Heb 1:14:
Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation? (RSV)
Need I say more…?
On another note, I also read, Heb 2:18
For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. (RSV)
Comforting passage indeed but what came to my mind when I read it was a debate in my office the other day: Was Jesus murdered? A colleague’s point of view was that in God’s plan, Jesus was to come to earth, touch man and die a natural death. The fact that Isaiah predicted the kind of death Jesus was to die (Isa 53:5) didn’t sway the kain colleague. According to him, Isaiah was only predicting what would happen not necessarily what God wanted. The question I’m led to ask with reference to the verse Heb 2:18 above then is, would Jesus have died a natural death like every man? Granted, He was made man, he suffered hunger, he aged (afterall, he was born a baby and died a man) but would he have died of illness or old age? I wonder. What do you think???
I’m not sure its right to ask these kind of questions; feel free to say so if that’s your opinion.
13 comments:
My two penny's worth is this:
Jesus was executed (i.e. put to death as part of a legal process) not murdered.
The main reason he came to earth was to atone for the sins of mankind. Legally, someone had to be punished and he took that punishment for us by being executed. If he had died a natural death, the legal punishment for our sins would still be outstanding...
@undacovasista: Executed? Under what law? Cos as far as the law (Roman law) went, Jesus was found innocent.
As for the atonement of sins, is it the legality that mattered? I'm under the belief that the BLOOD spilled was more important. Sin could only be atoned for by blood. Animal blood covered it (as opposed to washing), Human blood could have washed it but was already polluted by sin so Jesus with His pure blood since he didn't have the seed of man had to come and wash it. The legality of His death has never occurred to me as a factor.
Even if we agree He was "murdered", was it God's plan for Him to have been "murdered"? Would he have died a natural death?
Till this present day, innocent people are executed for crimes they havent commited. That's why the death penalty was abolisheed in most European countries.
Under the law (the Mosaic law), the soul that sinneth it shall die. Isaiah 53.5 says the punishment of our chastisement was upon him. Whose law it was that was doing the punishing is not really relevant. What is relevant is that his death was a punishment( d4, i maintain that it was an execution). Yes, he was innocent, but when he took on our sin he became guilty, even in the eyes of God. Which is why he cried out on the cross 'My God, my God why has thou forsaken me'. Because God's eyes are too holy to behold sin.
As you have said, animal blood covered sins, but our sins needed to be done away with completely, to use your words 'washed'. Only Jesus' blood could do this. This is why his blood had to be physically shed which would not happen if he had died of old age.
There are so many analogies. He is called the Lamb of God. His death was a sacrifice, therefore he had to be killed... i could go on and on, but all this is semantics. What is important is that he did come to earth, he did die, he was buried, he was quickened, he arose, he ascended and he is now seated at the right hand of God the Father and anyone who believes in him and confesses that he is Lord is seated with him. End of story..
@undacovasista: Who wan try your essay? The Lamb of God analogy tied up the whole issue. make that Chijioke boy reach my office again. I go show am say I get bible-reading, church-going, demon-chasing, throne-seeking pals on blogsville.
I choose to pursue this matter no further. Like you said, the most important thing is
he did die, he was buried, he was quickened, he arose, he ascended and he is now seated at the right hand of God the Father and anyone who believes in him and confesses that he is Lord is seated with him
C'est finite.
Essay? I was just getting started (lol)
Nice new blog, by the way...
As a Nigerian, i'm forced to answer a question with another question. If Jesus had died a natural death like every other man, would His death be significant now?
@undacovasista: I know I said I won't pursue the issue any longer but now its the one pursuing me...
@rinsola: We can't really say what would have happened if He died like any normal man. I believe the chief priest and his gang thot his "disgraceful" death would stem the tide of His message. See what happened. Also, if he lived longer, His life might have been the significant thing. And is it the impact of His death or the fact of it that saves. I think its the latter. This is not to say I don't appreciate the death. I do; God wanted it that way. Who am I to question? I'm just stating the other side of the table's opinion. For me, what God preferred is the best even without fully understanding it.
We can say this, if he died a natural death then there will have been another Messaiah.
forced to comment cos I took a class on 'Christians and Jews' a while ago. He came to take the burden of our punishment, so he had to die the death of a criminal. Crucifixion back then was the highest punishment anyone could get. So he paid the highest sacrifice. If he had died a normal death, then it wouldn't be as significant. There is a difference between someone dying a normal death and someone dying because he stole something. One is normal, the other is a punishment. Because we all have sinned and deserve the death of a sinner, he had to die like a sinner (under the eyes of the law of course)!
@30+: we can say that? who can? I'm not sure I agree
@bumight: the prophet Mohammed died a normal death and Islam today will enter top 5 religions in the world (by population). It was Mohammed's life, not his death that made the difference. Wouldn't that have been the case for Jesus if He died a "normal" death?
Which was more important? Jesus' life or Jesus' death?
I vote for life.
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