Teaching Resources International

Was It Not Necessary? … (April 2025 Update) 

When I think of the cross, many terms come to my mind: unbounded love, justice, forgiveness and satisfaction. But one term stands out to me. And it is one that we rarely think about at Easter: necessity. In Luke 24, the risen Christ says to the travelers on the Emmaus Road: “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”  “Was it not necessary?” Jesus asks.   

In English, the word “necessity” means something that is absolutely required, or indispensable. If there was any other way for man to be saved, it would not be necessary for Jesus to die. But there was not. There is no other way. 

We see necessity often in the words of Jesus, especially when his disciples are not comfortable hearing about his suffering and his death. In Matthew 16, after Peter makes his great confession about Jesus being the Christ (vv. 13-20), Jesus tells his disciples that he “must go” to Jerusalem to suffer and die and be raised up on the third day (vv. 21). That’s necessity! If there was any other way …. but there is not. 

The necessity of the cross is seen most clearly in the Garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus is facing the cross and facing the sins of the world being placed upon him. Three times he prays with great agony for this cup (the cup of God’s wrath toward sin) to be removed. Notice what he says: “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” Three times – “if it is possible.” But it is not. Without the death of Jesus, the salvation of God cannot come to man, and we cannot be saved. The cup of God’s wrath against sin must be drunk – all of it – so that man can be saved. Jesus must suffer and go to the cross and die as a payment for our sins. In the Garden, Jesus cries out, three times, for this cup to be removed. But without it, there is no payment for sin. It is necessary! 

But there is another necessity to think about especially on Easter – the necessity of the resurrection. Even if Jesus dies on the cross and is laid in the tomb, and if he does not rise, then we are still in our sins and we have become, of all men, most miserable (1 Corinthians 15). If Jesus does not rise from the dead, it means that death can hold him. It means that his payment for sin was not sufficient. So, the resurrection is also absolutely necessary. In Romans 1:4, Paul says that Jesus was proven to be the Son of God “by the resurrection from the dead.” The resurrection confirms the payment on the cross. Without the resurrection, the cross is just a sad story of a good man unjustly put to death. But the resurrection proves that Jesus is the Christ and that his payment on the cross was indeed sufficient to cover all the sins placed upon him. He drank the cup of God’s wrath to the bottom. He paid it all and death could not hold him! That’s necessity! There was no other way. There is no other way. 

There is still another necessity on Easter – the necessity of the Gospel. In Luke 24:46-48, Jesus tells his disciples, “Thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and beginning at Jerusalem. that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, And you are witnesses of these things.” The cross was absolutely necessary for our salvation. Without it, there would be no payment for sin. The resurrection was absolutely necessary. Without it, we would be serving a dead savior who had no power over sin and death. But we must not forget that sharing the gospel is also absolutely necessary. In Romans 10:13-15, Paul reminds us about this necessity: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Jesus death and resurrection are absolutely necessary, but it is also necessary for the gospel to be shared: “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations.” 

Finally, there is the necessity of the power of the Holy Spirit in evangelism. “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Sharing the gospel with other is really an impossible task! But we are not to try to accomplish this task on our own, in our own strength. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told his disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade, defined evangelism this way: “Evangelism is sharing the gospel, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and leaving the results to God.” Our job is to share what Jesus has done. But we cannot do it in our own strength. We need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to convince, convict and convert. The work of the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary! 

So, when you think about the cross this Easter season, think about the deep, deep love of God. There was no necessity in God to save us (He was not required to do so). He would have been completely just to condemn every one of us and send us to hell forever for our sins. It was His great love for us that lead to the cross. And think about justice. God cannot simply let sin go unpunished. There must be a payment for sin – that’s necessity – if God is truly just. And remember forgiveness. It comes only if there is a full and sufficient payment for our sins. And think about satisfaction – the wrath of God could not be satisfied without a sufficient payment for our sins. But also think about necessity – “Was it not necessary” for the Christ to die and rise again? That’s what I think about when I think about Easter – necessity! No other way… Was it not necessary? 

