Theists: why do you consider Jesus' death a sacrifice - when he has the ability to resurrect himself ?

Question

Theists: why do you consider Jesus' death a sacrifice - when he has the ability to resurrect himself ?

Answer 1

Because He was the Son of God and could have summoned all of Heaven's Angels help even as he was being Crucified but He didn't. He chose to bear it all with the maximum amount of pain far beyond what a common man would have felt and He died. And in doing so He saved everyone. That is why it is the ultimate sacrifice. And you saying that because He could come back to life it doesn't count is stupid and is saying that because He is the Son of God whatever sacrifice He makes cannot count- Because He is the Som He always has that power anyway! His resurrection was to show that evil never wins.. They cannot choose when the Son of God comes and goes.. God does! So people like you are really pissed about His resurrection and denied it saying they didn't kill Him properly. I think therefore there is sometimes too much focus on His Crucifixion and not enough for His Resurrection. Because it was the Ultimate Victory of Jesus and rats like you will always squack.

Answer 2

It is not Christ Jesus. It is the father work that Jesus Christ was resurrected.

And Jesus knew it needed a sacrifice, to show the world what love is.



But some will tell you story like this one :



Because He was the Son of God and could have summoned all of Heaven's Angels help even as he was being Crucified but He didn't. He chose to bear it all with the maximum amount of pain far beyond what a common man would have felt and He died. And in doing so He saved everyone. That is why it is the ultimate sacrifice. And you saying that because He could come back to life it doesn't count is stupid and is saying that because He is the Son of God whatever sacrifice He makes cannot count- Because He is the Som He always has that power anyway! His resurrection was to show that evil never wins.. They cannot choose when the Son of God comes and goes.. God does! So people like you are really pissed about His resurrection and denied it saying they didn't kill Him properly. I think therefore there is sometimes too much focus on His Crucifixion and not enough for His Resurrection. Because it was the Ultimate Victory of Jesus and rats like you will always squack



and this story:



Well, thank about someone you love and imagine you have been with that person for many many years. Jehovah had been with Jesus since the beginning. Jesus is the beginning of the creation by God (Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14). So he was there with Jehovah from the beginning. Think about how old the earth is. Now imagine how old the Universe is. Jesus was with Jehovah from the beginning. Now think about this: those who are dead are unconscious (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10). So now Jesus was unconscious in the grave without any contact from his Father for 3 and a half days. Can you imagine how Jehovah, his Father, must have felt? Now think about the sacrifice Jesus had to make. Besides the same feeling about being separated from God for 3 and a half days, he also had to have faith in his Father that He would resurrect him. Also think about this, Jesus did not have to die due to his sins like everyone else (compare Romans 5:12). So he really did sacrifice himself.



and this:



Yes Jesus died and was resurrected, but before that He underwent an extremely painful scourging with a whip and a Crucifixion that also was extremely painful. In Isaiah 52:14, Isaiah saw a vision of Jesus on the Cross and said that He was so disfigured that He didn't look like a human being." I would say that Jesus underwent an extreme sacrifice!

Answer 3

Well, thank about someone you love and imagine you have been with that person for many many years. Jehovah had been with Jesus since the beginning. Jesus is the beginning of the creation by God (Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14). So he was there with Jehovah from the beginning. Think about how old the earth is. Now imagine how old the Universe is. Jesus was with Jehovah from the beginning. Now think about this: those who are dead are unconscious (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10). So now Jesus was unconscious in the grave without any contact from his Father for 3 and a half days. Can you imagine how Jehovah, his Father, must have felt? Now think about the sacrifice Jesus had to make. Besides the same feeling about being separated from God for 3 and a half days, he also had to have faith in his Father that He would resurrect him. Also think about this, Jesus did not have to die due to his sins like everyone else (compare Romans 5:12). So he really did sacrifice himself.

Answer 4

Yes Jesus died and was resurrected, but before that He underwent an extremely painful scourging with a whip and a Crucifixion that also was extremely painful. In Isaiah 52:14, Isaiah saw a vision of Jesus on the Cross and said that He was so disfigured that He didn't look like a human being." I would say that Jesus underwent an extreme sacrifice!

Answer 5

I see your logic but it's flawed.



If I sacrifice my car to save you being hit in your car but I have the resources to buy another car, will you argue I didn't really sacrifice anything?



In actual fact you missed not only the relevancy of Jesus sacrifices... note plural!



First of all Jesus made Himself nothing in order to become a infant. In this He sacrificed all that He had and all that He was in order to come to earth.



Second He led a sinless life which in of itself means He didn't get to enjoy the things we enjoy that are wrong.



Thirdly He was beaten and put to death in pain. Irrespective of His being resurrected are you seriously arguing that His death cost Him nothing?



Fourthly Jesus both before pre-incarnation and post-incarnation lived in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit and God the Father. As a man the relationship was limited by the frailties of a mans body and mind but more than that.. when Jesus died the physical pain on the cross was nothing compared to the pain of separation from the Father and the Holy Spirit that taking on sin caused. If you ever doubt this is true then you have never experienced real loss and I can only tell you that you will.

Answer 6

Jesus Christ was resurrected by the Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ's death was a sacrifice, because he was beaten beyond recognition, spit on, had his beard ripped out of his face, he was stomped, had flesh ripped off his back by a whip with metal edges on it, he had nails pierce through his wrists and feet, and suffocated on a cross until his last breath. How would you not call that a sacrifice? He didn't have to do any of it, but he did it for you and everyone else so that we can have eternal life. That's pure love, yet many people still doubt and curse him.

Answer 7

Jesus died on the cross, after he had lived a life of no sin. Because only the righteous would be able to raise from the dead.

