Why did Jesus have to die? Explores atonement and incarnational theology. Was part of a program on the Creed

1. Bible Humor
Who was the greatest
financier in the Bible?
--Noah. He was floating his
stock while everyone
else was in liquidation.
What excuse did Adam give
to his children as to
why he no longer lived
in in Eden ?
-- Your mother ate us
out of house and home.

2. Which servant of God was the
most flagrant lawbreaker in
the Bible?
-- Moses. He broke all
10
commandments at once.
And according to Alex, age 10:
King Solomon had three hundred
wives
and seven hundred porcupines

3. The Meaning
of Jesus’
Death
“He was crucified
under Pontius
Pilate,
Suffered, died
and was buried”

4. Basically Three Different Reasons are Given:
1. Atonement Theology
2. Political Consequences
3. God’s Eternal Plan before Time

5. • We often hear the expression,
“Jesus died for your sins”
This is known as Atonement theology
Jesus is understood as one who paid a price
to God for our sinful wickedness
One of the prominent preacher of this belief
is Rev. Billy Graham, Jr.
Many evangelical churches preach this way

6. • We also hear the expression:
“Jesus paid the debt for our sins
—a debt first incurred by Adam
and Eve and their
disobedience.”
• But there is a problem:
Atonement theology brings
into question our image of God.
• It poses some serious
questions:

7. • What kind of God would require the death
of his son to reconcile with us?
• How could this be the same God that
Jesus taught loves all sinners, even more
than the righteous?
– The God who searches for lost sheep
– The God who sweeps the house to
find a lost coin
– The God who welcomes
back the prodigal son?

8. To understand the origins of
Atonement theology we have
to look at our Jewish roots
and their understanding of
sacrifice.

9. In the Old
Testament,
sacrifice means
showing one’s
dedication to God
by offering their very
best in a burnt
offering to God.
The first act of violence in the
Old Testament is the killing of
Abel by Cain.
The burnt offering
substituted for
their own life

10. Abraham goes almost a
little bit too far, by trying
to sacrifice his only son.
He was trying to say to
God, “I’ll give you the
only future I have.”
God stops him.
It was not uncommon
among the Canaanites
of the time to practice
child sacrifice.
God does not ask this of
his people.

11. The Lamb of God
Recall the Passover
commandment:
“Take a male lamb without
blemish and slaughter it.
Then mark your doorways
with its blood that my
Angel of Death will pass-
over you.”
Because of the experience
of the resurrection, the
early Christians began to
connect Jesus with the key
Jewish experience: the
Passover.

12. • This Passover Lamb would
do more than deter the
Angel of Death.
• His sacrifice was so
complete that there was no
need for any kind of any
sacrifice any more.
• When the Temple in
Jerusalem was destroyed
in 70 AD no more sacrifice
could be offered.

13. So Jesus did die as a sacrifice!
For the early Jewish
Christians this made perfect
sense. No more sacrificial
offerings were needed in the
Temple because the ultimate
sacrifice was already given.
Because of Jesus’
perfect love even unto death,
God let Jesus ‘pass-over’ to
the resurrection.
Death would not
have the last word.
God would!

14. Did Jesus die for
Political Reasons?
• Was he killed as an
unfortunate
misunderstanding?
• We have to
understand why
Jesus was such a
threat, not only to
Romans but the
Jewish leaders as
well.

15. • Romans were always on
the look out for those
who were a threat to their
domination.
• They put down any
uprising swiftly, executing
first and asking questions
later.
• King Herod was nothing
more than a puppet who
cooperated with Rome.

16. About five years before
Jesus was born, there was
an uprising by Jewish
Zealots.
It was firmly squelched
by the Romans and they
crucified 1500 Jews in
one day outside Jerusalem.
Jesus would have grown up
with this story.
Challenging Roman power
had dire consequences.

17. So Jesus would have been
seen as a threat
to Roman authority,
especially when the Jews
wanted to make him their king.
This convinced Pilate to kill him.

18. But….this may shock
you…
Jesus was also a
threat
to the Family Values
of his own people

19. Family in Jesus’ Culture
No such thing as making it on your own
The most important value in Jesus’ day was
what? Discuss
HONOR
Honor gave you your position in the
community. This is why marriages were
arranged. It could move status upward.
Honor was connected to your family group
and its status, not the individual.

20. Jesus knew there were only a few ways to get
honor:
•To be born to it or marry into it
•To accumulate wealth
•To have authority (like the Pharisees)
•To be educated
•To be virtuous
Nothing was ever said or done without taking
honor into account (like seating and invitations to
a banquet See Lk 14:7-14).

