Magyar Egyház, 1996 (75. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
1996 / 1. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11. oldal WHY DID JESUS DIE There are certain dates and occasions that are enshrined in our memory, that we often recall and use for purposes of personal encouragement and strength. In our Christian lives the story is the same. The day and event that stand out, as we approach again the Holy Week, is the Passion, Crucifixion, and burial of Jesus. I would like to focus with you upon the day when Jesus died. In all scripture accounts, the day of Good Friday is full of drama, a time of significant deed. No other day seems as important or as holy as the day on which Jesus died. The annual Lenten season helps us to remember and renew our vows to God and to rejoice in his mercy toward us in Jesus. As you all may know, that first Holy Week began with high clamor from the Palm waving admirers and laud Hosannas. It ended with Jesus being crucified on the cross. What made the joyful clamor of the first Palm Sunday change to such hateful jeering on that day of pain? Why did Jesus die? The circumstances are many and they are all listed in the Gospel account. The explanation that I would like to bring before us is written in the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: (I Cor. 15:3) “Christ died for our sins”. In looking for an answer as the scripture unfolds before us, the answer is twofold: First we find it in the action of Caiaphas, the high priest, who instigated the death of Jesus. The high priest and other members of the Jewish religious leadership helped Judas, one of the twelve, to map the plan and trap to betray Jesus. It was Caiaphas, the high priest, who headed the court that judged Jesus and condemned Him to death. As the spiritual leader of Israel, one would believe that it was the high priest who should have confirmed to the truth that Jesus was preaching; instead, it was him who passed judgment upon Jesus. He knew the prophecies, long announced by the prophets, and it was truly strange that by his own action, he convinced Pontius Pilate to impose the death sentence upon an innocent man. Secondly, we can understand the pressure that was placed upon the Roman procurator to carry out the sentence. Falsely accused before the Romans as an agitator, Rome was receptive to the idea as a form of threat against the authority of the government. Jesus was crucified as a political criminal. It is a different question that Pilate himself was convinced that Jesus was not a criminal but Pilate’s position as governor was in jeopardy in standing up against his subjects. Pilate did feel that he was trapped - and he was. He literally washed his hands of the matter, which shows that he considered the whole thing a dirty business. Mark, the Gospel writer, tells us: “So Pilate wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barahbas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.” There was another factor that needs to be given serious consideration and that clearly points to the words of the Apostle Paul: “Jesus died for our sins.” Despite of what others may have thought, the death of Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s will, so beautifully displayed before us in all of the scriptures. The death of Jesus was not purely a circumstantial event, it was providential. Jesus did not died merely as a victim. He dies as a volunteer. Jesus Christ died for our sins, to remove sin from us and to remove us from sin. He died in our place. He died for our peace. It was God, our Father, who sent Jesus to die for our sins, and God announced that plan long before these events actually took place. So, as we approach again another Holy Week, we must remind ourselves again: Jesus died to affect our deliverance from sin. Something was at stake at His death. God was at work in His death. Naturally, this does not minimize the part others have played in the death of Jesus. But knowing this fact highlights the commitment Jesus made to reconcile us with God. He died by the will of God, showing us the Love of God. Thus His death uncovers our human guilt and at the same time shows the aggressive good will of God. God was in the death of Jesus but no less were the others as well as the high priest, Pontius Pilate, and the merciless people. God used all these circumstances to bring blessing out of a cruel deed. The death of Jesus is, therefore, not an isolated fact, merely listed in the annals of a government or the recordings of a religious organization. The death of Jesus makes us see our sins and confront God in the process. In responding to the events of that Good Friday, we are responding to the gracious acts of God in our behalf. The question that we need to face again is: Am I worthy of the sacrifice, of the death of Jesus on my behalf? May this Holy Week find us in serious soul searching and direct us to live in such a way that the Crucified and Risen Lord may become a living factor in our lives. SMT
