Why did Jesus Christ have to die?


By David Freed MLS(ASCP)cm
November 9th, 2011

I was recently fellowshipping in a small group, when a new member to the group asked; “Why did Jesus have to die?” Most everyone in the group had memorized preprogrammed answers for this question:

The idea of sacrifice draws on the rich imagery of Old Testament sacrifices. Isaiah 53:10 calls our Savior a “guilt offering.” John the Baptist calls him the Lamb “who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Paul calls him a “sacrifice of atonement,” a “sin offering,” a “Passover lamb,” a “fragrant offering” (Romans 3:25; 8:3; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Ephesians 5:2). Hebrews 10:12 calls him a “sacrifice for sins.” John calls him “the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 2:2; 4:10). Paul explained that "according to the Law . . . all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [of sin]" (Hebrews:9:22, New American Standard Bible).

Everyone seemed so please with themselves for the quality of their answers, but yet, the new member asked again – “So, why did Jesus have to die?”

For people who are not sure exactly what they believe about scripture, answers from within scripture itself just sound like more religious double talk than convincing evidence. The group didn’t understand why the new member didn’t get it, while the new member didn’t understand why anyone had a more solid answer. So, this is where I had to interject a non-scriptural revelation gained from the Confusion I Ponder.

The 5000 year Metaphor

Ponder this; of all the written literature on this planet, it is a rare few that claim to be from the outside in.  People argue about its authenticity. People argue about translation and transcription errors or even the evidence of human editing. However, regardless of what is said, Judeo-Christian scripture is the only written work that actually spans the entire 5000 years of recorded human experience.

With changes in the cultural knowledge base, not to mention human language, over the last 5000 years; how could any writing ever hope to remain viable for so many years and for so many cultural eras?
Simply stated – Judeo-Christian Scripture is a 5000 year long Metaphor.

And the simple answer for the new member is: The birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ totally validates that Metaphor.

If Jesus Christ just fulfilled one prophesy that would be something, but in fact, He fulfilled over 300 to 400 various prophesies, dependent upon the source. What are the odds of that happening?

A Study Conducted at MIT, by Jerry Ballard of Fisher's Of Men Group, tried to calculate this very question. He wrote, “Many of the prophecies concerning the Messiah were totally beyond human control:  Birth: Place, time, manner of Death: People's reactions, piercing of side, burial Resurrection: Where did His body go? By using the modern science of probability in reference to just eight of these prophecies, the chance that any man might have lived to fulfill all eight prophecies is one in 100 trillion!”1

One in a hundred trillion
1:100,000,000,000,000
or – 1 x 1011

“The chance of any one man's fulfilling all of 48 prophecies is one in ten to the 157th power.”

1:10 x 10157

1:10157 is such a huge and unimaginable number.What could possibly be the odds of Jesus Christ fulfilling 300 or even 400 prophesies? Clairvoyants, such as Jeanne Dixon and Edgar Cayce, mediums, spiritists, and others, make remarkable predictions, though rarely with more than about 60 percent accurate, but never  totally accurate. So how does scripture help us determine who is speaking for God or not? According Deuteronomy 18:21-22: God's prophets are distinct from Satan's spokesmen, because they are 100 percent accurate in their predictions. There is no room for error! The question now becomes an exercise in logic. If Jesus Christ validates so much prophecy and therefore so many prophets, do not these same prophecies validate Jesus Christ?1 

Back to the Metaphor

By being written as one large metaphor, scripture not only adequately spans humanities ability to read, study, and interpret; but it also adequately spans the full range of prophesies that predict Jesus Christ. Regardless if it is the metaphor of the lamb, blood, sacrifice, or atonement that speaks to your heart; the metaphor adequately speaks to all of humanity.

Have you ever noticed that when you are trying to grasp a difficult concept it often takes several people to explain it to you before you get it? The first several people can explain it to you over and over, yet you are still confused. Then finally, someone says something a little differently, or chooses different vocabulary, and it suddenly all makes sense to you. This is exactly why scripture is so exhaustive, with the same metaphor being reaffirmed from various perspectives. So, through the many generations of humanity, spanning so many different cultural experiences, the metaphor is still clearly understood. Transcription and translation errors abound and different translation versions available, but the message of the metaphor remains true and culminates with Jesus Christ.

