As I wrote yesterday, those of us who follow a traditional church year calendar find ourselves once again in this season known as “Lent.” It is designed to be a time for personal repentance and reflection on the death of Jesus. Each individual is encouraged to remember that it was for his or her sin that Jesus died. We focus on His death, not in a morbid sense, but with an appreciation for what He was willing to endure for our sake.

Perhaps no event in human history has been interpreted in so many differing ways as the death of Jesus Christ. Almost everyone who has ever heard about it has offered an opinion about what it means. Some think it is no different than any other death. Others believe Jesus was (and still is) the Son of God, the Savior of all people, and that His death paid for the sins of the world. And there are countless other interpretations and explanations in between those two extremes.

There is no reason for all the different interpretations. Rather than trying to put a “spin” on it or explain it in a certain way, I suggest we just listen to what Scripture has to say on the matter.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (1 John 3:16)

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:3)

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

 “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

“…and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

I’m not going to offer you any interpretations here today – just these simple statements from the Bible. Read them for yourself. And there are plenty more where these came from. Listen to what they are saying. The message is there.

It is a message our world today needs to hear.