Jesus died as my sin, as the Scriptures declare-" He became sin who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God."
Jesus died for every single humans sins. So no one can enter the kingdom apart from faith alone in the death and physical resurrection as the full payment for every single one of their sins- even future ones.
One reason He became man is to understand the human condition so He may be a faithful high priest on our behalf before my Father in heaven.
Teh physical part of His crucifixion is not the important part. It is when God the Father turned His back on Jesus because Jesus was every sin ever committed or will be committed. God poured out His wrath on Jesus for sin. When Jesus said "My God My God why have you totally abandoned me- Jesus was suffering in time what a human would have to suffer in eternity for their sin.
So Yes I understand why Jesus died and how enormous of a deal and how great a love was given to me because of Him!
Please let me say up front that I do not doubt your sincerity for a moment.....what I doubt is your grasp of the most important sacrifice that was ever made in the history of mankind. How was Jesus a "ransom in exchange for many"?
Here is why I think you have missed the whole point.....I apologise for the length of this, but details are important to me....I ask questions because they demand answers.
Why was Jesus’ sacrifice needed in the first place? What did his death accomplish in the big picture?
Why was God’s kingdom implemented with Jesus as king? And why did he need to take some "from among mankind" to act as 'kings and priests' in that kingdom arrangement?
All we need to do is go back to Eden where it all began, and ask what kind of life the Creator purposed for humankind in the beginning? Why are we here? Why did God prepare this planet so carefully and purposefully to not only accommodate life, but to make it a joyous experience?
Why are there no other planets in our solar system who have any life at all? We know of no other life anywhere else in the universe, but we do know that “extra terrestrials” exist because the Bible tells us about them. These life forms are not in material form but dwell in an invisible realm that humans cannot see or experience. “Extra terrestrial” simply means “not from this earth”. Angels are not from this earth and neither is God.
What do you imagine that they are?
As the Creator, God first made lifeforms in the invisible realm. These had no means to die unless they were eliminated from existence by the Creator himself. This means that even though these beings had the prospect of everlasting life, (having no natural cause of death) they were not immortal. He made humans the same way.
So what about those who were made “a little lower than the angels”?
Jehovah’s excursion into material creation, I see as an extension of his love for his spiritual creation. He had a beautiful family in the heavenly realm and for some reason, wanted to create material life as well.....not the same kind of life, but life nonetheless.
Sharing life is a beautiful thing, but the one thing God cannot give himself is love, loyalty and worship.....nor did he want to create robotic beings who had no choice but to serve him. He wanted his children to serve him out of love, of their own free will, as the one who gave them life, along with a beautiful place to live and a purpose to their being. If we are parents, then we can appreciate why he wanted respect and appreciation for being
who he is, not just what he gives to his children. Alone, he was perfectly content needing nothing, but since love was his greatest quality, it needed expression.
It wasn’t until the creation of humans that trouble began. A glorious spirit creature who was assigned as a “covering cherub” in the garden of Eden, began to envy the worship these lower creatures would give to their God, so instead of dismissing these inappropriate thoughts, he dwelt on them until he plotted a way to steal the humans away from God and get them to worship him instead. (James 1:13-15)
Do you see how far back we have to go to understand the full picture? Humans also at first, had no natural means of death. The only way to experience death was to disobey God.....the devil did it first and influenced the humans to do that too, knowing full well what the consequences would be. Death then became the genetic inheritance of the entire human race.
Because of abusing this precious gift of free will, satan was the first one to oppose his God. What was he thinking?! He knew that his powerful Creator could crush him like an insect, but the devil was cunning. He did not challenge God’s power.....he challenged his Sovereignty....his right to set limits to the freedom he gave to all of his children. God could have eliminated the rebels right back in Eden but none of the issues raised by the devil would have been addressed.
Was God a liar? Would the humans die if they ate the fruit of the one tree that God claimed as his own personal property?
Was God withholding something from his children that they had a right to know? Did he have their best interests at heart, was was he merely power tripping?
Unless these issues were addressed in full, nothing would prevent another “satan” (opposer, adversary) from stepping into his place, so an object lesson was implemented and a record began to be written about the whole affair....that way, with all the issues settled, no other rebel would ever be able to spoil things for others by abusing their free will. All of God’s children were now on notice to observe how this scenario would play out. The first prophesy was given in Gen 3:15, but not until much later, would its full meaning be understood.
It started with an eviction. The first rebels were cast out of their paradise home and out into the untamed world outside the garden and the ground was now "cursed". No longer were they able to just pick the delicious fruit that God provided for them, but they now had to till unyielding soil to make enough flour to eke out an existence on “bread”. They felt shame over their naked bodies and tried to cover them up, but God stepped in and made long garments of skin for them. Not only would this be modest attire but it would also be protective in a harsh environment of “thorns and thistles”.
The history of God’s worshippers is an interesting read because of what it teaches us about our relationship with our Creator and who is trying to separate us from him by deception.
Men and women of faith down through history have shown us what it means to serve God in a world that is godless, hostile and often violent. Jesus helped us to understand why it is this way when the devil tried to tempt him after his baptism, confessing that “all the kingdoms of the world” had been “delivered” to him and that he could give ruling authority to anyone he pleased. (Luke 4:5-8)
So can I ask who it was that "delivered" the world's rulership over to the devil and why did he do it?
Why did Jesus have to be born as a human child, when spirit beings can simply materialize human form as they often did in their assignment as messengers?
What was the set price for redemption as it was taught in Israel? Can you explain how it works?
Because, if you can't, it means that you don't understand what Jesus' sacrifice meant for humankind, and what was achieved by implementing the Kingdom arrangement and the choosing of the elect.
We were never meant to go to heaven.....otherwise God would have put us there in the first place, like he did with his spirit sons.
Such a digression!!!!