Jesus was tempted like the rest of us, after baptized the Messiah, and overcame the devil's temptation.

His Ministry was to heal and repair the broken hearted.

And to reveal the Father to humanity. That our Creator is a loving nurturing Father Yahweh of heaven and earth.



The nations in the time before the flood, the earth was filled with violence. This violence was taught by fallen angels who perverted the human and animal DNA, that the Saving Messiah could not come and redeem mankind from the curse of sin and death.



So where we got the human sacrifices given to false gods of the world (who were really demons or fallen angels).



So the world after the flood, when becoming too deceived by the devil and becoming violent in their occult ceremonies, including the human sacrifices, full of iniquities.; the rainbow is also a sign that God will prevent mankind from getting that bad, by judging that nation and sometimes the destruction of that nation (like Sodom and Gomorrah).



So while human sacrifices still was apart of the false religions, the LORD told Abraham to give his only son of promise. Abraham knew the true Father Yahweh of heaven and earth. The El Shaddai. So had faith in God's Word, and Isaac also did. And Abraham and Isaac were willing to obey the LORD, and expected the resurrection of Isaac. (Isaac did have sin though, being born with sin nature. So would not have raised from the dead.)



Since the Saving Messiah couldn't come save humanity in the days of Noah, the Lord had a new plan, to create a people to call His Own. These would bring us the Saving Messiah. And he would be the Only Begotten Son of God (not born with sin nature).



He is the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.



So of course Jesus gave His Life to redeem us from our sins. He is the Lamb of Passover of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus. So when God judges a nation, the blood of Jesus on our door posts and homes and families, are covered by the blood, and the death angel will not harm us.



Jesus said that the greatest love is for one to give His Life for his friends.

Answer 8

The answer to your question is clearly stated by Jesus Himself and multiple other people of the bible, I am not sure why you are asking this question, but I will answer anyhow. Jesus came to die in order to give us grace, and to save us from our sins. He gave us the way to everlasting life and conquered death and hell, then rose again on the 3 day, His resurrection was symbolic, it showed that He held all power even over death and that no weapon that the enemy formed against us should prosper. He gave us salvation and washed us clean by His blood, His persecution, torture, and death shows how much He loved and cared for us, that's why it was a sacrifice.

Answer 9

I am not yet sure if i am a theist, though will try to use some ideas i've heard to add energy to this great Q youve brought.



According to the teachings of Christianity, very mystical though very surprisingly practical sometimes, everything which occurs here in the world occurs for reasons we might not know how to automatically assume or understand.



A feature of that is that if we even witness or hear of sufferings, it is because we have learned an intellectual need for it, even if we have not caused suffering, so deserve some kind of punishment. But Jesus' story tells that he was not just punished, he was very badly tortured, mocked and we can only assume what kinds of physical and psychological pains he must have gone through. Utterly terrifying. And enraging - if His story is true, He was a Healer, a very successful one, curing people, comforting their thoughts and feelings, and giving them great confidence in the needed good behaviors that every society greatly needs. The rich, the very strict Religious, the small Religions, the small people, the poor, the mentally lost, the depressed, the angry, the sad, the insane, all were transformed for the better by the man Jesus and his students. Stories they teach us claim that He was actually able to heal, comfort and even convince very disturbing cases to change their ways and enjoy right thinking.

So, therefore he was a very innocent man. Worse-than- Punished for no reason easily or clearly understood (there are so many ways to try thinking that all through). An innocent man treated like the worst criminals, but also harmed very badly. The story gets more detailed from there. The man had friends and followers of all kinds, even huge crowds went to see him, some of them even being medically cured, or quitting promiscuity, or simply gaining new meditations of spirit.



That kind of person (spiritual teacher, and renowned medicine men) should not be made to suffer, he spent his whole life in rich Religious temples, speaking and acting right, decent and respectable to all kinds of levels of thinking. And after his training, came back to heal and teach and celebrate with people. Doing only good things, his whole life, in other words. Likely he was purely a celibate also, but that is another great debate topic, a very old one as well (according to some of my college Prof's)



And all that above is just the beginning, these deep thoughts like the Q you posted, can take many years to even graze at and many conflicting thoughts might pass through just to even rev the engines. (quote from a Prof, right there, the engines + thoughts line)



So the price paid (sacrifices) and the price owed are far greater than any material pay, or laborers' pay, or governments' pay. It is beyond reason that the best of all great leaders should suffer, even from the POV of thinking that for every suffering there must be sufferage, recovery time and redevelopment. There must be Justice in this world, friend, or freedom and society and civilization will be at risk of losing their freedoms, their luxuries, their necessities, just as they were, back then at risk of losing a great man of God who benefited so many people, so very well.



One of the great lessons is, no one should suffer so much, not even criminals. Many ill behaviors and thoughts have been changed to good and decent, for thinking through these stories, even if apparently no man will ever be what Jesus could be and survive and still fare well and keep teaching and practicing and making new friends and new students, staying His very best, the whole time, somehow.

Answer 10

Jesus did not have the ability to resurrect himself nor could he. Jesus is NOT God and God cannot resurrect himself, that just doesn't make any sense. What makes more sense is that Jesus is God's son, Jehovah God's son.



His death was a sacrifice because Jesus died for mankind who are sinners so that they may be reconciled back to God and ask for forgiveness and in the end receive everlasting life on earth in Paradise, something the first human, Adam, took away from mankind.



