"The Passion of Christ”: Why Did Jesus Suffer?
We live in what has been described as a postmodern society. There are beliefs we have come to accept that make us who we are, which we will never give up on. So we must move on, because we cannot go back. From the vantage point of these beliefs we must reread the Bible, since we cannot give up these beliefs. Here are some examples:
We need a post-scientific reading of the Bible. Genesis one cannot be taken literally. The universe was not created in 7 literal days. We do not live in a three-tiered universe, with heaven above, and hell beneath the earth. We also have serious problems with ancient miracles as claimed by superstitious peoples.
We need a post-Freudian reading of the Bible. People don't misbehave because they are evil, they may just be sick. Punishment isn't what people need, so much as healing and understanding. God cannot be wrathful, because he completely understands us. Maybe God as the psychotherapist father figure image should replace the image of God as the vengeful jealous King?
We need a post feminist reading of the Bible. Male chauvinism is dead. So now what must the church do? Let women be women. Any church that doesn't will be run over in the future and experience a slow death.
We need a post globalization reading of the Bible. There are many many unevangelized people in the world. They have different beliefs, and different views of ethics. What is their destiny? How does Jesus' death help them?
We need a post social studies reading of the Bible (Marx, Adam Smith, Locke, Rawls, Nozick, etc). Basically any major social idea that has changed the way we look at the world will necessitate how we read the Bible too. Democracy now reigns in the place of kingship, and all that goes with it. Plus, the whole notion of justice has undergone major revisions, and highlighted by the civil rights revolution. What is justice? Some mainline theologians are saying that even in the O.T. the concept of justice was almost synonymous with love.
Anyway with such major changes in our society we must take another look at the Bible. There is no going back. So we must look at the Bible from our perspective. And from our perspective there is no wrathful God. That concept in the Bible must be an accommodation to the people of that day just like certain scientific statements were an accommodation to the same people in the language of their day. The whole notion of justice as punishment for our sins must likewise go too.
In our modern society, why do we punish people? We do so first of all in a humane way (very important). We don't flog them or crucify them or put them on the rack, or in stocks, or do we brand them or tar and feather them for public disgrace. These are things only the most bloodthirsty people would do to their enemies. We put them in jail to keep them from hurting more people, and we do so to deter others from a life of crime. Then there is the motive of simple retaliation--retribution, or just deserts. Some are arguing that such a motive is unethical and unbecoming of a humane society, especially when it comes to capital punishment. Now my point here is to ask which motive is it that God has which makes him a just God when he punishes us, if in fact we deserve it? And how do his methods of punishment compare with our more humane ones? Most all of us wouldn’t want our worst enemies to suffer as Jesus did. Even those of us who believe in capital punishment would still want it done humanely.
Here then, are some questions revolving around Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of Christ,” which was largely based upon the gospels. The major atonement theory among Christians is that Jesus died in my place and bore the punishment I deserve so that I may be forgiven and go to heaven rather than hell. [To describe hell is another discussion, but for most of those who accept this theory hell is an everlasting place of torment.] There are seven other Christian theories, but this one dominates in the churches.
If Jesus suffered in my place so that I can go to heaven rather than hell, then apart from Jesus’ suffering I should be punished for my sins by being sent to hell when I die. But what has any one of us ever done to deserve the kind of punishment Jesus suffered, much less to deserve hell itself? All through my entire life I have never met, nor even heard of one person, who deserved such a punishment. Never. Never. Never. To say that my sins are an infinite wrong because they are committed against an infinite God, and thus demand an infinite punishment, seems mistaken for several reasons. In the first place, does justice really demand this much punishment? Can it really be true that justice demands I suffer for all eternity in hell for one little white lie? Who creates the demands of justice, anyway? What judge would think this is a fair punishment? What picture of God lays behind this view of justice…an aloof vengeful potentate, rather than a caring father? [To describe justice is yet another discussion, but for most who hold to this theory it means getting what you deserve.]
Secondly, if God became incarnate to relate to us, then why can’t he also see what sin is from our perspective, as a finite offense from partly good and partly bad human beings?
