Written on Passion Week 2016

Passion week. The beauty of union of Jesus the man and Jesus the Divine. Going from the glory of the donkey ride through the streets of Jerusalem to the resurrection. He rode into town on a donkey – a sign of peace – rather than a horse – a sign of military might and war.

Why did Jesus have to die?  The longer I’m a Christian, the more reasons I see why his death was necessary. The entry door into traditional Christianity is Jesus died for our sins. I agree. I don’t accept the full penal substitutionary theory of atonement; but I do accept Jesus died for my sins. You know. Sin. Those misdemeanors, naughties, boo-boos, poor choices that I made before I became a Christian and keep on making even after 39-1/2 years of being a Christ follower. Those things that my logic said a holy God could not allow himself to see and would have to punish.

God knew when he created us we weren’t Deity, so we wouldn’t do life right. We’d mess up, be egocentric and bumble around for our decades on the planet before we returned to dust. Yet, I find the most serious sin – the one Jesus had to die for – is that without somebody dying we couldn’t believe God could accept us and be in union with us.

But God was standing there like the Prodigal’s Father, with arms open, looking and watching and waiting to see us on the horizon so He could run to us and embrace us (sign of love and acceptance) and put a ring on our finger (sign of belonging) and coat on our back (sign of dignity) and kill the fatted calf (sign of nurturing and provision). God is love and He was always willing; it was our own wrong thinking that required a sacrificial lamb.  It’s the only thing that makes sense.

If Jesus had to die to “pay off” God for our messing up – then God was cruel and offered child sacrifice and was not the express image of his Son.  If Jesus had to die to “pay off” Satan for our messing up – then God was so weak and ineffective that He would not be the Almighty. Neither of those work for me; but if Jesus had to die to “pay off” my screwed up thinking about who God is, then God was a benevolent, loving, powerful and loving Deity who truly wanted a relationship with me – and I was too caught up in my own mess to realize it.