Please watch this wonderful, short video that shows how mankind can benefit from Jesus' death: https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/memorial/remember-jesus-death/

Answer 11

He suffered torture pain agony and death so that sin could be forgiven to bring us back to God who longs for a close relationship with the righteous. A united kingdom built on fundamentals. God is the maker of morals he gives us standards rules tests. And yes he died for us so that we could have everlasting life. Does that mean we won't escape death I am uncertain to be brought up into everlasting joy peace painless soothing euphoria the second death? 345678910 when will it end no torture just love. Is loving God worth the sacrifice or vice versa my answer is yes. It's scary bold an the ultimate expression of love. It comes down to faith in Christ do you believe he can grant everlasting life? I do and it's far better than what satin has to offer. With satin you'll never be happy God can satisfy your deepest need what you need may not be whats best for you.

Answer 12

A perfect life given up for my own... WOW... It's like a love story that is also so very brutal....



Because He wasn't just man... He was God's son. Yeah, he could have saved himself any moment. And yes he did come back to life. But like kupkhaykz said. It was symbolic of how Jesus destroyed sin and death. Blameless.Pure Bliss. Forever he is Glorified!!! Death where is your sting?!

Answer 13

Because I understand something you clearly DON'T ...

The difference between Spirit and human flesh & bones.

Jesus was Son of God & Son of Man ~ Deity + humanity



Jesus Christ came to be sacrificed as the "Lamb of God"

which had to be a physical blood sacrifice, under the old

covenant God made with Israel. He was in every way as

human as you are ... and how would YOU handle being

whipped and beaten, spat on and nailed to the cross?



In His humanity Jesus died a painful death for your sin,

but you prefer to trivialise it - at your own cost.



Jesus said He "had the power" to take up His life again.

~ that doesn't mean He didn't suffer a painful death ~

He was God living in that body ... God who is Spirit, still

omnipresent, in all places, but speaking through Jesus

the man. His humanity died and His Deity raised Him up.



His followers, by the same Holy Spirit, will also live again.

If you ever understand that, you will love Him for it.

Answer 14

that is ridiculous to believe that Jesus resurrected himself, you cant resurrect something that is not dead.....for Jesus to resurrect himself would mean he is not dead, but the dead cant resurrect himself either......so the dead Jesus is really alive but dead at the same time...........

Understand?



Sacrifice:An offering presented to God as a token to express thanksgiving, to acknowledge guilt, and to restore good relations with him. Starting with Abel, humans offered various voluntary sacrifices, including animals, until the Mosaic Law covenant made them a requirement. Animal sacrifices were no longer needed after Jesus gave his own life as a perfect sacrifice, though Christians continue to offer spiritual sacrifices to God.—Ge 4:4; Heb 13:15, 16; 1Jo 4:10.

Jesus willingly surrendered his perfect human life as a ransom for Adam’s offspring. (Romans 5:12, 15) Jesus said: “The Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matthew 20:28) No one else on earth could redeem humans from the bondage to sin and death into which Adam had sold them. (Psalm 49:7, 8)

Answer 15

I don't get it either

When you do a self -sacrifice then you have a duty to stay dead otherwise it's just a parlor trick

Here's what a real self -sacrifice looks like

Note : these images are not for the squeamish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btY_Iuh71MA

Chi-girl says :

Anyone with a functioning brain cell understands that what Jesus went through before dying on the cross was excruciating"

Well I have a functioning brain and I have no memory of breaking my pelvis ,and a couple of less major bones in a car accident and I didn't suffer for the same reason that Jesus didn't suffer ; we both went into shock

Answer 16

He died like all of us will someday die. He is risen as all of us who are forgiven will one day will be risen. But the distinction is that He died a criminal's death even though He was innocent. It was not by a painless lethal injection or any modern humane method. It was by an excruciating and humiliating method. He prophesied that it would happen. But He didn't try to escape, hide, nor rally a crowd to protect Him. He willingly gave himself to those who hated Him. That makes it a sacrifice. As He was bleeding and in a humbling position, He expressed forgiveness to all those who tortured and rejected Him. By doing so, He manifested God's love and mercy to all.

Answer 17

Personally I think it's more the fact that he was tortured to death as the sacrifice he made rather than the death itself. If he died quickly and painlessly then rose again a few days later then it would still be miraculous. But the fact that he was whipped, beaten, stripped naked, taunted, forced to carry a heavy object for miles despite his injuries and days of dehydration, nailed by his wrists and ankles to a wooden cross, hung in intense heat in agony for hours until he died makes his death a true sacrifice.

Answer 18

What your theory represents is a contradiction, it is logical, and makes sense, I doubt you will get a logical sensible answer back because no answer exists for your contradiction. The only possible answer to your question throws up the one and only explanation to your question: That Christ was not a literal living being, therefore he was symbolic and not a literal son of the creator in heaven, gifted with symbolic magical powers like resurrecting from the dead and bringing the dead back to life. Its perfectly possible Gnostic created the Christ of the Gospel as an ideal, a model to be copied, but never took into account that the uneducated, ignorant masses would actually take the symbolic account as fact.

They seized upon the Gnostic symbolic writings and reduced them ti literal and historic basis.



I think its odd we have Egyptian mummies in our museums centuries older than Christ but not one artifact has been unearthed relating to the son of God ? No ancestry, no blood line, and Mary was a virgin ? All the signs point to a symbolic Christ. The truth is there is not a single word about Christ in any literature dating before the 1st century ?



Christ is not a man's name, it is a principle, it means enlightened one, or teacher of perfection. I've read eastern philosophy and mythology and I would urge you to look into Hinduism and Buddaism where you will find hundreds of similarities of symbolic Indian Gods like Khrishna ( Christna, in Sanskrit).

Here's one: The story of the wise men from the east was brought from the east by the Gymnosophists. It was a legend about the birth of " Buddah " they also brought the story of Khishna ( enlightened teacher of perfection )



I think the only possible answer to your question is a symbolic Christ. No literal answer exists.

