Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
Acts 1:9-11

What did Jesus do for those He came to save? He died for us. But that isn’t all. We are considering five components of what Jesus did for the redeemed are absolutely essential. Previously we considered the fact that Jesus was born for us and that He lived for us.

Number Three: He died for us. Romans 3:23 makes it clear that all humans, descended from Adam are sinners. We are sinners by nature and sinners by choice. Roman 6:23 makes it equally clear that the consequential penalty for sin is death. The death earned by sinners is not limited to physical death. It includes the “second death” written about in Revelation 20. This “second death” is the eternal wrath of God. We haven’t the time here to consider why the eternal wrath of God is both just and necessary. Maybe we can take that up in a future post.

Because all mere humans are sinners and because the consequential penalty for sin is eternal wrath, we are all doomed. Unless…

…unless someone else, someone sinless, someone wholly undeserving of wrath, were to pay the consequential penalty we have earned. The consequential penalty we deserve. This is the heart of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is that Someone else, who is sinless, who paid our sin debt, in full, forever, irrevocably. He experienced all the wrath deserved by those He came to save, in our place.

Now consider this. Each sinner has earned and justly deserves the wrath of God that is both infinite in intensity and eternal in duration. Take that infinite and eternal wrath deserved by each person Jesus came to save, and multiply it by the total number of people who will ever be saved. That is more wrath than is calculable. Jesus experienced all that wrath in the span of three hours when He hung on the cross and died for us. Amazing grace indeed!

But He didn’t stay dead. Next time: He rose for us.