If Jesus is G0d, then how is his death a sacrifice?

Question

The term sacrifice implies that the sacrificer is giving up and forfeiting that which he is sacrificing.
But when Jesus died on the cross, he did not give up or loose anything. For he was G0d and would still be G0d, the all powerful creator, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnitemporal.
Even moreso, Jesus, upon his death, ascended to heaven to rule as G0d. And before he died, Jesus knew that this would be the case too. So if anything- his death was the opposite of a sacrifice- it was a gain to himself.

Kym- the tone of your answer indicates that you do not believe that Jesus is G0d. Sorry for not specifying, but I was asking my question according to the belief that Jesus is G0d.

I like that Show- so, are you saying, that as a man, Jesus was no longer G0d. If not, then in the end, my question still stands, irrespective of your answer.

So, Father K- you are saying that Jesus was not G0d when he walked on the earth?
Firstly, are you claiming to me that this is what Christianity believes- that Jesus was not G0d while he walked this earth?
Secondly- listen to what you are saying: For how can G0d stop being G0d? G0d is the primal source and cause of all, all existance is dependent on Him. He is Creator, not created. He is in no way comparable to his creation at all, And he is unchanging. Further, were G0d to cease, then the creation would cease to- for it would have no cause.
To say that G0d stopped being G0d is ludicrous, and makes no sense at all, and is against everything that G0d tells us about his nature in the scripture.
And the corollary- that G0d then chose to continue being G0d again- that is equally as ludicrous. How can that which is not G0d be G0d. And if G0d could, at will, then choose to be G0d again, then this shows that it was always in his power to be G0d, which shows that in truth he was G0d all

.....along.

Jweston and tita2c00l- i still dont see how you call this a sacrifice, since Jesus forfeited nothing.
Tita2cool-your premise- that all sin has equal weight and is punishable by death- is not scriptural. Some sins were punished by monetary penalties, some by lashes, some by the sinner being cut off or bearing his sin at the hand of G0d, some by lashes, some by exile to a city of refuge, some by stoning to death, or burning to death, or death by sword, and some, by sacrifice (of which of course there were various types).
Tita2cool- another point- you assert that were a man to be crucified he could go to heaven- but Jesus says that "noone comes to the father but through me." Paul's epistles speak with a uniform voice that it is either Jesus or damnation- no third choice of one suffering their own crucufixion. To say that, is unscriptural vis a vis the New Testament.

Answer 1

He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us ... .. i would say a perfect God taking on imperfection was a big sacrifice even though He defeated it ..

Answer 2

You seem to be assuming that his death was not painful. You might as well ask how is the death of any human body a sacrifice, since we all have an immortal spirit that outlives the body (even though our spirit is not God, it is still a spirit in the image of God). Physical death is apparently not a pleasant experience for anyone who has a physical body.

And not just physically painful. Somehow God the Son was separated from God the Father for a brief time -- it was the first time that the Trinity had ever been torn asunder. I'm not sure what that entails, but this was apparently not a pleasant experience, either.

Answer 3

the bible says that all sin is punishable by death, in the old testament sacrifices of pure animals were offered to God along with the confession and repentance of ones sin. sin is sin no matter how small or big. God loved us so much that he sent His perfect son to shed the sacrificial blood required to forgive sin (john 3:16) Jesus did not sin, so no debt was to be paid for himself, so the act of recieving what was it 39 lashes, being spat on, beaten, mocked,falsly accused, nailed on a tree and speared, was a sacrifice. Being the Son of God, He totally could have let us go thru our own cricifixion and ascended to heaven without going theu that pain, but he willingly chose to do this so we can be redeemed and reconciled to God. my take on it is like 2 pieces of land devided by a very deep hole in between them both. The only way to get to the other side is if there was some kind of bridge. Jesus is like that bridge. Only better.

Answer 4

I understand you do not follow our beliefs, which you consider an insult to your Jewish faith. But indulge me for one minute, ok? You've actually received several good answers, but without the proper perspective, these answers are meaningless to you -- please don't interpret this as a critical statement.

Picture this in your mind (I'm NOT asking you to believe it, just play along):

God knows that only He can forgive and remove sin. Therefore, God's Shekinah came to earth in human form. This very act requires humility on God's part (that's quite an understatement), doesn't it? After giving the New Covenant (which is the ONLY Covenant EVER promised by God that will cause sin to be forgiven AND forgotten), God offered the life of His Shekinah as a sacrifice for the sins of His remnant. ALL life is precious -- even God's. But yet, God VOLUNTARILY submitted to being beaten, stripped and crucified -- a grisley, painful death. Who else was qualified to do this? A bull? A goat? A ram? A mere man? The answer is clear: the New Covenant required God to sacrifice HIMSELF for the remnant in order for the kind of forgiveness promised under the New Covenant to be offered. If you think about it, the kind of forgiveness offered by the New Covenant REQUIRES God to extend humility, doesn't it? Since all are sinners, even the remnant, in order for God to completely ERADICATE sin from the guilty He must have a way of atoning for it. That's why only HE is able to do this incredible act.