Answer 19

Jesus life was literally sacrificed due to him speaking the truth and confronting the hypocrisy of the religious elites in his time. Jesus was tortured and brutally murdered as a result of him teaching the truth. It does not matter that he rose from the dead afterword. He was brutally humiliated, tortured, and put to death. If I did the same to you and then raised you from the dead, would it all be good between us, no hard feelings? I think you would have a big problem with being scourged and crucified. I think you would look at it as a big personal sacrifice.

Answer 20

His death paid for all sins of those believing.



The sacrifice was the death, the purity of that sacrifice,

the only innocent man, falsely accused.

Prophesied.

Perfectly...EXECUTED.

Jesus was CRUCIFIED on PASSOVER...the Passover lamb,

unblemished, no sin.

That's the meaning...comes from OT,

...without the shedding of blood, there is NO REMISSION of sins.

Jesus was the sacrifice, killed, resurrected. But not before

paying all our price.

Jesus is REDEEMER, SAVIOUR.

Answer 21

Well, if you read the Bible, you'd know that Jesus did not know what exactly was going to happen to Him. Also Christ didn't resurrect Himself. He was resurrected by His Father.

Answer 22

Jehovah God resurrected his faithful Son with a glorious spirit body. (1 Pet. 3:18) Jesus completed the great act of atonement after being resurrected to heaven. Reunited with his beloved Father, he presented to Him the value of his sacrifice. (1 John 2:2)

Answer 23

His resurrection didn't take away the fact that he died... as a sacrifice.

That's like saying that giving money to charity isn't a sacrifice of your hard earned money because you will replenish what you've lost.

I can't say that your logic is flawed because I see no logic in your "question".

Answer 24

When you take a bullet meant for someone who deserves it and then heal up good as new, was your pain and suffering in the hospital a sacrifice? As bad as a wound like that is, we can not for one second imagine the pain of bearing the sin of the whole world and yet if indeed your suffering is a sacrifice, how much more was His?



And how would you feel if the person you saved never thanked you?

Jesus feels this pain still.

Answer 25

Jesus endured total seperation from God, something he had never before experienced. In all of existence he had never been seperation from God. But not only that, Jesus perfect, pure, who never sinned took on all out sins. It was as if he himself had done ALL those things. Can you imagine the pain of seeing how we hurt eachother and its feeling like you yourself did all those things? Every rape, murder, and cheat. Then Jesus did not simply die, he went to hell and was most likely tortured by the devil. No, he didn't just die, he endured so much more, that is sacrifice.

Answer 26

The ability to respawn--which he might not have known he could do being human and having never done it before--does not remove first the pain and suffering undertaken during the process of crucifixion until the moment of death, both emotional and physical as his loved ones bore witness and surely that isn't comforting.

Answer 27

Just because He resurrected Himself doesn't mean the whole being beat whipped and hung on a cross to die wasn't a painful sacrifice. ..

Answer 28

Jesus the man made the supreme sacrifice.

He laid down his life for all of humanity.

It was done via extreme torture.

Resurrection was by the Father of the Son.

GOD did not cease to exist, the Spirit is eternal.

Answer 29

If Jesus existed, which he didn't, he was a god, he could compress time and completely turn off pain and suffering i.e. he could make 33 years pass in a minute and turn off his nervous system.



As William Lane Craig says: "Scientists can't prove evolution was not god driven." and theists accept it.



So, I'm saying: "Theists can't prove Jesus actually suffered". Quid pro quo. Now accept that as you accept WLC or are you a bunch of liars and deceivers?

Answer 30

Can you imagine leaving the comforts of your home and willingly going to live in the city garbage dump? That can be compared to what Jesus did when he left heaven and willingly came to live on earth that was a sacrifice. He knew that he would have to be persecuted, beaten and put to death for mankind, that was a sacrifice. It was his heavenly Father that resurrected him. Please read Acts chapter 2 vs 24, John chapter 3 vs 16,Philippians chapter 2 vss 9-11, Hebrews chapter 10 vss12,13. It was because of his sacrifice, his father resurrecting him from the dead, his presenting the value of that sacrifice to his Father and his Father accepting it, that we all have the prospect of living on a paradise earth free from crime, violence. war, sickness even death. Please visit JW.org.

Answer 31

Christ offered willing something in our behalf that we are incapable of doing for ourselves. Being the infinite & perfect 'sacrifice' for our sin(s) - He experienced every pain, sorrow, adversity, sickness, illness, horror and feeling/regret/remorse etc that every man, woman, child who did or will ever live on the earth will have experienced in a perfectly, holy, godly way - HE did this so that we would not have to suffer, so that our sins could be literally washed away because of this atonement for sin - and He did it because of His perfect love for all of us - so that He could 'succor' us in all of our trials & difficulties in mortality. His sacrifice was so much more than the gift of eternal life & resurrection - that was a given - He condescended to mortality from godliness willingly to "SAVE" us from our sins and the stains and pains of this world in which we all live.



He didn't have to do this

We would be without Hope had He not

"death where is thy sting"? The sting of death is swallowed up in this gift for us - because of Him we all will live eternally.

There is so much to understand about this - it is no small matter.

In fact - it is perhaps the greatest of all the gifts of God and the greatest event in the whole of human history.

Answer 32

Not all theists are Christians. I find this question offensive. It's like you don't acknowledge the existence of non-Christian religions.

Answer 33

MANY people view the Trinity as “the central doctrine of the Christian religion.” According to this teaching, the Father, Son, and holy spirit are three persons in one God. Cardinal John O’Connor stated about the Trinity: “We know that it is a very profound mystery, which we don’t begin to understand.” Why is the Trinity so difficult to understand?