Thirdly, did Jesus really suffer an infinite punishment for our sins? If Jesus was merely being punished for all of the wrongdoing of every person who ever lived on earth based on human standards of punishment and not infinite standards, we’d still have to ask whether he was punished enough. After all, if every person who ever lived deserved to be slapped in the face just one time, then the equivalent of 10 billion slaps would surely amount to more punishment than Jesus physically endured. But if it’s true to say that each and every one of us deserved an infinite punishment for our sins, then how much less is it true to say Jesus suffered infinitely for each and every one of us? More to the point, if any single one of us were given a choice to suffer as Jesus did or be cast in hell for eternity (which would be our infinite punishment), we would all choose to suffer as Jesus did. Jesus didn’t suffer forever, nor did he stay dead.
But it is said that Jesus endured more than just physical pain. He also endured the pain of being separated from God. How can we make sense of this claim? If it’s merely a metaphor for the mental pain of not sensing God’s help when we need it, then we have all felt that pain throughout our lives. Otherwise, it somehow means Jesus ceased to be God while on the cross. But what can it mean for Jesus to cease to be God? If Jesus in fact ceased to be God, then since Christians believe a Triune God exists, that means God also ceased to exist when Jesus ceased to be God.
In the fourth place, in order for someone to be forgiven why must there be punishment at all? We know of victims who have forgiven their assailants even though they have never been punished, and we know of other victims who won’t forgive their assailants even after they have been punished. To forgive someone doesn't mean that you must first punish the offender at all. Forgiveness doesn’t really depend upon the remorse of the offender, either, although it does help quite a bit. At this point it’s not up to the offender at all, but the victim who must find a way to forgive.
To forgive includes bearing the suffering of what that person has done to you without retaliation. If I stole something from you, then forgiveness includes bearing the loss without recompense. If I slandered you, forgiving includes bearing the humiliation without retaliating. If the cross of Christ means someone got punished for my sins, then that's not offering forgiveness, that's punishing someone for what I did wrong. If the cross was needed to pay the punishment for my sins, then how can God really be a forgiving God? Forgiveness doesn't require punishment. To put it bluntly, if I can't forgive you for striking me on the chin until I return the blow back to you, or to someone else, then that’s not forgiveness, that’s retaliation.
But this Christian theory says God himself bore our punishment on the cross in Jesus. But why is any additional punishment even demanded? The punishment borne by the one who forgives is merely the pain that was inflicted by the offender. That is, if I humiliate God in front of the universe by being self-seeking in all of my ways, then in order to forgive me God merely has to bear the pain of that humiliation and open his arms toward me. There would be no additional pain to bear beyond the pain of being humiliated. There would be no need for the cross until it can be shown, based on this atonement theory, that there is a relationship between punishment (or justice) and forgiveness.
Furthermore, what kinds of reasons would God have for punishing us when we die? Maybe God punishes us when we die to deter others from doing wrong? But then why is it we don’t see any evidence of this punishment while we’re still alive? Maybe God punishes us in order to teach us to do better, like a father who corrects a child? How can this be, since hell would be final and horrible? Maybe God punishes us because he is angry with us? That doesn’t seem to fit either. If God foreknows everything we do, or, rather, if he knows every background experience and genetic makeup that goes into every decision we make, then we can never surprise him by what we do. I have found that the more I understand someone's background, the easier it is for me to love and have sympathy for that person. By the same reasoning do you think God can ever get angry with us enough to punish us with hell? How can he? What judge would do this? What father would do this? He understands everything about us. But what other motives are there for God to punish us when we die? If there are none, then our only punishment is what we do to ourselves here and now. When we do wrong we hurt ourselves. God doesn't need to punish us. By sinning we punish ourselves.
If, however, being sent to hell is not about punishment for our sins, but rather about God not tolerating sin in his presence, then exactly where does sin reside in us? Can it be located somewhere in our bodies and seen by an X-ray machine, or does it somehow make an actual black mark on our soul? The truth is that sin isn’t an existing thing at all, nor is sin something we have. We cannot hold a cupful of sin in our hands. Sin is an action we do. Once we do it, sin becomes a memory of a hurtful deed done. We don’t carry sin on us; we do sinful things. So there is no sin to bring with us into God’s presence.
In a sermon delivered by Pastor Tom Smith, he said, “for some strange reason God believed the cross was necessary for our salvation.” There must be a reason why Jesus died on the cross. But what is it?
