[Guest Post]
[As] Rob Bell pointed out on one of his
podcasts, the connection with those words [“My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?”] and a common prayer that was prayed based on the Psalms when one
neared Death. That [revelation] was part of one of the original understandings
that started to unravel my belief in God's hatred of sin requiring death and
judgment.
I now realize, that there are many other ideas for why Christ had to die. There are two that are compelling to me, and I take them both seriously:
I now realize, that there are many other ideas for why Christ had to die. There are two that are compelling to me, and I take them both seriously:
WHY DID JESUS DIE?
1. He died to show us how to live. Christ's entire life was meant to be something we followed. He was not interested in controlling people's moral actions, instead every action was meant as a means of self-sacrifice so that others may have life and have it more abundantly – right here, right now on Earth – not just in a reward in the afterlife.
As a result, His life could have ended no
other way than in death as a proof to us that our lives are not ours, but are
to be given out in service of others, even if it means we have to give up our
own life so that others may experience better life.
His resurrection was then a reminder that even in death, it isn't an end to us, but that God has power over life and death and there is more for us. Death isn't an end, but only a beginning and so giving it up for another isn't a terrible end to life, but a beautiful beginning.
2.He died because we required a sacrifice. The view that resonates the most with me however is that Christ's death wasn't because God could not bear to look at sin and required death and blood to overcome his aversion to it, but that we could not look at sin without requiring blood and vengeance. The entire sacrificial system was simply man's best effort at serving a loving, Holy God in light of our own understanding of intrinsic evil in and amongst us.
His resurrection was then a reminder that even in death, it isn't an end to us, but that God has power over life and death and there is more for us. Death isn't an end, but only a beginning and so giving it up for another isn't a terrible end to life, but a beautiful beginning.
2.He died because we required a sacrifice. The view that resonates the most with me however is that Christ's death wasn't because God could not bear to look at sin and required death and blood to overcome his aversion to it, but that we could not look at sin without requiring blood and vengeance. The entire sacrificial system was simply man's best effort at serving a loving, Holy God in light of our own understanding of intrinsic evil in and amongst us.
[NOTE: Remember that Caiphas, the High
Priest, said, “It is better for one man to die for the people
than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” He meant that
in a practical sense, not spiritually.]
God however has always loved us, always called us towards a more beautiful, peaceful life by overcoming that evil around us rather than having it control us. God has never required a sacrifice for His love, we simply assumed He did.
God however has always loved us, always called us towards a more beautiful, peaceful life by overcoming that evil around us rather than having it control us. God has never required a sacrifice for His love, we simply assumed He did.
[NOTE: See Jesus in Matt. 9:13; 12:7; and
also Heb. 10:8; Ps. 51:16, Hosea 6:6, 1 Sam. 15:22]
As a result, God also knew that humanity
would never be free to truly bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth if they
were hampered by a transactional system that left them in bondage. So Jesus
died, not so that God could forgive us of our sins, but that we could.
To me that makes His death even more beautiful.
To me that makes His death even more beautiful.
It's always troubled me that God set up such
a broken and dirty system whereby God allowed sin into the world, but then
required death of anyone entangled by it.
Instead [this view] shows us that God never
required the death of Jesus for His own ends, but freely gave it for ours.
Those two ideas have radically changed the way I interact with the world around me in light of Christ's life, and I'll never go back to where I was before.
Those two ideas have radically changed the way I interact with the world around me in light of Christ's life, and I'll never go back to where I was before.
FOR MORE ON THIS ISSUE WATCH "THE BEAUTIFUL GOSPEL" by Brad Jersak VIDEO