The Illustrated Bible Dictionary gives one reason. Speaking of the Trinity, this publication admits: “It is not a biblical doctrine in the sense that any formulation of it can be found in the Bible.” Because the Trinity is “not a biblical doctrine,” Trinitarians have been desperately looking for Bible texts—even twisting them—to find support for their teaching.

A Text That Teaches the Trinity?

One example of a Bible verse that is often misused is John 1:1. In the King James Version, that verse reads: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God [Greek, ton the·onʹ], and the Word was God [the·osʹ].” This verse contains two forms of the Greek noun the·osʹ (god). The first is preceded by ton (the), a form of the Greek definite article, and in this case the word the·onʹ refers to Almighty God. In the second instance, however, the·osʹ has no definite article. Was the article mistakenly left out?

The Gospel of John was written in Koine, or common Greek, which has specific rules regarding the use of the definite article. Bible scholar A. T. Robertson recognizes that if both subject and predicate have articles, “both are definite, treated as identical, one and the same, and interchangeable.” Robertson considers as an example Matthew 13:38, which reads: “The field [Greek, ho a·grosʹ] is the world [Greek, ho koʹsmos].” The grammar enables us to understand that the world is also the field.

What, though, if the subject has a definite article but the predicate does not, as in John 1:1? Citing that verse as an example, scholar James Allen Hewett emphasizes: “In such a construction the subject and predicate are not the same, equal, identical, or anything of the sort.”

To illustrate, Hewett uses 1 John 1:5, which says: “God is light.” In Greek, “God” is ho the·osʹ and therefore has a definite article. But phos for “light” is not preceded by any article. Hewett points out: “One can always . . . say of God He is characterized by light; one cannot always say of light that it is God.” Similar examples are found at John 4:24, “God is a Spirit,” and at 1 John 4:16, “God is love.” In both of these verses, the subjects have definite articles but the predicates, “Spirit” and “love,” do not. So the subjects and predicates are not interchangeable. These verses cannot mean that “Spirit is God” or “love is God.”

Identity of “the Word”?

Many Greek scholars and Bible translators acknowledge that John 1:1 highlights, not the identity, but a quality of “the Word.” Says Bible translator William Barclay: “Because [the apostle John] has no definite article in front of theos it becomes a description . . . John is not here identifying the Word with God. To put it very simply, he does not say that Jesus was God.” Scholar Jason David BeDuhn likewise says: “In Greek, if you leave off the article from theos in a sentence like the one in John 1:1c, then your readers will assume you mean ‘a god.’ . . . Its absence makes theos quite different than the definite ho theos, as different as ‘a god’ is from ‘God’ in English.” BeDuhn adds: “In John 1:1, the Word is not the one-and-only God, but is a god, or divine being.” Or to put it in the words of Joseph Henry Thayer, a scholar who worked on the American Standard Version: “The Logos [or, Word] was divine, not the divine Being himself.”

Does the identity of God have to be “a very profound mystery”? It did not seem so to Jesus. In his prayer to his Father, Jesus made a clear distinction between him and his Father when he said: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) If we believe Jesus and understand the plain teaching of the Bible, we will respect him as the divine Son of God that he is. We will also worship Jehovah as “the only true God.”

Answer 34

In all honesty I think it's just a way to attempt to excuse the man's death. But that's just me.

Answer 35

Jesus is not God but GODS son and was sent by GOD to save mankind. John 17:3 John3:17 John 17:8 Jesus could not and did not resurrect himself, he was dead awaiting a resurrect by God.

Answer 36

He took on the Karma or Sin-debt of the world---And suffered for it BEFORE he died. Thus paying off the karma of those who accept his gift, allowing them to enter into the :"God realms" upon Physical death.-



This is an Ancient Eastern Philosophy that predates Christianity, Where Master "Spiritual Teachers", could, in some instances, Take on the Karma of a student, thus allowing him to "Enter the God realm" and break the cycle of rebirth (as in reincarnation). Jesus goes it one better by taking on EVERYBODIES Karma. But one has to accept this gift to have his own karma removed.----Jesus is "God", so he CAN do this on a large scale.



This plan was enacted to get around the "God law" that one cannot enter the god realm until his Karma (sin debt) has been worked off----Impossible for men, so God provided, thru Jesus, a way out.

Answer 37

God the Father resurrected Jesus.

Answer 38

His Father, the Almighty God, resurrected Jesus. He was dead and couldn't do anything. In death all return to non-existence, even Jesus did. As we read in Isaiah 53:12, his soul died.



Before Jesus was transferred to earth and was born human, he had life in heaven as Logos. In this fashion, as long as he remained sinless he had the right to life in heaven, and the right to life as a human on earth.



As a human being, son of man, he had the right to marry and have children; he didn't have either wife or children.



When he died his death on the cross, greek: stauros, it was a sacrificial death since he gave up his right to live as human. That is the meaning with things being sacrificed, they are used up in that action.



Because he had the right to heavenly life and was sinless, God resurrected him as a spirit being to receive what he gave up to come down on earth.



He will never again be able to live as human on earth since his human life was sacrificed.. By this sacrifice he bought us by adoption so that all who have faith in him and get baptized into him may receive forgiveness of sins.



He sacrificed, in this manner, his human life, his right to marry, his right to have his own children - for our sakes.Never again can he become human and live here on earth.

Answer 39

Even to some extent, God made sure Jesus suffered so He could fully pay and redeem us. Jesus said: Why Thou has forsaken me... theologians says God momentarily took the divinity from Jesus, so human-Jesus could truly paid fully for our sins. What a sacrifice for the sake of mankind.

Answer 40

We christians believe that Jesus was with God in the biggening and is God (John 1) and He had his throne and was worshipped day and night (Revelations) and He hid his glory in human flesh and lived among us(John) 1st sacrifice.

