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Apologetics
Why Didn’t Jesus Say He Needed to Die for Our Sins?
Exploring the origin of the claim that Jesus’ death paid for our sin
Where did Jesus Himself ever say that He needed to die for our sins?
It’s one of the most basic ideas of modern Christianity: Jesus died on the Cross to pay for our sins. Kindergarteners in Sunday school recite it easily.
Yet critics question: where did this idea come from?
Paul talks about this topic in his letters quite extensively. Ask a Christian to explain where the Bible talks of Jesus’ death paying for our sins, and they’re likely to open up Romans.
And therein lies the problem.
If Jesus never said this, that would suggest Paul invented the idea. If Paul invented the idea, that would suggest Paul and Jesus had wildly different ideas about why Jesus went to the Cross.
And that hardly sounds like it could exist in a Bible supposedly inspired by God.
Let’s dig into this. Is it true that Jesus never spoke of dying on the Cross for our sins? Is it true that these ideas originate in Paul?
We’ll find our first clue on the last night before the Cross.