Point of Contention,
Pt. 1
Who wants a story in which the hero dies? What hope does that bring? God sent His son to earth and we killed Him!? What kind of story is that? The cross has been a point of contention against Christianity since the 1st century. Indeed, one of the early heresies was the teaching of the Gnostics that Jesus did not really die on the cross. Some heresies said Jesus was a spiritual being and thus could not suffer on the cross, while others believe it was Judas who really died on the cross but was transfigured to look like Christ.
Even the Old Testament says “...anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” (Deuteronomy 21:23b). So why would God allow His Son to die in such a public, humiliating, painful way?
Here is some background to Roman crucifixion practices. Jesus was flogged. This is not some belt whooping. Shards of bone or metal balls were usually attached to the end of these whips. Romans were known for their perfection of killing. Those who were whipped were called the “half-dead”. The Romans would whip them to a thread of their life, and they knew just how far to push them. Then Jesus, half-dead, was forced to take his heavy wooden cross from the center of one of the biggest cities in Israel to a hill outside of the city limits This would be a very public event. Then the crucifixion itself was the worst kind of death. When you drown, you gasp for more air. When you are nailed to the cross, you drown in your own air, unable to exhale. But it is not simple asphixiation, because their hands and feet are nailed to the cross. The Romans perfected the position of the body on the cross so that the only way one can breathe out is to push down on the nails stuck in the hands and feet enough to lift the whole body up to exhale once, until all strength is gone. Truly excruciating.
Surely God would not allow His Son to go through this! At a word Jesus could have had a legion of angels at his side. So why? At the garden Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39b) It says Jesus was troubled in heart. So it was God’s will for Jesus to die so horribly? Yes. Why? The answer seems contradictory. Because of love.
God loves us like a mother loves her child but God’s justice cannot stand not to punish evil, and that punishment is death. But God still loves us. So He has a plan to save us. In the Old Testament, prior to Jesus, God set up a covenant with Israel. Obey Me and I will bless you. Disobey Me and I will curse you. But when you disobey, you may repent and be forgiven and when you repent, give sacrifices for your sin. I will accept an animal in place of your blood as atonement. But this was just temporary, Jesus came to fulfill the law and renew the covenant. As such, He died in our stead and was the only one who could. For not just anyone can die to save someone else from their sins because all have sinned themselves and have their own debts to pay, but Christ came, sinless and blameless before God and died for us. Instead of us dying for our sins, Jesus took our punishment for our sins and paid our debt in full.
Isaiah the prophet said, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Iniquity is a fancy word for sin. Christ died so that we may live. That is why the Cross was necessary. He became cursed so that we may be blessed. He died so terribly because He loves us so powerfully. Without the cross, there is no salvation. Jesus took this point of contention, a symbol of shame and accursedness, and turned it into a symbol of hope and redemption.
Jared Williams
Even the Old Testament says “...anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” (Deuteronomy 21:23b). So why would God allow His Son to die in such a public, humiliating, painful way?
Here is some background to Roman crucifixion practices. Jesus was flogged. This is not some belt whooping. Shards of bone or metal balls were usually attached to the end of these whips. Romans were known for their perfection of killing. Those who were whipped were called the “half-dead”. The Romans would whip them to a thread of their life, and they knew just how far to push them. Then Jesus, half-dead, was forced to take his heavy wooden cross from the center of one of the biggest cities in Israel to a hill outside of the city limits This would be a very public event. Then the crucifixion itself was the worst kind of death. When you drown, you gasp for more air. When you are nailed to the cross, you drown in your own air, unable to exhale. But it is not simple asphixiation, because their hands and feet are nailed to the cross. The Romans perfected the position of the body on the cross so that the only way one can breathe out is to push down on the nails stuck in the hands and feet enough to lift the whole body up to exhale once, until all strength is gone. Truly excruciating.
Surely God would not allow His Son to go through this! At a word Jesus could have had a legion of angels at his side. So why? At the garden Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39b) It says Jesus was troubled in heart. So it was God’s will for Jesus to die so horribly? Yes. Why? The answer seems contradictory. Because of love.
God loves us like a mother loves her child but God’s justice cannot stand not to punish evil, and that punishment is death. But God still loves us. So He has a plan to save us. In the Old Testament, prior to Jesus, God set up a covenant with Israel. Obey Me and I will bless you. Disobey Me and I will curse you. But when you disobey, you may repent and be forgiven and when you repent, give sacrifices for your sin. I will accept an animal in place of your blood as atonement. But this was just temporary, Jesus came to fulfill the law and renew the covenant. As such, He died in our stead and was the only one who could. For not just anyone can die to save someone else from their sins because all have sinned themselves and have their own debts to pay, but Christ came, sinless and blameless before God and died for us. Instead of us dying for our sins, Jesus took our punishment for our sins and paid our debt in full.
Isaiah the prophet said, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Iniquity is a fancy word for sin. Christ died so that we may live. That is why the Cross was necessary. He became cursed so that we may be blessed. He died so terribly because He loves us so powerfully. Without the cross, there is no salvation. Jesus took this point of contention, a symbol of shame and accursedness, and turned it into a symbol of hope and redemption.
Jared Williams