Before His death He suffered so much pain while he had the power and authority to destroy us.

Answer 41

In the simplistic view of a 14 year old Jesus death was incredibly painful and it was the fact that he did nothing to deserve it

Answer 42

Almighty God Jehovah resurrected Jesus...the same ONE Jesus prayed to...

Jesus resurrecting himself does not make sense.

This is the sort of problem caused by the FALSE trinity teaching...where Jesus is ALSO God himself...

And the word ' god' is a title, not a specific name.

Because even Satan is termed "a" god.

(2 Corinthians 4:4) among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through.

And Satan is certainly NOT...also 'god'.

Answer 43

i think i know what may have happend on the cross, same thing happend to me in a restrainment chair, you're body tenses up and your soul leaves your body, and God makes a way for you to escape that craziness. then you wake up, believers actually do have fountains of living water, i was at the dentists office they made a small incision and a fountain of water came out



Jesus' blood was spilt for us

Answer 44

The answer cannot be put inside of you with mere words, you would have to experience Hell amplified by the number of people that shall and have ever lived, in order to know what level of wickedness he has overcome, and the enormity of the pain and suffering endured to make all things good, it is already accomplished but as we live in time and space we have to experience a period of time to see the conclusion, and understand in depth.

Answer 45

If you don't consider torture and death a sacrifice I suggest you need a lesson in reality. Start off small. Prick your finger to see how it feels or something.



Its just hard to comprehend the ignorance in your question.

Answer 46

what if you were sent to prison for something you didn't do for say 20 years, but you know you're going to get out.. in 20 years, does that make it any less painful? what if someone you loved committed a crime and you took the punishment of spending 20 years in jail for them.. would it make it any less painful if you know you're going to get out in 20 years? Now imagine being humiliated, tortured and ridiculed forever.. knowing you are innocent? would that make it less painful...

Answer 47

Jesus Christ Definition: The only-begotten Son of God, the only Son produced by Jehovah alone. This Son is the firstborn of all creation. By means of him all other things in heaven and on earth were created. He is the second-greatest personage in the universe. It is this Son whom Jehovah sent to the earth to give his life as a ransom for mankind, thus opening the way to eternal life for those of Adam’s offspring who would exercise faith. This same Son, restored to heavenly glory, now rules as King, with authority to destroy all the wicked and to carry out his Father’s original purpose for the earth. The Hebrew form of the name Jesus means “Jehovah Is Salvation”; Christ is the equivalent of the Hebrew Ma·shiʹach (Messiah), meaning “Anointed One.”



What a fine example has been set by God’s Son, Jesus Christ! As a perfect man on a par with Adam, Jesus was delighted to do the divine will. He was also glad to be held accountable for compliance with Jehovah’s law. Concerning him, the psalmist fittingly prophesied: “To do your will, O my God, I have delighted, and your law is within my inward parts.”—Psalm 40:8; Hebrews 10:6-9. Despite the hateful opposition that Jesus experienced, he did God’s will and maintained integrity to death on a torture stake. He thereby paid the ransom price to redeem mankind from the death-dealing consequences of Adam’s sin. (Matthew 20:28) Hence, on the eve of his death, Jesus could confidently pray: “I have glorified you on the earth, having finished the work you have given me to do. So now you, Father, glorify me alongside yourself with the glory that I had alongside you before the world was.” (John 17:4, 5) Jesus could say those words to his heavenly Father because he was successfully meeting the test of accountability and was acceptable to God.

Answer 48

Because inculcation made it the big lie to be fooled by!!! And many religious backers are rich because of it!!! Any character in any man made up book could do everything jesus did in his story, it is a miracle of writing that keeps men doing it!!! It was only a f-cking story!!!

Answer 49

He resurrected himself as a testament to his deity, in order to strengthen Christianity. He died for our sins, so that we could be saved through his blood by believing in him and doing his will. Humans are all evil and without Christ have no salvation.

Answer 50

God raised him because death had no hold on him. Death was the punishment for sin and Christ is without sin. He suffered terribly and died in our place; that is a sacrifice.

Answer 51

It was the greatest test of Absolute Power that exists. To understand it one really has to be from up there where it all emanated from. We got to be witnesses of this. But it did not come from us as much as we were participants in it all. It is like something came down to our level to test its ability to control its own powers and then went home.

Answer 52

Would you come and lay down your life for billions of people who reject you and refuse to believe you and then know they will kill you and punish you beyond description before you draw your last breath ?



That is what Jesus did...and knew Before the foundation of the world , He would have to



That is REAL LOVE.......and btw His resurrection also was for us...for He came For us and went away to prepare a place for us to be with Him.....



everything He did was for Us...even knowing people like you reject Him for it.

Answer 53

To add on to yours, Jesus was born (if he ever actually was) a human with magical powers and if he called his one death a sacrifice when he sends millions of people to die forever when they did something bad, so...fuuck...

Answer 54

If we believe the Bible is the Word of God, then we shoud believe what the Bible revealed to us.

Read the Hebrews to know why the LORD came for salvation with His own plan and revelation (not with any human view)

Answer 55

It's a sacrifice because he didn't have to do it and stood to gain nothing personally by it.

Answer 56

Yes

Answer 57

Pain

Answer 58

When Jesus lived and died, He did so as a complete human, just like you and me. You know you are eternal and if you do what is right you will go to God the same way He knew He was the Son of God, yet we all fear death, step back from the edge of the cliff, sweat at the thought of how close death comes in an accident, etc. You try it first, then come and we will talk of how easy it was for Him.

Answer 59

Jesus suffered severe scourging and mockery, had a crown of thorns placed on His head and was forced to carry a heavy cross before suffering a very agonizing death nailed to the cross... All for our sins! We thank and praise God for His huge sacrifice!!