The Metaphor since Jesus Christ

The complete and absolute validation of the scripture was only the first reason Jesus had to die. There remains much incomplete metaphor in the Old Testament and the New Testament expands this incomplete metaphor even further. It is not the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ that speaks the loudest to my heart, but rather, it is the resurrection. Just what revelation about resurrection speaks loudest to my heart?

Once and for all the question is answered!


We are all invited to an active and viable afterlife!
And finally – not only are we shown the way to get there,
but we are shown how to improve our station once we get there!

Not only does the New Testament state that Jesus Christ made ten different appearances to a total of almost 600 people after his resurrection, but several of these appearances leave no doubt that He appeared in physical form made of flesh and blood. He shared a meal and an embrace, as well as, the disciple Thomas given the opportunity to examine the evidence of crucifixion.

New Testament accounts of Jesus after the resurrection:
1. Mark 16:9, John 20:10-18 His first appearance was to Mary Magdalene, on that early Sunday morning.
2. Matthew 28:9-10 Jesus appeared to the women returning from the tomb.
3. Luke 24:13-32; Mark 16:12-13 Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
4. Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5 He appeared to Peter in Jerusalem.
5. Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23 He appeared to his disciples and other followers, and also a second time to the two men from Emmaus, in a locked room in Jerusalem. The apostle Thomas wasn't there at that time.
6. John 20:24-29 A week later, Jesus again appeared to his disciples behind locked doors, and this time Thomas was present.
7. John 21:1-24 Jesus appeared to seven of his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
8. 1 Corinthians 15:6 Jesus was seen by 500 believers at one time.
9. 1 Corinthians 15:7 He appeared to James.
10. Matt. 28:18-20 He appeared to eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee.
11. Luke 24:50-53   He walked with his disciples along the road to Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, and then ascended into Heaven.
12. Acts 9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8   He was seen by Paul on the road to Damascus.

New Testament accounts of Jesus ascending into heaven:
1. Luke 24:51 Jesus ascended to heaven on the evening of the day of his resurrection near Bethany, in the presence of his eleven disciples.
2. Acts 1:4 does not really say how many were assembled together when Jesus ascended to heaven forty days after his resurrection, but it certainly seems to include the eleven disciples.

The Gnostic Gospels are not as well defined in content, and therefore subject to much debate, but this author is aware of at least four different references to Jesus interacting with his disciples after the resurrection. In fact, in one story from The Apocryphon of James 1:25 Jesus says to James and Peter, “If you wish to come with me, come.” Jesus then ascends into heaven only to return and ask why they didn’t follow as He instructed.2

Even the Koran (Quran) speaks about Jesus 25 to 28 times both validating Jesus’s virgin birth and eventual ascension into heaven.3, 4

The New Zeitgeist

And the attempt to diminish Christianity

The Zeitgeist Movement (meaning spirit of the times – or spirit of the age) has been growing for many years. “The Movement's principle focus includes the recognition that the majority of the social problems which plague the human species at this time are not the sole result of some institutional corruption, scarcity, a political policy, a flaw of "human nature" or other commonly held assumptions of causality.’ – Including, but not officially stated, the prejudice and hatred spawned by unfounded religious beliefs – “… The Movement recognizes that issues such as poverty, corruption, collapse, homelessness, war, starvation and the like appear to be "Symptoms" born out of an outdated social structure.” –again aimed at religion –“While intermediate Reform steps and temporal Community Support are of interest to The Movement, the defining goal here is the installation of a new socioeconomic model based upon technically responsible Resource Management, Allocation and Distribution through what would be considered The Scientific Method of reasoning problems and finding optimized solutions.”5  (http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/mission-statement)

Zeitgeist - The Move, 2007, was produced by the American independent film maker, Peter Joseph.  Part 1 of the movie, The Greatest Story Ever Told, “… questions religions as being god-given stories, arguing that the Christian religion specifically is mainly derived from other religions, astronomical assertions, astrological myths and traditions, which in turn were derived from or shared elements with others. In furtherance of the Jesus myth hypothesis, this part argues that the historical Jesus is a literary and astrological hybrid, nurtured politically. …The work of Acharya S, author of The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, was used extensively in part I of the movie. She also acted as consultant for part I of the movie.”6 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist:_The_Movie)

