Transcripts: Essential Bible Teachings

Transcript: Why Did Jesus Die?
[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]
“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 20:28]
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 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. You may wonder, did Jesus really exist?
Is believing in Jesus enough for salvation?
Is Jesus God?
To learn more about what the Bible says on this, and many other topics go to JW.org
[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)