom?
How can Jesus’ death benefit you?
Goal
When you pray, regularly thank Jehovah for the gift of his Son. Set Other Goals
Explore
Learn why Jesus’ perfect human life is called a ransom. “How Is Jesus’ Sacrifice ‘a Ransom for Many’?” (Web article)
[Click for article]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]
Find out what we need to do to be saved. “Jesus Saves—How?” (Web article)
[Click for article]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]
Can Jehovah forgive even serious sins? “Bible Questions Answered” (The Watchtower, May 1, 2013)
[Click for article]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]
See how learning about Christ’s sacrifice helped a man to transform his personality. “I Am No Longer a Slave of Violence” (Web article)
[Click for article]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]