Many different experts from various fields have stepped forward to denounce the claims asserted put forth in this movie. Skeptics magazine’s Tim Callahan said that the material used was sloppy mix of partial truths and facts that were simply bogus. Senior lecturer in Ancient History, Macquarie University, severely criticized the movie on the bases of serious scholarship. He stated, “It is extraordinary how many claims it makes which are simply not true."7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist:_The_Movie)

Personally, I abstain from the argument over who is more correct. The entire approach of Pondering Confusion is to adequately consider all side of an issue and seek out the central theme of truth hidden within.  I offer the follow chart as a correlation of the claims made by Peter Joseph and his movie, as well as, other data freely available from the worldwide internet.

Horus

Mithras

Attis

Karishna

Dionysus

Jesus

Egypt

Persia

Greece

India

Greece

Israel

3000BCE

1400BCE

1200BCE

900BCE

500BCE

0-32AD

Birth announced by a star

X

X

X

X

X

X

Born of a Virgin

X

X

X

X

X

X

Born on December 25th

X

X

X

X

X

X

Visited by 3 Wise Men

X

X

X

X

X

X

Performed Miracles

X

X

X

X

X

X

Killed / Crucified

X

X

X

X

X

X

Dead for 3 days

X

X

X

X

X

X

Resurrected

X

X

X

X

X

X

Both Human and Devine

X

X

X

x

X

Preached in Hell for 3 days

X

X

X

X

Had 12 Disciples

X

X

X

x

Ascended into Heaven

X

X

x

Mankind’s savior

X

X

X

X

Of Royal decent

X

X

X

Known as the “Light of the World”

X

X

X

X

Known as the “Lamb of God”

X

X

Claimed “I am the Resurrection”

X

X

Cast out demons

X

X

Forgave His enemies

X

X

Without sin

X

X

Changed water into wine

X

X

Adoptive father was a carpenter

X

x

 

Wow, on the surface, Jesus does appear to be a composite of more ancient gods! Amazing! Do you suppose there has been a world wide conspiracy to time travel back in history to make these ancient stories appear Christ like?

Jesus the Sun God

Not only does this Movie propose the Jesus myth hypothesis, but also makes the claim that all these god figures are actually based in merely astrological alignments, obvious to ancient humanity. From the perspective of the Northern hemisphere, every year the cycle of the sun is observed raising in the sky from the horizon, as the days grow progressively longer until the summer solstice. The sun then wanes from its position overhead, traveling closer and closer toward the horizon until December 22nd. For 3 days it remains in the same position on the horizon. Then, on December 25th and the Winter Solstice, the sun again begins it upward climb from the horizon. During this period, December 22nd through December 25th, the sun is in exact alignment with the constellation ‘Crux’ otherwise known as the Southern Cross.8

So, the sun dies upon the cross for 3 days and is then resurrected.

Additionally, the 3 stars that form the belt in the constellation of Orin, known throughout the ancient world as the 3 Kings, align perfectly with the star Sirius to point to the exact location on the horizon the sun will raise on December 25th.

Therefore, the birth is announced by a star and visited by 3 Kings.

7          
img from “Jesus the Sun God” found at YouTube.com


The 12 deciles simply become the 12 signs of the zodiac, with which the sun travels trough the heaven. Oh yes, let us not forget the 12 Tribes of Israel, 12 Judges of Israel, 12 Great Patriarchs, 12 Old Testament Prophets, and the 12 Princes of Israel.

Supporters of this version of reality even use Christian scripture to support their claims.
John 9:5 the sun is – the Light of the World
Matt 28:6 the sun is – risen from the dead (each morning)
John 14:33 the sun says – I will come again (each morning)
2 Cor 4:6 the sun is – the Light of knowledge of the glory of God
Rm 12:12 the sun is – coming in the clouds
John 3:3 the sun is – Born again (each morning)
John 19:5 and the sun - is crowned in thorns (seen as sunrays)

Wow, on the surface, Jesus other ancient gods do appear to be a composite of just basic astrological events observable since the beginning of humanity! Amazing! Do you suppose there has been a world wide conspiracy to time travel back in history to move these stars to make the story appear Christ like?

