The fact that Christians celebrate the murder of Jesus as “good news” seems disgusting until we understand the reason why Jesus died. The Bible teaches that Jesus was made to be our sin, and to appease the justice of God, He died for us. The little word “for” has big implications. In theological terms, it means that Jesus’ death was substitutionary. His death was in our place, solely for our benefit, and without benefit for Himself. Just to be perfectly clear, this means that Jesus took the penalty for our sins, in our place, so we do not have to suffer the just penalty ourselves. The wrath of God that should have fallen on us and the death that our sins merit fell on Jesus. This wasn’t something forced on Him. Rather, He took it willingly.
Scripture repeatedly stresses this point:
Isaiah 53:5, 12; Romans 4:25; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3;
1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:2; Galatians 3:13