Why did He do it?

“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement… he did this to demonstrate his justice.”  Romans 3:25

We usually associate the sacrifice of Christ on the cross with God’s love.  “For God so loved the world…”  But here the apostle Paul clearly says that there was something else involved – God’s justice.  God’s love and mercy, his holiness and justice, are met at the cross.  That is the gospel.