Did Jesus commit suicide?

[sarabellum]

As I browsed through a very interesting OP about the "morality of suicide" I was struck with a thought....
Did Jesus commit suicide.....

At first this idea wasn't slated to be an OP for a number of reasons...
Part of me thought it might seem uncivil....
or offensive....
to some...

I try not to do that....

But my internal conversation relating to my idea has proven to be fruitful and thought provoking so I decided to let her rip....

First of all it occurs to me that I don't know where to draw the line on suicide....
Is there such thing as a moral suicide....
What constitutes a suicide....
Is suicide by cop techniqly a suicide...
Does mental illness negate ones copability in Gods eye for committing suicide...

People commit suicide for many reasons, pain, depression, feeling to good (manic state) high on drugs, financial gain for their family, or they perceive it is for the better good.....

A suicide mission....
Sacrificing ones self for the greater good...
Is this a suicide?
If you know an action will lead to your demise is this taking ones life?

At first I was tempted to put Jesus mission on earth in this category....
Which is to say that the plan was for Jesus to come to earth and die to fix an imbalance that threatened the occupants of earth...

Do suicide bombers actually see there actions as a self termination or does the divine back story, this idea about the need to sacrifice oneself for the greater good, give them an out....


Anyway, basic point, I'm not really sure what constitutes a suicide.....
Part of me sees the logic behind the idea that killing oneself regardless of the perceived need is just that, killing oneself....

Further contemplation along these lines gave birth to a new idea....

Jesus's acts on the earth didn't qualify as a suicide mission...
It was a suicide by cop...
Here's my logic....

I'm on a nuclear submarine....
Something has happened to the reactor....
It is overheating and soon we will all die....
We have to do a manual shut down to survive, only problem being that the room with the off switch is filled with lethal levels of radiation and heat...
I voulenter to die, saving everyone....
Is this a suicide?
Maybe not......

But if it turned out that there was two ways to save the ship, say the path that led to my destruction or a newly discovered way of saving us that only envolved pushing a button and ejecting the core.....
If I still choose the path that leads to my destruction, the suicide mission over the logically way of solving ones problem, is this a suicide....

To me Jesus story falls under this category....

Jesus, if the stories are true, knew he was sent to die....
He could see the future knowing full well that certain actions would lead to his death....
He knew who would betray him...
He decided to sacrifice himself for us....

Jesus is also omnipotent...
Why not just eject the core...
Surely your self termination wasn't the only means to right the sinking ship of humanity.....
Why not just replace yourself with a life like copy on the day of your sacrifice...
A divine copy that would achieve the same salvation benefit but not lead to your death....

Additional can a man kill a God....
Can crucifiction kill a God...
How long does that take....

If Jesus was God would any amount of poking and prodding bring about his death...
If he was omnipotent it seems like you could theoretically pearce his side from now till the cows came home and not bring about his death...
Or did christ choose to self terminate....
Letting go of his spirit....

Otherwise it was a pretty quick for a crucifiction.....

Anyway thats about it......
Answer one or all....

Or none...

P.S. I still have not been able to save to a draft and often time my spelling errors don't show up on the spell check, and I'm in a hurry...
For the spelling errors I apologize....
(Lets face it I'm not that smart)

[McCulloch]

[Jesus said, ]"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. "

Suicide is to lay down ones life, something that Jesus encourages.

[nursebenjamin]

Whipping people at the Temple and otherwise interfering with peoples’ ability to pray and sacrifice to the Lord according to the Laws of Moses, especially during the busy Passover holiday -- a time when Jerusalem and the Temple swarmed with crowds of foreign pilgrims -- would have brought a swift and lethal punishment to anyone. The Romans didn’t take kindly to troublemakers, especially troublemakers who weren't Roman citizens.

I say that the Cleansing of the Temple fits closely with the definition of “suicide by cop�. The only problem is that “suicide by cop� is usually a spontaneous action, whereas Jesus’ action was premeditated.

[JehovahsWitness]

Did Jesus commit suicide.....

Definition of SUICIDE
1
a : the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suicide

The gospel accounts say Jesus was executed by someone ELSE so I'm not sure how that can fall under the definition of suicide.

Most Christians would rather use the term SACRIFICE:

an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially : the killing of a victim on an altar/ something offered in sacrifice
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona ... 1296052163

Of course in the modern day vernacular people refer to "suicide missions" where someone embarks on a course that he knows he cannot survive (usually for some cause he believes in) which may be an expression some would feel comfortable applying to Jesus but from a theological prospective one could debate whether someone who knew "death" would be a temporary three day condition could accurately be described as doing this...

