Why was jesus dying for all sins the basis of christianity when jesus knew he was going to heaven?
My question is-
When Jesus died, he knew that he was the son of God and he knew that he was going home. He died because he was persecuted, not because he was sacrificing himself for any living individual at the time.
There are many who sacrifice themselves for others. Soldiers protecting citizens, police officers, bodyguards, and others that are personally defending others. I even had a dog that died protecting me from a rattlesnake.
These people are not the son of God. They do not know for certain if they are going to heaven. Faith in their beliefs is all they have. Jesus knew. These people didn't.
They are risking their eternal fate by saving someone else. Jesus sacrificed his body, not his soul.
Why is his bodily sacrifice so important to christians?
Anonymous2010-01-17T02:44:27Z
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There is not one single mention of Jesus in the entire Roman record - that is right - not one!!! At the same time as he was supposed to have been around there were a number of Jews claiming to be the messiah - all of whom are well recorded!!
There is not a single contemporary record from any source and even the bible mentions of him like all other references were not written until many years after his supposed death!!
He was supposed to have been a huge problem to the Romans and produced wonderful miracles but still not one contemporary record?
Even the bible mentions of him like all other references were not written until many years after his supposed death!!
Pilate is recorded in the Roman record as a somewhat lack luster man but no mention of a Jesus, a trial or crucifixion that would surely have been used to make him look brighter!!
It's not the fact that He knew He was going to heaven. While on earth Jesus was every bit human and subject to human pain, sadness and humiliation. He did not want to die on the cross..because He was scared. But He did it for us. His pain , humiliation and agonizing death on the cross was like this.. I heard a story about the Holocaust..I don't know if it's true or not..but the idea is clear.. Some concentration camp prisoners tried to escape, but were caught. The Nazi's brought all the prisoners out front and said that he was going to kill one of the prisoners who tried to escape. When he went he called the poor guy forward...an older prisoner spoke up. He asked the Nazi to kill him instead. He said the other man was young and had a family..and he was an old man so he begged the Nazi to kill him so the younger prisoner could live..the Nazi killed the older man instead of the younger man.. To me..the older prisoner is like Jesus in this story..it doesn't matter what would happen after he died..he just wanted to make sure that the younger prisoner lived..
The only evidence Jesus had that he would be raised from the dead was the written word of God. He had to take by faith that God's word is true. Of course he had 33 years of acting on it to build confidence. Just like we have the same opportunity. Jesus died spiritually also. 1 Corinthians 5:21. " He who knew no sin, became sin that we might be made rioghteous. On top of that the bible says that he bore our sicknesses and our diseases.Every sickness in the mind of satan came on him all at once. In Isaiah it says that his body was twisted till it no longer resembled a man. You will never know the horror he went through unless you are stupid enough to reject what he did for you.
In the OT, God required a Blood sacrifice for sin.
Jesus was that final sacrifice, because, like the sacrificial animals, He too was without blemish, (sinless), & the only one worthy OF being the final sacrifice for man. his blood was shed on the cross, like that blood of the sacrificial animals.
But what makes Jesus unique is, is that:
1. He CHOSE to be the final sacrifice for man.
2. He defeated the penalty for sin, (death), by rising FROM the dead, shown that through Him, we to could know that we to could have eternal life, if we choose to follow Him.
When Jesus was on the Earth, he was a human with the same life as such as you or me. There was a difference; he was perfect, meaning that in this state he was in was equivalent to the first man Adam. With the life that Jesus had on the Earth, he had the same feelings as more or less everybody on the Earth; that is they do not want to die. Jesus allowed himself to be sacrificed as such just as God required him to and this was to save all faithful mankind who would be obedient to God. What happened in this process was that Jesus as the first perfect man who could follow God to the end without sinning against God, unlike Adam who failed, won back the right for mankind to return to a perfect condition at a further time in the future. In this perfect condition to come, man would live forever as human beings.
There is an instance that shows that Jesus could have at any time called angels for his protection at any time before the whole set of circumstances unfolded. See scripture sited below:
Mat 26: 51 But, look! one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and took off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him: “Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father to supply me at this moment more than twelve legions of angels? 54 In that case, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must take place this way?” ............ Notice verse 53, he could have quit at that moment with the help of angels but he wanted the scriptures to be fulfilled.