Why did Jesus die?

I have been reflecting on this question again and again recently- having just celebrated Holy Week and Easter. The knee-jerk, Sunday school answer goes something like "Jesus died for our sins... human beings are sinful creatures who chose evil over good resulting in separation from God, and certain damnation without salvation."

That is what I was taught in Sunday school as a child. Very simplistic, uncritical, and I have found the more I read and study critically- a doctrine that did not emerge in Christian writings or tradition in any substantive form until much later.

I have come to believe Jesus life death and resurrection mean so much more than some sort of once-and-done transaction- that we assent to believe then go on with our lives with the promise of heaven secure.

No- I believe Jesus came proclaiming a Kingdom of God that was and is here NOW, and not just some ethereal promise or utopian wish-fulfillment that will come true in the hereafter. It is a radical and dynamic change in one's way of life, and a dynamic and radical change that shakes the core of our being and molds us into a new person. I have come to believe it is not just a matter of 'being saved' that one can trace back to a particular prayer that was said in a certain way or a moment- although there certainly are moments of great meaning along the journey.

Instead it is a life transformation that is continual and on-going. Jesus was willing to be put to death if that is what it took to proclaim liberation from the bondage of domination of the oppressed- which was the reality of most people in his day. Jesus radically challenged the status quo, spoke truth to power, proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of God, and preached the life-giving message that his father in heaven had sent him to proclaim.

Getting back to the 'Jesus died for our sins' claim, in fact, the notion of "substitutionary atonement" (i.e. that Jesus needed to suffer and die as 'payment' for human sin), was not a widely held or articulated doctrine until Anselm of Canterbury wrote about it in the 11th century- more than 1000 years after the time of Jesus and the gospel writers.

Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan explore this, and other theological themes in their excellent book about Jesus final week in Jerusalem entitled "The Last Week."



I highly recommend it for anyone who is a Christian or spiritual seeker who wants to dig deeper beyond the pat answers and simplistic Sunday school faith.



Warning: Prepare to be challenged to move beyond your spiritual comfort zone and explore new ways of understanding the person of Jesus.



Peace on the Journey,



John