The truth about Jesus Christ can be found only in the Holy Bible. Three days after the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, He resurrected from the dead (Luke 24:1-8; Acts 10:40; 1 Corinthians 15:4) and 40 days later, He ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:3; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11).



Without God, the spiritual part of the human being is dead (Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13). The sin of our first parents (Adam and Eve) caused the separation between God and man. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Sin causes us to be separated from God which results in spiritual death. Christ, the 2nd Person of the Triune Godhead was made flesh (through the immaculate conception) and paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross so we could through faith in Christ as our Saviour be instantly redeemed and united to God and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who teaches us, comforts us and grants us fruits to live in righteousness and gifts to help and edify the Church. There is no redemption or unity to God apart from receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s Saviour and Lord.



REDEMPTION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH



Because mankind is incapable of meeting God’s standard of perfection necessary to abide in God’s presence (Romans 3:19-20,23), God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the total debt for the believer’s sins and mercifully credits to his account Christ’s righteousness (Romans 3:21-28,5:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). Jesus’ gracious act of atonement was complete and covers all sin (Colossians 2:13-14; 1 John 1:9). Salvation is not based on good deeds but according to the mercy of God (Titus 3:4-5). Believers are justified by faith; it is a gift by God’s grace (Romans 4:3-8; Ephesians 2:8-9). A true, living faith will result in a desire to live a holy, loving life of good works (Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:6; James 2:14-26), but failure to be absolutely successful at righteous living does not negate the believer’s justified status.



If you sincerely say this prayer, your sins will be washed away, you will be redeemed to God, be saved from eternal torment and inherit the Kingdom of God:



"Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. I repent of my sins. Please forgive me and save me by your shed blood. Come into my heart. I want to receive you as my own personal Lord and Savior. Amen"



https://victoryinjesuschrist.wordpress.com/

Answer 60

The called themselves believers, and there lies your answer. They are trained from very young and some older but lacking in common sense, therefore, their brains are damaged and they then believe whatever they are taught about that fictional NT story. By any other name, religion would be called insanity and its believers insane.

Answer 61

He laid his life down for you and took it up again for you and ascended back to heaven from whence he came so that one day you could follow him there. Do you understand that everything he did he did for you? So don't question him, believe in him.

Answer 62

Maybe he didn't resurrect himself. Maybe God did it. It's complicated isn't it?

Answer 63

For the same reason they consider getting up to find the TV remote hard work.

Answer 64

Which Jesus? Egypt?

Answer 65

Poor Jesus has to spend eternity in paradise, that was his sacrifice!

Answer 66

He had to die first in order to resurrect

This proved he was God , otherwise our faith would be in vain

He could have avoided crucifixion but did not because of his love for us.

He sacrificed his life for us.

Answer 67

This is a question for Christians not theists in general.

Answer 68

HE DIED!



His death satisfied his Fathers righteous demand that sin requires bloodshed and death



Heres the thing >>>



If Jesus hadnt died for us and our sins, then WE must!



But because he did die, WE Christians no longer have to. THE FATHER accepted HIS atoning death on OUR behalf.



BECAUSE CHRIST DIED FOR US - WE CHRISTIANS NEVER DIE



Jhn 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Jhn 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?





Jhn 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.



IF CHRIST IS NOT YOUR SAVIOUR THEN YOU MUST DIE AND BE JUDGED FOR YOUR SINS - THE PENALTY IS ETERNITY IN HELL

Answer 69

Christ was a teacher. Love live die live again. Taught it then did it. His lesson has no power unless he demostrated it. Gives power to the blood and life is in the blood.

Answer 70

The Father raised Jesus from the dead - Acts 2:24 & 2 Corinthians 4:14

The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead - Romans 1:4 & 1 Peter 3:18

The Son raised Jesus from the dead - John 10:18 & 2:19-21



This proves that the Godhead raised back to life the dead body of Jesus Christ. How could it be otherwise when the Godhead created everything, and the Godhead is worshipped as the one Being of God? This proves the Trinity doctrine! Only those who cannot grasp that have a problem with the Son being resurrected (by anybody).

Answer 71

We ALL can have eternal life. That doesn't mean I want to die tomorrow though!

Answer 72

He gave His life as a ransom for sin thus setting us free

Answer 73

YOU HAVE UNCOVERED A MAJOR FLAW IN MAINSTREAM RELIGIOUS THINKING. THE FATHER DID THE RAISING OF HIS SON JESUS.

=======================

Many Christian denominations teach that God is a Trinity. However, note what the Encyclopædia Britannica states: “Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies.”



In fact, the God of the Bible is never described as being part of a Trinity. Note these Bible passages:



“Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.”—Deuteronomy 6:4.



“You, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”—Psalm 83:18.



“This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”—John 17:3.



“God is only one.”—Galatians 3:20.



##### NOTE #####



Do the traditions of Easter have anything to do with the resurrection?

The customs of Easter involving bunnies, colored eggs, candles, and lilies were all adapted from pagan religions, as was the name Easter itself. None of these things have anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter purports to represent. Does it matter? Yes. God’s Word commands us to separate ourselves from false religion and to “worship the Father with spirit and truth.”—John 4:23; 2 Corinthians 6:17.



If Jesus is God, as some churches teach, who resurrected Jesus?



Jesus is not God—whose name is Jehovah—but he is the Son of God. Jehovah resurrected Jesus from the dead. (Romans 10:9) One Bible scholar comments: “It is unthinkable that anyone—even Christ—could raise himself.” *

SO JEHOVAH RAISED HIS SON

========================

Answer 74

read the bible - find out for your self. anyway, sounds more like statement than a question. the questions on this site get more stupid every day

Answer 75

He sacrificed his life on earth for us and literally paid the penalty for our sins.

