Jesus Christ
The Passion
The Messiah Must Die
by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D.
"Behold, saith the Lord, the days come that I will make a New Convenant with the house of Israel." -Deuteronomy 4:31.
Jesus came not to slay men, but to save them, and that too had been foretold. And so too was his rejection by the Jews, his suffering, and his death by crucifixion:
Jesus told his disciples, "He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day." -Matthew 16.
In a just world, the wicked are punished. Sinners must experience some form of retribution. Yet the severity of punishment may vary depending on the nature of one's crimes. The truly evil might be cast into the black depths of a fiery hell and experience eternal torment and damnation. Others may dwell in a purgatory of the mind, the length of their sentence varying depending on the nature of their sins.
Some believe that they need not die in order to be punished; that their's is a life of misery and suffering, because they are being punished for their evil ways.
However, some believed it possible to atone for one's sins and to attain salvation, such as by doing good deeds, or by seeking and experiencing punishment in this life. By whipping, or flogging, or cutting of the flesh, the sinner undergoes retribution and experiences redemention. By the shedding of one's blood, punishment is received, justice is served, payment is made, and one's sins are washed away.
In the ancient world, and in some "primitive" societies, a "scape goat" was employed as the recipient of one's sins or the collective guilt of the village. Characteristically, a ritualistic "cleansing" ceremony would be performed, and the collective evil or sins of the entire village would be cast into a goat, lamb, swine, or some other sacrificial victim, which would be stoned, stabbed, whipped, beaten, and driven from the village and killed.
A similar ritual is told in the Gospels: "and there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit...But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him... and Jesus said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. Now there was unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought Jesus, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and were choked in the sea." -Mark 5.
Jesus was a "scape goat" by choice, or to be more exact, in his words: "a lamb to be slaughtered." Jesus would receive unto himself, all the unclean spirits, and the collective guilt of the people. Jesus would suffer, and would shed his blood, in order to obtain salvation for all humankind. Fallen man would thus be risen up and redeemed, his sins washed away by the blood of a sacrificed Christ.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." -John 4.
Jesus willingly accepted his fate, as foretold by scripture as the "Suffering Just One." Jesus knew he would be rejected and tormented by the very people whom God had sent him to save--that he would not only suffer, but die a horrible and agonizing death.
It was only through suffering and dying that Jesus could fullfil his Messianic mission, and atone for the sins of others so that there would be no more sin and no more iniquity and only redmention in the eyes of god.
"Behold, the days come, said the Lord, and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31.
As stated by Jesus: "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." -John 3.
"Jesus answered and said, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." -John 4.
As summed up by Jesus: "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." -John 3.
Atonement could be achieved by suffering, and this too had been prophecied for the "son of man" and the "Elect of the Last Times."
Only his blood, the blood of a crucified Christ, could seal the New Covenant:
"Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified."' -Luke 24.
"These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me... And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures."-Luke 24.
"Then He said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. -Luke 24.
Jesus died on the cross, not because of the Jews, but to fulfill the prophecies and demands of the old testament: To bring forth the New Convenant, and to fulfill the will of God.
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