Opportunities to Serve and Teach …  

This month, I was able to help David Snead as he taught Prayer and Worship at Ukrainian Baptist Seminary in Lviv. David is a former student who taught this class with me for the last 5 years. The last two years, he has been doing almost all of the teaching, and I am helping by answering questions for the students in Zoom sessions. As usual, the student had some great questions about prayer and worship. Pray for these students as they return to home to strength their churches and their ministries. What a joy it is to see these students learning, growing and serving! 

In May, I will be helping Natasha Chikota (also a former student) teach the Research and Critical Thinking class that we have been teaching for the last 14 years. Be praying for her as she prepares. This is a massive class with a lot of preparation as I have to reformate it for an in-class session. But it is one of the most helpful classes for seminary students. 

Katya and I are continuing to help with GlobalServe International (GSI) and Hiding Place Hollow. Hiding Place Hollow was the missionary housing that provided a home for us for the first year when we returned to the US. We have continued to be involved with the missionaries that are currently living there, and we love what this ministry is doing to help missionaries! We are usually meeting together monthly for prayer and encouragement. 

Also pray for GSI workers and leaders. GSI is sending missionaries to unreached people groups in countries where it is illegal to be missionaries. This is a very difficult and sometimes dangerous work. And the emotional struggles and adjustments are much greater than many other missionary locations. Finally, since they are serving in closed countries, they need additional care since they cannot communicate their needs openly due to security reasons. Pray for them as they continue to learn languages and culture so that they can share the gospel. 

Family …  

Over the last few months, we have been busy preparing for our garden. As we mentioned last month, it has been quite an undertaking! We had to have a fence large enough to keep out the many deer families that roam in our yard as well as a number of other animals.  

We also needed to figure out how to water our garden. We decided that the most cost-effective means would be to capture rainwater for the garden. So, we build a rainwater collection system for our irrigation using inexpensive pickle barrels (cleaned out of course). Probably for the first time in my life, I have been praying for rain! (I have often prayed for it to stop, but never for rain). Just after we got the last barrels attached, we got rain – lots of it – nearly three days of a deluge! I think we need to pray for it to stop – at least for a while. We are also trying an irrigation method using buried clay pots called “ollas.” These are used in desert climate to conserve water and provide water for plants. We’ll see how these work in the middle of Arkansas’s hot summers! 

During Spring Break, we went to the Archery Center with Haven and Harley and the girls got to practice some archery and also learn how to cast for fishing. Later that week, we when to Sean’s favorite fishing spot in Missouri. There we had a great day with a picnic and the kids got to fish for some trout. 

Finally, we also celebrated Katya’s mother’s birthday at our home. We were joined by Meredith, Sean and their children and we were also joined had a Ukrainian family that we met a couple years ago. 

We are looking forward to some spring weather and getting something planted in our garden this month. We are beginning to feel fully settled in Arkansas after being here a little over 3 years now. We still have much to do with the house, but we can say we are fully settled here now. Thanks for your prayers during this time of difficult transition. 

Pray for Ukraine … 

Please continue to pray for Ukraine. Missile attacks continue to increase as Russia continue to ignore its agreement for a ceasefire. Additionally, Russia is putting forth unbelievable conditions for peace requiring Ukraine to give up more territory than Russia control, reducing their army to less than 15% of the current army, not receiving any weapons or munitions from Europe, and even removing Ukraine’s democratically elected government (president and Rada [Congress]) and placing Ukraine under UN control dominated by Russian leadership. It amounts to a complete surrender and total Russian control of Ukraine. It is sad to see. Fortunately, over 80% of Ukrainians say they would rather continue to fight even without help from the US. Pray for a real and justice peace! Peace is really simple – if Russia stops attacking, there will be peace. Ukraine is simply defending its territory and its people. Pray for them and for their protection for continued Russian attacks. 

In spite of the ongoing war, our students and friends continue to minister to people suffering from the war. Many are serving as chaplains and many, many others are helping with refugees. Our seminaries continue to meet and train more pastors and leaders for the church in Ukraine. Please pray for them as they minister under difficult circumstances. 

Thank you for praying for us. The last month has been very busy, and it looks like April and May will also involve a lot of work with preparing to teach in May. Thanks again for your support and prayers for us! 

By His Grace, 

Jim and Katya, Kristina and Nadia 

If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .  

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