Answer 76

It was a sacrifice because he forever gave up human life.

If he ever became a human again, the deal's off.

BTW - He did not resurrect himself. Someone else resurrected him.

Answer 77

Not all thesist believe in jesus

Answer 78

The 'sacrifice' was not His death itself, though this was the most visible aspect of the drama of the cross. All humans die and all will be resurrected for judgment. Christ's death was the consequence of His actual sacrifice, which was the surrendering of His ecstasies and the protections that form around a perfectly righteous man as a requirement of divine Law. The drama of the cross was the result of the human response to Christ's sudden vulnerability. The reversal of these effects was a righteous act of the elohim, (also known as the 'angels'), in response to the unrighteousness of His treatment. Humans did not need to physically harm Christ and God did not require it as part of the actual sacrifice. It is what happened because human beings were ignorant and easily influenced by evil. This is why Christ prayed for His torturers and pleaded with God the Father to forgive them based on this ignorance, (Luke 23:34).



God actually demands exactly the same proportionate sacrifice of each of us, since we enter the New Covenant by surrendering our own 'pleasures' in exchange for access to the same ecstasies Christ willingly surrendered for us. God does not penalized us for being 'poor' by comparison to the exceeding wealth represented by Christ's righteously earned ecstasies, since our pathetic and pallid versions of the divine ecstasies are all we have to give. He only requires that we surrender them all even though we also are not required by our own system of laws to surrender them to God. This is a fair trade that honors the basis of divine Law itself:



'Love all others exactly as you love yourself.'



The actual sacrifice of Christ was the agony of surrendering 248 ecstasies, only one of which would even be familiar to most modern people and it is the least pleasurable of the 248. We know it as the primal sexual ecstasy. The others are rewards corresponding to obedience to the 248 affirmative mitzvot of Torah, (the 'do this' commands), granted to anyone through obedience to each of these ordinances. They correspond to the 248 centers of experiential interaction and connection with nature and its processes. This must be done while also not disobeying the 365 negation mitzvot, (the 'do not do this' commands), for which there is no reward, since God expects us not to disobey Him.



We cannot obey and disobey at the same time. These fulfilling ecstasies continue to be available to us today, now even accessible to all tribes and cultures equally by means of Christ's unique sacrifice, no longer limited only to a culturally Jewish entryway. Often the entire reason why a person places faith in Christ at all is the unwitting experience of just one of these ecstasies which they simply describe as God's 'presence.' Most people are not aware that there are 248 and that each one is successively more pleasurable than the last. The state resulting from the patient development of these ecstasies is actually what Christ surrendered willingly. This was His 'sacrifice,' and represented a payment made for the total debt of transgression against Torah by all those who agree to enter the New Covenant with an equal surrender of their own 'riches.' All that He asks of us is to surrender our sad equivalent of the divine ecstasies in order to honor this sacrifice, which ends up being equally agonizing for us since we have no direct experience of what we are missing or for what we are trading our more familiar though ultimately unfulfilling enjoyments. The only reason why anyone has ever willingly 'traded' them is because those enjoyments all require harming others with some form of unequal treatment and there are times when even all of the lies and obfuscation of our evil systems cannot hide their true nature from our God-given conscience. This can lead us to a moment when we abandon our entire life out of sheer frustration and anguish at the emptiness of it.



If this abandonment does not include any acts of needless self-harm, we experience an unexpected moment with a God of infinite mercy and profound love for us, recognizing that He views us each as unique non repeating individual psyches. He allows us a taste of what we have been missing and what we will begin to experience more profoundly as we later develop along an inspired path that first teaches us not to disobey the command to love others equally to ourselves and then to actually obey the commands of God which He has meticulously arranged to lead us to a lasting work and legacy. This work is the construction of wise social infrastructure encouraging these same experiences in others. It is that work which God rewards with pleasures beyond our current imagination. This begins with what Christ calls being 'born again from above.' That birth requires a proportionate 'death,' which He explains using the allegory of a seed which can either be greedily defended as 'food' and kept from others, ultimately dying or being stolen from us anyway, or alternatively, it can be allowed to die and then planted and cultivated in anticipation of something new and much better---a process that is infinitely renewable and contains endless potential. Our pallid earthly 'pleasures' are represented by the seeds in hand and that endless potential requires a risk called 'faith,' which is trust based on conscience, direct natural genius and simple choice.

Answer 79

because god says it was a sacrifice. he gave his human life for our sins

Answer 80

Well as a God he is worthless without that power.

Answer 81

Jesus died for our sins

Answer 82

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;



The trinity doctrine contradicts those verses. That is why churches that teach the trinity discourage studying the bible, declaring that church tradition is of higher authority than the word of God.

Answer 83

yes

Answer 84

Because we're dumb

Answer 85

How about we have you beaten nearly to death, then hang you on a cross to die. I bet you would think it was a sacrifice.



btw, don't care that you don't believe and I don't care about your questions. You're just trying to be a nuisance.

Answer 86

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R_1g3wjP98

Answer 87

Jesus Christ was stupid enough to be willingly crucified.

Answer 88

Isaiah 53King James Version (KJV)



53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?



2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.



3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.



4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.



5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.



6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.



7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.



8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.



9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.



10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.



11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.



12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.



Acts 8

26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.



27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,



28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.



29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.



30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?



31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.



32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:



33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.



34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?



35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.



36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?



37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Answer 89

Nobody told him "No takesies backsies".

Answer 90

How does that make it any less of a sacrifice? He was still forgoing His human life on earth.

Answer 91

good point, but i am an atheist

Answer 92

no