The Death of Jesus Question?

Question

I know this question has been posed before, but I have a more detailed question in regards to it. First of all, I think I understand that Jesus was sent by God to die for our sins. It was God's choice to send Jesus, and it was in his future to die for our sins.

First question: what does it mean to say he died for our sins? Does it mean that God was so upset with us that instead of destroying us for our sins, that he sent his only son instead?

Second question: If God intented for Jesus to die for our sins, why did he need Pilate and the non-believers to crucify him for God? Why didn't God just kill Jesus himself. I sometimes hear that Pilate (and those who crucified Jesus) were motivated by the sin of the Devil. But that doesn't make any sense... I mean, how can we say the Devil played any role in Jesus' death if it was God's choice to have Jesus die in the first place?

Third Question: If God is all-powerful, why couldn't He forgive us for our sins without killing His only Son?

Answer 1

These are good, thought provoking questions. Quite above the usual scoffer's “questions.”

1) God is upset with our sinning, yes, but he has a desire for the work of his hands (Job 14:15). That is, he doesn't want to just throw away all that effort. He made us with a purpose in mind; he still wants to fulfill that purpose. He would much rather repair the flaw than discard all that work.

2) God's intent is not for Jesus to die, but for man to live. If God were to kill an innocent person, wouldn't that make him a murderer? And, yes, it is Satan who wants to destroy God's plan of salvation. So, he has tried, in any and every manner he knows, to destroy the key element to God's plan – Jesus. He tried to destroy Jesus at his birth; he tried to get him to sin when he was grown; and he influenced as many as he could to hate Jesus and his doctrine, which lead to his murder. The Devil is at work, trying to destroy the work of God in every way he can – even to this day he leads people astray with false Christianity, unbiblical doctrines and philosophies, confusion and spiritual blindness. God knows the thoughts and desires of the Devil, therefore, he can use them to plan accordingly. And he used them to allow the Devil to kill Jesus through people.

3) Jesus died IN OUR STEAD. That is, our sins have earned us the death penalty. That penalty must be paid with the life of the sinner. But for those who appeal to God, and deeply desire to live a godly life, God has offered to pay that penalty. Like a traffic ticket incurs a fine on the offender, and someone offers to pay the fine for you. The problem of sin is real. It won't just go away as if it never existed. It must be addressed; the penalty must be paid. The one who became Jesus, OFFERED to pay that penalty for us. If he didn't offer, or if we don't accept, we would be doomed to die, permanently, with no recourse for a resurrection. People don't want to die; and neither does God want his creation to be destroyed. When we fully realize that our sins kill us, we can be motivated not to sin. And that's what God wants, for us not to want to sin. It's not about forgiveness, it's about attitude, our attitude.

Answer 2

Hiya:

I'll do my best to answer. If you really want a great understanding I highly recommend Jeff Cavin's "Great Adventures" bible study.

Everything that happened to Jesus was laid out in the Old Testament by the prophets. Most notably the prophet Isaiah.

You see, the Jews of the time were very legalistic. Everything had a reason. Everything had a specific way things needed to be done. Most of this comes from scripture. Some from rabbinical teaching.

In the temple, on Fridays, the perfect lamb would be sacrificed for the sins of the people. All the Old Testament prophets came to tell the people to live righteous lives and stop relying on sin sacrifices. But they wouldn't listen.

We are all sinners. And yes, God forgives us. While everyone understands and agrees with the concept of Karma, very few want to get on board with sin. To accept that we sin means we have to examine our actions.

In truth, Karma is no different that "you reap what you sow."

It's just that simple. Jesus died in expiation of our sins. In other words to pay the dues for our sins. He was the perfect unblemished lamb. As given by the law of God.

Jesus had to fulfill certain prophecies. Such as riding the colt through the Golden Gate into Jerusalem. All of these things that signified he was the messiah. The chosen one of God.

Jesus himself told Pilate that Pilate had no power over him (Jesus) except that which was given to him (Pilate) by God.

Pilate did what he had to do. Nothing more. Nothing less. He followed his laws. The laws governing him.

The devil played no part. The devil didn't want it to happen. Because through the sacrifice of Jesus we are freed from the snares of the devil. That is, the consequences of our sin.

God does forgive our sins. God is all powerful. However, if he broke his own laws how could he expect us to follow them? So he followed his own laws. He sent the perfect sacrifice. His incarnation as the perfect unblemished lamb.

Jesus died at 3pm. At the same time in the temple the sin sacrifice was being made. At the time the temple priest were blowing the horn to signify the sacrifice had been made, Longinus - who pierced the side of Christ - was heard to say "Surely this man is the son of God."

The big WHY question. Why would he go through all this?

To show us EXACTLY how much he loves us.

Answer 3

#1- Basically, yes. However, had God destroyed Adam and Eve right after they sinned, what would that say about him? When Adam and Eve sinned, they were saying they didn't need God to tell them what to do and that they could look after themselves. So if God had killed them, humankind would never had had a chance to answer that question. Can humans really capabally rule over themselves?
#2-God is just. If Adam, a perfect man, created sin and death by his actions, then only a different perfect man could even the scales and fix it. Besides, Jesus didn't JUST come to earth to die for us, he lead by example. He showed how true followers of God should be and act. He taught the people using the scriptures and examples. He led a purposeful life. His life also had to fulfill the prophesies regarding himself, which included dying as an innocent man. Had God shot a lightening bolt from heaven to kill Jesus, many most likely would have assumed that Jesus wasn't the chosen one. As far as the devil playing a role, well, it was Satan who decieved Eve in the garden of Eden - so he carries some fault at misleading people.
#3-He was - that was why his people had to do animal sacrifices for ever and ever. As I said earlier, a perfect man had to die to even the scales of sin and death. Since Jesus death was the ultimate sacrifice, we don't have to sacrifice animals anymore. God is all powerful, but he lives by the rules and laws that he himself puts forth to show his justice. Remember the "eye for an eye" law? Same deal - Jesus for Adam.