So, I ask you (remember, you're still playing along): IF God humbled Himself by becoming human; and IF God painfully sacrificed His human life for sin; and IF God used His sacrifice to absolve the remnant of past, present AND future sin, (which they DIDN'T deserve) -- then WHY is His sacrifice not a sacrifice? Do you not see that IF God were to humiliate Himself in these ways (i.e. becoming human and dying for sins He didn't commit), that would be a HUGE sacrifice?

Answer 5

The Bible calls Jesus the "last Adam", so Jesus was human like our fallen leader.

The Last Adam died, God did not because Jesus was both man and God.

Had Jesus sinned, and the Father not accepted Jesus sacrifice, Adam would have died while the Immortal God remained unresurrected in the tomb.

Jesus was tempted to abandon the whole plan of salvation in the garden of Gethsemane and He sweat great drops of blood. That blood was shed for you on the Passover evening when the Blood of the Lamb on the doorpost typified Jesus death for you.

The plan of redemption is revealed in a Bible code that proves Jesus is the Messiah. Select http://abiblecode.tripod.com

Blessings, Balaam

Answer 6

When God comes down and pays your debt for you with his life, that is called sacrifice. And whosoever believes in him, shall receive this salvation and not be held accountable for his own sin. Also, to believe that he rose from the dead, does not erase the fact that a sinless man suffered and died on the cross for your sin.

REPLY: As already said, sacrifice is the act of payment by something other than the debtor, in order to free the debtor of that obligation. Unfortunately, your failure to realize that definition, causes you to make the false claim that something must be "forfeited forever" in order to be classified as sacrifice. How can you be so ignorant as to ignore Jesus's suffering and death, especially for that for which he was not responsible? The penalty of sin is death, and he did pay our penalty for us with his shed blood. Such shedding of blood is sufficient for the remission of sin according to Leviticus 17:11. After payment is received then, God can give it to whomever he will, without anulling the previous debt relief contract.

Answer 7

why did god become the form of man?
He humbled himself to become like one of his own creations. He chose to become a man to help us in an extremely important way.

As a man, God experienced the same temptations that we feel (Hebrews 2:18). He suffered the same kind of physical pains that we suffer with. He also experienced emotional pain. He even wept about the city of Jerusalem (John 11:35). He was ignored, unappreciated, unloved, misunderstood, and even despised -- even though he did nothing wrong, and always loved everyone (1 Peter 2:23). Suffered for the sins of man by man. To show you the way, in the most extraordinary way

That is a beautiful god

I wish I was a priest or something, becouse I am not good at explaining things, but think of it this way.

All things that are of god are god. If you take infinity and divide it by any number you still get infinity...
.

Answer 8

In a way you are right. Jesus is the Son of God and has the right to all that the Father offers Him. But remember no matter what anyone does we will be in debt to the Lord. He gave the ultimate sacrifice and suffered for all of our sins. Yet when we do right and good we will bless us. We can never repay Him.

Answer 9

Jesus was the sacrificial lamb of God meaning Jesus
took our place on the Cross at Calvary for your sins
and my sins
There was no other way because you would have to
be nailed to the Cross instead for your own sins if Jesus
did not die on that Cross
Jesus did not gain anything no because he is :

Father , Son , and Holy Spirit the Trinity

God in 3 persons

Answer 10

Well for starters Jesus is not God, but the son of God. So that rules out any conflicting questions as to the sacrifice question you had. But Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for us imperfect humans. Only because of this are we able to pray for forgiveness and be forgiven. It also opens the way for our future... but I won't go into the whole nine yards.

Answer 11

You are so far off base. Listen and learn:

He Emptied Himself by Thomas Goodwin

"It is adorably true indeed that the Eternal Son made Himself of no reputation. Yes; but He did far more than that. He did infinitely far more than that. For our salvation, HE EMPTIED HIMSELF. That is to say, the Eternal Son despoiled and depleted Himself of all His divine power and heavenly glory, and was made flesh, and was made sin, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

Get it? Try to stay awake in Sunday school this week, bro. Stop at Starbucks on your way to Church.