Jesus’ Death
It is pertinent to examine the crucifixion and death of Jesus through the eyes of the Scriptures in order that we may arrive at a new understanding of the events surrounding His death.
Luke 23:28-31 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. (29) For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. (30) Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. (31) For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
Jesus told the people that they should not feel sorry for Him but that they should feel sorry for themselves because what they had done will exact a terrible revenge that they would wish for death. Are these the words of someone who came to die and take away our sins?
He would never have said this if His main aims were those that had been set out by conventional teaching.
What humanity had done would bring upon them such a fate that they would wish that they had never been born. Weep for yourselves and your descendants, since they had already cursed themselves by saying to Pilate that “His Blood be on us and our children.” He who after reading this statement from Jesus still insists that His main Mission was just to die and carry people’s sins away will fulfil the Words of Jesus in John 15:22-25 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin……(24) If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.
He then went to say that if men could behave in this bestial fashion in the time of plenty, then what will the situation be during the time of Judgment, when through the effect of the natural Laws disasters accumulate, leading to a severe scarcity of resources. We would probably tear ourselves apart.
Luke 23:34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Is this the statement from One Whose Mission was for a propitiatory sacrifice? Would He ever have said this prayer of intercession that God should forgive us if His Mission was as we insist on representing It? It was a prayer said on our behalf to intercede for this dastardly crime committed against Him. There is no other way of looking at this.
There is no way that this can be glossed over. From these statements alone we can conclude that Jesus’ death was not in the Will of God and that His death did not and does not carry away humanity’s sins.
Some people might ask that if it was not according to the Will of God then why did He die? The answer to that is that the Will of God manifested in Jesus’ determination to lay down His Life, no matter what it took, even physical suffering and death. The Will of God manifested in the fact that His Word, in spite of all the attacks of the darkness must still be established here on earth. That the road to salvation of human beings must remain open in spite of humanity’s will to the contrary so that those minority as seeks the Creator might continue to have His Word to cling to.
It was that Will that commanded Jesus to do whatever was necessary for the preservation of this Word. This Jesus said as much in: John 10:17- 18 “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. (18) No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father.”
The importance of the preservation of His Word was so great as we see in the prayer that He said not only for His disciples but for also those that are to come. He said a prayer for those people in the future who would come across His Word and believe thus: John 17:20-23 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; (21) That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (22) And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: (23) I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
So it was according to God’s Will that His Word be preserved. It will be preserved in spite of all the evil will of mankind and all the attacks of the darkness. Even if they threatened Jesus with physical death. We must realize that the intention of the darkness was to make certain that the Will of God was not established.
It was hoping that by threatening Jesus with physical death, He might flee and abandon His Mission. By so doing, Jesus’ Message would have completely run to sand and the darkness would have gained a final victory. With Jesus standing His grounds, however, the darkness was utterly vanquished since the Word that the darkness wanted to prevent its establishment would now be preserved because Jesus was not going to abandon His Mission, but on the contrary was prepared to do the ultimate.
The last trump card of the darkness had not worked. With this determination from Jesus, the seed was planted and there was nothing anymore that the darkness could do about it. This seed was destined to grow as history proves.
What about the unrest in Nature? And what about the curtain that was torn? Are those evidences that God was happy with His Son’s death? The tearing of the curtain that veiled the Holy of Holies has been interpreted by convention as meaning that now the connection between mankind and God was complete and that it symbolised an admission into God. Nothing could be further from the truth!
The curtain was torn in anger by Luminous Hands because after this dastardly deed, the pure worship of God was no longer to take place among mankind. Mankind had rejected God and the Word brought down in order to show us His true Worship. The Holy of Holies was no longer necessary because the pure Worship of God that was to take place through Jesus had been rejected. The Holy of Holies was rendered superfluous.
Of what use was the Holy of Holies if those who would go there to worship had rejected the very God that this was supposed to be dedicated to? With this act of murder, the Jewish people had lost their heritage. Their religion and as such all their symbols as from then on meant nothing.
What is this talk of a reconciliation with God when He had already signified the cleavage with mankind? Mankind’s opinions count for nothing. The upheaval in nature could be viewed in the same light. This was a crime against the Will of God and the darkness that physically came over Golgotha is the earthly manifestation of the ethereal darkness that streamed over mankind with this deed.
This darkness separated mankind all the more from the enlightenment of God’s Light. We should never try to deceive ourselves and must make the effort personally to try to understand these events for ourselves. Adopting the opinions of others in this most important of matters places us at the risk of spiritual death.