In any case unless you are suggesting that Jesus nailed HIMSELF to a stake (which would have been quite difficult) "suicide" in its most basic meaning seems an inaccurate description of the gospel event.

[McCulloch]

Most people see a functional equivalence between suicide as the result of direct actions taken by a person to end his own life and suicide as the result of the actions of others, knowingly provoked by the subject. Sometimes called suicide by cop or Victim-Precipitated Homicide. Police defined victim precipitated homicide as "an incident in which an individual bent on self-destruction, engages in life threatening and criminal behavior to force law enforcement officers to kill them." It is in this sense that the question is posed. Did the character of Jesus as outlined in the New Testament, act in such a way as to guarantee his own execution?

[Lux]

Most Christians would rather use the term SACRIFICE:

Yes, possibly because it sounds much nicer than "suicide."

I know Jehova's Witnesses don't believe in the Trinity, but most Christian denominations do, and by their beliefs, God being omniscient knew what was going to happen to Jesus (aka himself?) on Earth from the very beginning, and he still went on ahead. In fact the entire plan was that Jesus died to redeem humanity, his death was intended by him (even if he did have second thoughts while on the cross.) That fits the definition of suicide.

[JehovahsWitness]

Police defined victim precipitated homicide as "an incident in which an individual bent on self-destruction, engages in life threatening and criminal behavior to force law enforcement officers to kill them." It is in this sense that the question is posed. Did the character of Jesus as outlined in the New Testament, act in such a way as to guarantee his own execution?

Was Jesus "bent on self destruction"

While there is no doubt Jesus' teachings and actions angered the religious establishment he did nothing that was in actual fact anyway near deserving of death. Pilate at his trial announced that he found nothing "deserving" of death as far as the Roman law is concerned and Jesus never actually broke any of the Jewish national laws. Had he been "bend on self destruction" it would have been evident in his flagrantly breaking laws that would have incurred the death penelty.

For much of his ministry Jesus was extremely discrete, traveling backroads, and charging people not to publicise his miracles (something that would not only impinge his being able to freely move about the territory but would no doubt have attracted the attention of those determined to see him dead). John gives the account of Jesus physically hiding to avoid being stoned by religious fanatics - hardly the actions of someone "bent" on provoking actions that would result in his early demise (see John 8:59).

Did Jesus engage in " engages in life threatening" behaviour?

Early in the account of his life the gospel's report Jesus being invited to throw himself from a great height, something which would normally incur certain death; Jesus firmly declined. His ministry is marked by a regard for the value of the life he was given and he took reasonable measures to protect it.

Did Jesus engage in "criminal behavior to force law enforcement officers to kill [him]"?

As stated above, at no time did Jesus break any civic or religious laws and certainly did nothing that would "force" his own death. While it is true Jesus had little regard for religious traditions he saw as transgressing the written law, none of his actions could be said to provoke legitimate sanction. Even at the illegal night trial of the Sanhedrian on the last night of his life, Jesus' silence meant he did not incriminate himself and when he did finally make an affirmative statement, it was not in fact confirming blasphemy as charged.

So in conclusion if the question under discussion is were Jesus actions "self destructive"", life threatening" or "criminal" then the answer on all counts would be no.

[sarabellum]

Whats the definition of "bent on self destruction" and "engages in life threatening behaviors" when you can see the future as Jesus was claimed to be able?

Is befriending Judus a man that Jesus knew would betray him, life threatening or self destructive....
It seems like it to me....

It seems like in some sense Jesus was an accomplice in his own murder....
He knew all the players, he knew the time line and played his part...

[East of Eden]

He didn't commit suicide anymore than the Rev. ML King did, although Jesus did know his fate.

[De Maria]

As I browsed through a very interesting OP about the "morality of suicide" I was struck with a thought....
Did Jesus commit suicide.........

P.S. I still have not been able to save to a draft and often time my spelling errors don't show up on the spell check, and I'm in a hurry...
For the spelling errors I apologize....
(Lets face it I'm not that smart)

No. Jesus did not commit suicide.

What is suicide?
Suicide (Latin suicidium, from sui caedere, "to kill oneself") is the act of a human being intentionally causing his or her own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair, or attributed to some underlying mental disorder which includes depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism and drug abuse.[1] Financial difficulties, troubles with interpersonal relationships and other undesirable situations play a significant role.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide

Jesus did not kill Himself. He was tried and executed for the crime of blasphemy.

Mark 14:62-65 (King James Version)

62And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

63Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?

64Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

65And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.

Sincerely,

De Maria