What Did Jesus Actually Sacrifice?

[RedEye]

These are some lyrics from Jesus Christ Superstar:

• Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ
  Who are you? What have you sacrificed?

It's a great question. What did Jesus actually sacrifice?

Christian doctrine has it that Jesus sacrificed his life in order to appease God the Father and gain forgiveness for the sins of mankind. But did Jesus really sacrifice his life? He is an immortal being and therefore cannot die. All that happened, if anything, is that he shed his Earthly body and then ascended back to his place in heaven. Shedding a temporary body is no big deal for a god. Jesus is alive and well in heaven (and he will be making a second coming soon according to many).

If you are alive then you did not really die. It was a pretend death. I know some of you may argue that it was a real death of his Earthly body, but so what? He wasn't going to stay in that form forever and it was only a shell he was wearing over his divine nature. The plan was always for him to return to his Father. Human bodies die eventually anyway from old age. Jesus lost nothing essential to him.

I therefore put it to Christians that there was no actual sacrifice. Can any Christian argue otherwise?

[StuartJ]

[Replying to post 8 by StuartJ]

Calling the execution of a Jewish insurrectionist by Roman authorities a human sacrifice to appease a Jewish god, sounds like a twisting of facts to me ...

Makes me wonder. If Jesus had died of a common infection like the flu, would we still all be forgiven?

Of course ...

Sickness is the result of SIN ...!

The Mud-Man and his Rib-Woman were immortal until the Talking Serpent incident. No sickness.

If the Jesus character in the stories had died of the flu - or syphilis, or whatever - it would have been OUR fault for bringing sickness into the world through sin.

And besides, it would all have been part of the Divine Plan anyway ...

You know, the committee meeting in Heaven where Jehovah and Jesus and the Holy Ghost decided the only thing that would settle the genocidal Jehovah down THIS time was for Jesus to become a human sacrifice to him.

[brunumb]

[Replying to post 10 by jeremiah1five]

No. Flu is a symptom. God went after the cause.

We are talking about the death of Jesus as somehow resulting in the forgiveness of sins. Why does the method matter? Isn't it ironic that Jesus has to be murdered in order to forgive us our sins?

[jeremiah1five]

[Replying to post 10 by jeremiah1five]

No. Flu is a symptom. God went after the cause.

We are talking about the death of Jesus as somehow resulting in the forgiveness of sins. Why does the method matter? Isn't it ironic that Jesus has to be murdered in order to forgive us our sins?

brunumb, Jesus wasn't murdered when He offered Himself. It was 'like' Abraham and Isaac when Abe held a knife above Isaac ready to sacrifice him obediently to God except in the case of God no angel stayed the hand of God nor the 'knife.'

[brunumb]

[Replying to post 10 by jeremiah1five]

No. Flu is a symptom. God went after the cause.

We are talking about the death of Jesus as somehow resulting in the forgiveness of sins. Why does the method matter? Isn't it ironic that Jesus has to be murdered in order to forgive us our sins?

brunumb, Jesus wasn't murdered when He offered Himself. It was 'like' Abraham and Isaac when Abe held a knife above Isaac ready to sacrifice him obediently to God except in the case of God no angel stayed the hand of God nor the 'knife.'

Jesus did not offer himself up. He was sought out and arrested. Of course he was murdered. Jesus was sinless and therefore did no wrong. If he was executed but had done no wrong, he was unlawfully killed, or murdered.

[jeremiah1five]

[Replying to post 10 by jeremiah1five]

No. Flu is a symptom. God went after the cause.

We are talking about the death of Jesus as somehow resulting in the forgiveness of sins. Why does the method matter? Isn't it ironic that Jesus has to be murdered in order to forgive us our sins?

brunumb, Jesus wasn't murdered when He offered Himself. It was 'like' Abraham and Isaac when Abe held a knife above Isaac ready to sacrifice him obediently to God except in the case of God no angel stayed the hand of God nor the 'knife.'

Jesus did not offer himself up. He was sought out and arrested. Of course he was murdered. Jesus was sinless and therefore did no wrong. If he was executed but had done no wrong, he was unlawfully killed, or murdered.

That is how it appears in the dispensation of TIME, but before God created heaven, earth, and man, the Second Person of the Trinity volunteered to put on flesh and die.
It all began in the Mind of God in Trinity BEFORE God created anything.

[brunumb]

[Replying to post 15 by jeremiah1five]

That is how it appears in the dispensation of TIME, but before God created heaven, earth, and man, the Second Person of the Trinity volunteered to put on flesh and die.
It all began in the Mind of God in Trinity BEFORE God created anything.

That just makes the whole scenario even more absurd.

[RedEye]

These are some lyrics from Jesus Christ Superstar:

• Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ
  Who are you? What have you sacrificed?

It's a great question. What did Jesus actually sacrifice?

Christian doctrine has it that Jesus sacrificed his life in order to appease God the Father and gain forgiveness for the sins of mankind. But did Jesus really sacrifice his life? He is an immortal being and therefore cannot die. All that happened, if anything, is that he shed his Earthly body and then ascended back to his place in heaven. Shedding a temporary body is no big deal for a god. Jesus is alive and well in heaven (and he will be making a second coming soon according to many).

If you are alive then you did not really die. It was a pretend death. I know some of you may argue that it was a real death of his Earthly body, but so what? He wasn't going to stay in that form forever and it was only a shell he was wearing over his divine nature. The plan was always for him to return to his Father. Human bodies die eventually anyway from old age. Jesus lost nothing essential to him.

I therefore put it to Christians that there was no actual sacrifice. Can any Christian argue otherwise?

Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! I know! I know!

<snipped as off-topic>

Now, do you fully understand His birth?

Please address the thread subject.

[RedEye]

But did Jesus really sacrifice his life? He is an immortal being and therefore cannot die.

WAS JESUS CREATED AS AN IMMORTAL BEING?

• ♦ ANSWER No, biblically Jesus is never spoken of as being created immortal. While he had a prehuman existence, he was a spirit creature subject to death (like the angels). Immortality is only spoken of as being a reward for faithful spirit anointed humans (see 1 Cor 15:53,54) offered by the Almighty who Himself is immortal. Thus, when the bible speaks of Jesus being dead, it means he was actually dead (as in ceased to exist) and was resurrected (given back his life) three days later.

• John 1
  1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
  :
  10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
  :
  14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I'm fairly sure that is a description of an immortal being.

[RedEye]

It's a great question. What did Jesus actually sacrifice?

Christian doctrine has it that Jesus sacrificed his life in order to appease God the Father and gain forgiveness for the sins of mankind. But did Jesus really sacrifice his life? He is an immortal being and therefore cannot die. All that happened, if anything, is that he shed his Earthly body and then ascended back to his place in heaven. Shedding a temporary body is no big deal for a god. Jesus is alive and well in heaven (and he will be making a second coming soon according to many).
...

Jesus used his life on earth for the people, that is why it can be said he sacrificed his life for us. He could have all the kingdoms and could have been great earthly king, but instead was humble servant of God and used his life for our benefit.

So he sacrificed any megalomaniac tendencies that he may have had?

As I have already explained, Jesus did not sacrifice his life for us. He's still alive. Right?

[RedEye]

RedEye wrote:

He is an immortal being and therefore cannot die.

Jesus came to earth as God Incarnate. That means that he came to earth as a being who was fully God and fully man. In theological terms, it's called the hypostatic union.

As God, Jesus is eternal. As man, he was not.

Therefore, it is incorrect to say Jesus was immortal and could not die. He did die on the cross, but didn't stay dead.

So he had a restful nap for three days. If he is not dead then he didn't sacrifice his life. Right?