The Necessity of the Crucifixion and Resurrection – PART 2

The Necessity of the Crucifixion and Resurrection

Isaiah 54:1 – “’Sing, O barren One, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married,’ says the Lord.”

Matthew 19:11-12 – “Jesus said to them, ‘All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. There are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.’”  [JHK: Jesus renounced children of flesh to have children in spirit.]

John 12:24, 27-28, 31-32 – “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. * Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour!’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. * Father, glorify your name! Then a voice came from Heaven saying, ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’ * Now is the judgment of this world! Now the ruler of this world will be cast out!  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.”  [JHK: Jesus died to the flesh so he could have victory in spirit.]

John 10:11-18 – “I am the good shepherd. * I lay down my life for the sheep. * I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.”

Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20 – “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.” [See also Jeremiah 31:31-34.]

John 16:7 – “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you.”

Galatians 4:21-31 – “It is written that Abraham had two sons – one by a bondwoman and another by a freewoman. He who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, but he of freewoman according to the promise .. For it is written: ‘Rejoice, O barren, you who do not have children! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children than the married.’  He who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit.” [JHK Note: What are Jesus and Paul trying to tell us in words, in symbols, and in parables? Torture and death are the weapons of Satan to burden humans with fear, stress, anxiety but by first accepting torture and death, Jesus through the Resurrection conquered both and brought judgment upon “the ruler of this world,” just as God said when He cursed the Serpent in Genesis 3:14-15 – “You shall bruise his heel and he shall crush your head.” The iron nail of the Crucifixion was driven through the heel of Jesus as he surrendered to the maximum power of Satan but the human fear of pain and death in the flesh was abolished through the Resurrection of Jesus.]

#1 – Christ died for the remission of sins. * On the other hand, it’s clear that Jesus did not have to die to forgive sins, for he forgave the sins of many during his lifetime and says, “Know that the Son of Man has power on Earth to forgive sins.” (Matthew 9:6) But this was on a case-by-case basis, while his one-time crucifixion was for all humans at all times.

#2 – While on Earth as a man in the flesh, Jesus could only be in one place at one time; but once he ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, he would send the Holy Spirit (the Helper, the Comforter), who was able to manifest in many places at once.

#3 – Demonstrate Love. Jesus says in John 15:13, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” and by actually doing this (1) he set an example for all of us and (2) no one could accuse him of not practicing what he was preaching.

#4 – Fulfill Prophecy. As Jesus says in Luke 24:44, “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms concerning me.” (See also Luke 18:31, Luke 24:7 & 13-27, Mark 14:49, Matthew 26:56, Acts 17:3, 1 Peter 1:10-12)

#5 – Our Healing. Isaiah 53 must be scrutinized line by line. “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and by his stripes we are healed.” [JHK: Thus there was much more at stake in the Passion of the Christ than just his death by crucifixion.]

#6 – Fulfill God’s Will.  “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) * “It pleased the Lord to bruise him.” (Isaiah 53:10)  “For this purpose I came to this hour. ” (John 12:27) [See also Isaiah 61:1 & Luke 4:16-18]

#7 – So the Gospel could go to the Gentiles. “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold. My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him. He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.” (Isaiah 42:1) “God says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (Isaiah 49:6) * As Paul says to the Jews at Antioch, “It was necessary that the Word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold! We turn to the Gentiles as the Lord has commanded us.” (Acts 13:46-47) Jesus himself urged Paul to leave Jerusalem, saying, “Depart! For I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.” (Acts22:21)

#8 – Jesus’s Kingdom is not of this world. As Jesus says clearly to Pontius Pilate in John 18:36, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” * “For behold! I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” (Isaiah 65:17) “We look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13) “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” (Revelation 21:1) * “Now is the judgment of this world.” (John 12:31-32)

#9 – Jesus returns to his Father to prepare a place for us! (John 14:2)

#10 – Greater Works. ”Most assuredly, I say to you: he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father.” (John 14:12)  [JHK: Perhaps the first and greatest example of this is Paul, whose teaching, preaching, healing, and casting out of demons spread the Gospel to the Gentiles.]

     The Supreme Teaching: (1) THEOLOGY: God is Love. *  (2) ETHICS: Do all things in love.

Some heretical Christian theologians imagine, believe, and teach that the Christ, the Messiah was intended to come as a commander, a military conqueror, a leader who would rise up to rebel against Roman rule and re-establish the legitimacy and supremacy of the nation of Israel that had been known under David and expanded under Solomon.

But this misses the whole point of the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth that God intended from the beginning – “One World Under God” – a sovereignty based on heart and love, not on power and violence. The Bible talks about “Circumcision of the Flesh” as a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham when Abraham was ninety-nine years old. (See Genesis, Chapter 17) In Deuteronomy Chapter 10, after receiving the Ten Commandments written on stone by the finger of God, Moses admonishes the Children of Israel (COI) to “circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer,” as he summarizes the essence of the law before leading the COI to the very borders of the Promised Land. Moses continues this theme in Deuteronomy 30: 6 – “The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Paul picks up this theme in Romans 2:29 – true “circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter,” in the flesh. There is also a reference to “Circumcise your ear,” so you are able to hear, listen to, understand, and obey the Word of the Lord. (See Jeremiah 6:10)  [JHK: David was a bloody conqueror. Jesus gave his own blood.]

“’Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) [JHK: God does not want a kingdom based on military power, but on heart and love, the example Jesus gave of selfless service and sacrifice, even to the point of death.]

Jesus said clearly to Pontius Pilate in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews.” Indeed, when he was arrested and Peter cut off the ear of Malchus, the servant of the high priest, Jesus reprimands Peter: “Put your sword into the sheath! Shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given me?” (John 18:10-11) [JHK: When Jesus speaks of “this world,” he refers to all the myriad kingdoms invaded and ruled by Satan through force and violence. All of these kingdoms will be destroyed, as the prophets clearly tell us, whereas the future kingdom built on Jesus’s example of “Living for the Sake of Others,” will endure forever.]

When we consider such examples of God’s power in the Bible as (1) the Ten Plagues in Egypt and (2) the destruction of Pharaoh’s host of chariots in the Red Sea deluge, (3) the capture of the blinded Syrians searching for Elisha in 2 Kings 6 and (4) the fleeing of the Syrian forces from the siege of Samaria in 2 Kings 7, and (5) Sennacherib’s utter defeat in his attempted siege of Jerusalem in 2 Kings 18-19, 2 Chronicles 32:32, and Isaiah 36-37, we understand that God could easily have Jesus prevail as a military commander and emperor, had that been His desire.

On the contrary, Jesus specifies not once, but three times, that he must be crucified in order to lay the eternal foundation for a Kingdom of Love. (1) “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) (2) “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He.” (8:28) (3) “And I, if I am lifted up from the Earth, will draw all peoples to myself.” (12:32) As 1 John 4:19 reminds us: “We love him because he first loved us.”  The crucifixion is essential.