The response from Pondering Confusion

The easiest response is obvious. Any serious student of Judeo-Christian Scripture knows full well that Jesus was not actually born on December 25th. This particular author finds favor with an April birth date. Around 200 AD Clement of Alexandria wrote that several different groups were proposing several different dates for the birth of Jesus – May 20th, March 21st, April 15th, 20th, 21st, 24h, or 25th, and none of these dates are even close to December 25th.

By the fourth century, however, we find references to two dates that were widely celebrated as Jesus’ birthday, December 25 in the western Roman Empire and January 6 in the East, especially Egypt and Asia Minor. The modern Armenian Church continues to celebrate Christmas on January 6; for most Christians, however, December 25 would prevail, while January 6 eventually came to be known as the Feast of the Epiphany, commemorating the arrival of the magi in Bethlehem. The period between became the holiday season later known as the 12 days of Christmas.

The Romans had their mid-winter festival in late December. Northern and Western Europe kept holidays at similar times. December 25th is really a spin-off from these pagan solar festivals. Early Christian leaders deliberately chose these dates to encourage the spread of Christmas and Christianity throughout the Roman world. If Christmas looked like a pagan holiday, more pagans would be open to both the holiday and the God whose birth it celebrated.9, 10

So, is there any truth in the ancient astrological reference to Jesus the Sun of God hypothesis? Absolutely not! But what about the correlation with all those other ancient god figures?

At the very heart of the Pondering Confusion methodology is the notion that if one person sees or says a thing, it is just an opinion. But, if several people see the same thing, well then, maybe there is something to it. If multiple cultures claim the same phenomena from multiple eras of humanity, then the phenomena gains credibility. Am I saying that belief in Jesus Christ validates these ancient stories – absolutely not!

However, if valid, the message of Jesus Christ has to be the absolute most important and powerful message given to humanity! Do not multiple examples of the same message give its credibility more weight? Do not ancient stories prepare humanity for the message of Jesus Christ once delivered? The difference is in the timing and delivery of that message, because only one source of that message is supported and validated by Jesus Christ fulfilling the 300-400 prophesies of the 5000 year long metaphor known as Judeo-Christian Scripture, the only writing on this planet which claims authorship from a realm beyond the limitations of this corporeal and mortal reality.

References:

1. Jerry Ballard, How Many Bible prophecies Did Jesus Fulfill?, 2007, Fisher's Of Men Group, downloaded from: http://www.eons.com/blogs/ entry/1332824 How Many Bible prophecies Did Jesus Fulfill

2.  Robinson, James M., The Nag Hammadi Library, The Apocrypha of James, 1:25-30, 1990, Harper, San Francisco, CA

3. I. A. Abu-Harb, What Do Muslims Believe about Jesus? 1996-2002, http://www.islam guide.com/ch3-10.htm

4. Dr. Maneh Al-Johani, THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS, Quotations from the Holy Qur’an, http://www.sultan.org/articles/Jesus.html

5. http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/mission-statement

6.   Acharya S, The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, 1999, Amazon Press as quoted by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist:_The_Movie

7. Acharya S, The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, 1999, Amazon Press as quoted by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist:_The_Movie
     
8. Acharya S, The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, 1999, Amazon Press

9. Michal Hunt, DATING THE BIRTH OF JESUS OF NAZARETH, Dec. 1999; revised February 2004, June 2007, December 2008, Agape Bible Study , http:// www.agape biblestudy.com /documents/Dating%20the%20 Birth%20of%20Jesus %20of%20Nazareth.htm

10. Paul S. Taylor, Eden Communications/Films for Christ. Copyright © 2002, 2005, Eden Communications http://www. christiananswers.net /christmas/ myths aboutchristmas.html

The names of the Apostles are:

    Peter
    James
    John
    Andrew
    Philip
    Thomas
    Bartholomew
    Matthew
    James the son of Alphaeus
    Simon Zelotes
    Judas the brother of James
    Matthias, who was later appointed to fill the vacancy Judas Iscariot left, Acts 1:26.

Thanks so much for reading and printing what we write!
Please check back soon for updates and new discussion.
Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments at
"editor@ponderingconfusion.com"