As this is the first Sunday in Lent, I thought I would start a series looking at different aspects of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Why did Jesus die? That depends. Do we mean from the perspective of the Jewish leaders, the Romans or God?
The Jewish leaders (and I draw a distinction between certain leaders and the Jewish people) wanted Jesus dead for a couple of reasons. One was out of jealousy for the popularity that Jesus had with the people. It was not just that the people liked him but Jesus made these leaders look foolish in front of the people. Another reason was the cleansing of the Temple. The action of Jesus in the Temple was unacceptable to the leaders and it was a direct challenge to their authority. The official charge may have been blasphemy but these others were the real reasons.
The Romans had no interest in the religious debates of the Jews. They executed Jesus (don’t call Jews “Christ killers” because it was the Romans who did the actual killing) because he was a threat to the peace of Judea. Jerusalem was filled with visitors and it would not have taken much to spark a riot. Jesus was a charismatic leader who some were calling a king. It was in their political interest to execute Jesus before things got out of hand.
The real reason that Jesus died is that this was God’s plan. Humanity was separated from God and only something radical could fix this. This was the sacrifice of God’s Son. Some would say that it was cruel for the Father to allow his Son to die. This is based on a simplistic understanding of the situation that does not take into account the Trinity or the resurrection. If God chose this as the way, our job is to respond to the gift and not to complain about the way God did it. God loved us so much that he gave his one and only Son.
- crucifixion
- Easter
- Jesus
- Lent