21. So, who were
these Jews
listening to
Jesus teach?

22. Five Groups of Jews
• Small Priestly aristocracy (very wealthy)
• Skilled Laborers (like Joseph) and
shopkeepers (usually got by)
• Day Laborers (unskilled and waited daily to be hired
—at risk for starvation)
• Slaves, both Jewish and Gentile. (Many Jews
were so poor they had to be hired out as indentured
servants).
• Zealots—militaristic Jews who wanted to
overthrow the Romans

23. Religious Authority Groups
• Priestly Aristocracy (wealthy)
• You had to be born into the Levite or Cohen tribes
• In Charge of the Temple liturgy and sacrifices
• Benefited most from friendship with Romans
• Sadducees (also called scribes, lawyers)
• Teachers of the Law, (rabbis) conservative
• Did not believe in the resurrection
• Believed that misfortune was a sign of sinfulness
• Pharisees
• Also teachers of the Law, more liberal
• Did believe in the resurrection

24. Other Groups
• Gentiles or Pagans (anyone not Jewish)
• Samaritans—considered renegade Jews. They did
not worship in the Temple because they had been left
behind when the other Jews were taken into exile.
(See Jn 4:20-21)
Romans—the oppressors.
Required
tax be paid to Caesar
and kept military rule.
(Israel was considered
an awful tour of duty)

25. Suffering of the Poor
Jesus knew the poor were
excluded from honor and
considered unloved by God.
Those without any hope of
honor were:
Mentally ill, Lepers, Blind,
Deaf, Maimed or disabled,
Children, Unmarried Women
(single or widowed,
especially prostitutes)

26. The poor was also called Am-ha-arez or
“the rabble”. Our culture might call them
“those people”.
These were the common folks who did not
keep the Law, some out of ignorance and
some who could not afford to keep it (for you
had to pay tithes & temple taxes).
These were the “sinners”
who were Jesus’ friends.

27. In Middle-eastern culture, to be invited to eat at
someone’s table was a matter of status. Those
who ate with you gave you a reputation.
And whom did Jesus eat with?
“He eats with sinners and tax collectors.”
Jesus purposely worked against this cultural
norm. Sinners were his friends. See Mt 9:10-13

28. More Radical Ideas from Jesus about
family: What do the gospels tell us?
• His family came to get him for they were sure he
was out of his mind Mark 3:20-22
• Who are my mother, sisters and brothers? For
whoever does the will of my Father who is in
heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.
Matthew 12:48-50
• “He who loves father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me; and he who loves son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Matthew 10:37

29. In Jesus’ culture sin was more than
a personal choice. It wasn’t always what
you had done, but who you were
Jesus also had radical
ideas about sin:

30. How Sin Was Understood
• A debt owed to God
• Could have been done by you or…
• Someone else in your family who sinned
4-10 generations ago
• Sickness was seen as a punishment, not a
disease. (Note: This is the ancient world without the
benefit of science).
• Proof of sin: poverty, illness, misfortune,
disability (blindness, deaf, lameness, etc. See Jn 9:1-3)

31. Jesus rejected
these ideas of sin.
In fact, he told the
religious leaders
that harlots and tax
collectors were
getting into heaven
before them!

32. And how else did Jesus
upset the family values?
He treated
women as
equals.

33. WHAT RIGHTS DID
WOMEN HAVE IN
JESUS’ TIME?
• Discuss possibilities for
single, married and widowed
women.
ANSWER: Women and children had no rights.
They were considered the property of men.
--Average age of marriage for girls, 12-14; for
boys, 18. 50 years was an average lifespan.
• The Jewish morning prayer for men says:

34. PLIGHT OF WOMEN
In Jesus’ Day
• No woman may work outside the
home. If they do they are probably
prostitutes. Even widows may not work.
• Women are prohibited from leaving their homes
unless accompanied by a close male relative
unless going to the market with other women.
• Women may not publicly speak to a man and a
man should not speak to a woman who is not a
relative. How many times does Jesus violate this law?

35. Women are not to be educated.
Women may not own or inherit property. Only their
dowry is to be returned. See Lk 15:8-10
Women are to be clothed
from head to foot with a veil.
Women have been brutally
beaten, flogged and even killed
for violating these laws.
A man can divorce his wife by simply saying to her 3X
“I divorce you” .
PLEASE NOTE: These are also the current laws of the
Taliban Muslims toward women.

36. So Jesus was crucified
because:
• He upset the social order
– the Jewish leadership had
worked out a complicated
truce with the Romans so
they could continue to
practice their faith.
Unfortunately, it only truly
benefited the well-off
– His popularity threatened
the Roman authorities
• He put compassion before
the following of the Law
• He did not condemn
sinners
•He did not believe sickness o
poverty came from sin
•He broke many laws
concerning women
•He debunked the idea of
family and social status as
important
•He rejected the overthrow
of the Romans as a solution

37. JESUS DIED FOR REFUSING TO STOP
TEACHING ABOUT THE REIGN OF GOD
1st
Value: Inclusion of all
Jesus saw the pursuit of wealth and honor
as one of the fundamental
structures of evil in the world.
That is why he says: “The last shall be first.”
“Those who are humble will be exalted.”
“Follow my example: bow down and wash
each other’s feet.”
“Love your enemies; pray for those who
persecute you.”