Answer 4

First Answer: Mankind in the beginning was made perfect, Imago Dei. Adam and Eve were given instructions which they disobeyed. Because of that all of mankind has been born in sin (sin being estranged from God.) God loves all of His creation and devised a way for mankind to reconcile with Him. The sinless life, death and resurrection of Jesus provide the way for mankind to receive Salvation… Justification and Sanctification. The purity of His blood provides that Salvation.

Second Answer: Jesus was 100% Man and 100% God. He had to be both in order to provide the Salvation above. The Pharisees and Sadducees were motivated by sin, the sin of Pride. Pilate was motivated by fear and lust. Fear of Rome and lust of power which of course are also sins. They were acting in character which is the work of the Satan.

Third Answer: Sin is punishable; in this case the punishment is eternal damnation and separation from God. If punishment is due then someone must pay the price. Jesus took the entire world’s sin and paid the price which is death. God accepted that shedding of blood as payment and offers Grace to those who accept Christ as their Savior. Forgiveness without payment and repentance is empty, as in without merit.

Those are the short answers, there is much more to it but space and time do not permit further elaboration.

Answer 5

1: Correct. See Isaiah 53, for example;

2: God pre-figured the sacrifice of His son within the Levitical sacrificial system. In order for a sacrifice to be accepted by God (thus atoning for sin), the animal had to be perfect (which pre-figured Jesus' sinlessness) AND the sinner or priest offering on behalf of the sinner had to place his/her hands on the animal; this symbolically transferred the sinner's sin onto the animal. The animal's throat was then cut and the blood collected in a basin. Jesus was beaten by the High Priest's representatives (who symbolized the Jews) and Pilate's officers (who represented the Gentiles). All were sinners and thus, the sins of the world were transferred onto Jesus. During His beatings, His blood was spilled. He was later crucified on Mt. Moriah, fulfilling the prophesies built into the Levitical sacrificial system.

3: God cannot forgive a sin when the sinner is unrepentent. In order to properly repent, a person must believe in God and His Only Begotten Son. In return for that repentance (which is HUGE to God), He demonstrated just how much He loves us by sacrificing His Son. It was a literal and symbolic gesture, proving the depth of His love for us.

Answer 6

All according to the Bible:
1st question...
God will not be in the presence of sin.
All mankind are sinners.
Remission of sin requires a blood sacrifice.
Jesus, God's Son, was the only undefiled candidate worthy to bring remission of sin, and therefore God reconciling His relationship with mankind.

2nd question...
Blood sacrifices must be made by the sinner(s), not by God.
God allowed the sacrifice to be Jesus because He know He could raise Jesus up again in victory over sin and death.

Answer 7

Before the fall of Adam and Eve God's plan was for us to live forever.
Sin brought death to us, in order for us to have eternal life Jesus had to die for our sins. As long as there is sin, we are separated from God.
In other words Jesus died our death, the death we deserve.
We are reconciled with God because of the blood of Christ.

The death of Jesus is Prophesied in the Old Testament
it happened just as God said it would.
Isaiah 53

Without blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Lambs and goats were sacrificed, but they were not pleasing to God, because it had to be done over and over again, and it kept reminding God of sin.

So God chose a Sacrifice that was pleasing to Him and would only be done once, Jesus is the Ultimate Sacrifice.
He died once for all.

Now, because we have the blood of Christ to cover our sins,
we are forgiven and God will never think of them again.

Thank You, Jesus
Amen.

Answer 8

The point of the old testiment sacrifice is that since life is in the blood and the penalty for sin is death or loss of life then sins were atoned for by a substitue sacrifice. Yahshua (Jesus) was our substitute sacrifice once and for all. He had to die for our sins to take away the penalty for our sins that we deserve, death.

Yahshua had to teach his people and be offered to them first as their messiah and then be rejected. Then he had to die a sinners death, the death we all deserve. He had to be beaten or tortured and tormented and mocked to recieve the full wraith of God for our sins. God allowed Pilate and non believers to crucify him. Yahshua himself said you have no power over me except that which is given to you by God.

Because the penalty for sin is death and so there had to be blood. Your sins and my sins required His death.

Answer 9

In Christian thought, atonement is humanity's reconciliation with God through the sacrifice of Jesus' death. Human sin is thought to damage the relationship between people and God, but Jesus' death enables humanity to "get right" with God.

How does this work? Different Christian groups understand the atonement in different ways, many of which overlap. One way, the 'ransom' approach, draws on Mark 10:45, where Jesus says he gives his life as a "ransom for many." The 'Satisfaction' or 'Vicarious Atonement' approach says that Jesus' blood is payment to God for human sins. Since the penalty for sin is death, someone had to pay it; Jesus paid the debt in place of humanity, giving humans eternal life. This ties in with a view of the atonement as the fulfillment of divine justice. Though many liberal Christians find this view's transactional language and emphasis on justice harsh, the 'vicarious atonement' view is held as truth among evangelcial Protestants and other conservative Christians. A more liberal view maintains that Jesus' death was an example to his followers, not a form of blood sacrifice.

Most Christians of any denomination would say Jesus' death demonstrates God's love for humankind.

Answer 10

These questions have led many out of Christianity.
First question, yep, that was supposed to be the message.
Second question, God didn't need Pilate et al. In fact, Pilate was no more than an innocent pawn in the act. He was left with little choice. The Devil wasn't necessary and wasn't there.
Third question, God either could and he didn't want to or he was unable to and thus not omnipotent.