38. Reign or Kingdom
of GOD
• Not based on honor
or wealth
• But a community of
equals
• Equal in status and
value are men to
women and children
too
•Those who cannot bear
the company of the poor,
who do not understand
what it means to serve
others, can never find a
home in the Kingdom of
God.

39. Those who have nothing
know their constant need
of God and stay close to
God.
That is why
the poor are
‘blessed’.

40. That’s Why Jesus Died
• People did not want “those
sinners” in their heaven
• People wanted clear laws
about who was in and whom
God had condemned
• People did not want to care
about the poor
• People did not want to follow
a path of non-violence
• They could not stand it
• So they killed him…

41. How is Jesus’ Death Redemptive?
• Jesus’ sacrifice of his life has opened us for
us a way to share in the divine life of God.
• As Christians reflected on the death and
resurrection of Jesus, they remembered his
promise that he would live in them.
• When we live like Jesus, we can
experience the fullness of God, but we will
also suffer like God, for authentic love
requires suffering.

42. A 3rd
Way to
Understand Jesus’ Death
Adaptation from
Ephesians 1:4-10
Before the creation of
the universe…
Before the world was
even imagined…

43. • God wanted to share the
life of the Trinity with us.
• What is in the life of the
Trinity? It is love, pure
love, giving, receiving and
sharing between the
Father, Son & Spirit.
• This was the gift God
wanted to share fully with
us.
• We become fully human
the more our life reflects
the life of the Trinity.

44. • So even before creation,
God knew God would
send us Jesus to help us
chose to live a holy life—
a holy life is a fully human
life.
• It was out of pure love
that God chose to adopt
us as God’s own
daughters and sons.
• And God, who is eternal
and without limit, humbled
God-self to become a
limited human being, just
like us--
• Sharing all our struggle,
our pain, and our joy.

45. Not because of the sin
of Adam and Eve
Not so we would have
to earn God’s
approval
No. God sent us Jesus
simply because God
loves us
completely,
unconditionally.

46. God knew Jesus would die
but that would not stop God
from loving us.
That is the extravagant gift of
Jesus—
We can even try to kill God to
stop loving us
And God will still love us.

47. • It is God’s love that
created all that exists
• And that love was made
visible in Jesus Christ.
• The entire universe is
held together in that love
• And God will never stop
loving us, inviting us.
• That is just who God is.

48. Summary: Three Ways to Think
About Why Jesus Died
• Atonement Theology: Jesus died for our
sins as the perfect sacrifice offered to God
– Problem: Presents an image of God as
demanding and blood thirsty
• Consequential Death: Jesus died for
preaching the gospel and challenging the
system
– Problem: Jesus needs no divinity. He was
another unfortunate political outcast

49. •Incarnational
Theology: In God’s
Eternal love for us
from before time
God planned to
send Jesus to
show us the way to
share in the life of
the Trinity.
-This helps us
unite Jesus’
human and
divine natures.

50. • Catholic Christians
understand Jesus’ death
as a sacrifice, but not
because of an angry
Father.
• When we speak of
Redemption we mean
Jesus’ invitation to share
in the very life of God.
Jesus died because that
is the cost of love.

51. So How Does Jesus Save Us?
First, through the example
of his own life.
He shows us how God loves
and forgives even to
giving up his own life.
Secondly, through living
out our own baptism.
Baptism is a way of life. We
share in the gift offered
by Christ when we die to
ourselves and live as
loving people.

52. Here’s how
Mother Teresa
understood
Jesus and his
gospel:

53. Love Them Anyway
• People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-
centered.
• Love them anyway.
• If you are kind, people may accuse you of
selfish ulterior motives.
• Be kind anyway.
• If you are successful, you will win some false
friends and true enemies.
• Succeed anyway.
• The good you do today will be forgotten
tomorrow.
• Be good anyway.

54. • Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable.
• Be honest and frank anyway.
• What you spend years building may be destroyed
overnight.
• Build anyway.
• People need help, but may attack you if you
try to help them.
• Help them anyway.
• In the final analysis, it is
between you and God.
• It was never between you
and them anyway.
• From the convent

55. Ants will still be attracted to sugar
Hurt people will hurt people
But God will keep on loving
And we are called to do the same.

56. WHY?
Because this is what
Jesus did as God:
He would rather die
than ever stop loving
us.
That is just how God is.
And love is how we
share in the very life
of God.