Why Jesus Did Not Die for Our Sins
Jesus left physically, so we know him spiritually
Why was Jesus crucified?
Except for progressive and integral Christians, along with the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the dominant theory among Christians today of why Jesus died on the cross goes something like this: All people are separated from God because of both original sin and our own sin. Because of this, we are destined for eternal punishment. However, Jesus came to provide a way out of this destiny by taking our place and dying on the cross to satisfy God’s wrath for our sins. Jesus was punished in our place so God could forgive our sins. Those who accept Jesus as their Savior are no longer separated from God and are destined for heaven.
This is a serious and devastating misunderstanding of Jesus, God, and our relationship to God. It is based on four interpretations which reflect previous stages of spiritual evolutionary understanding.
1. The Temple Sacrificial System
The early Christians were at a loss to explain how their hero was murdered as a criminal on a Roman cross. They understandably turned to the most visible symbol of the way God was thought to act in first-century Judaism —the Jewish sacrificial system. Their worship centered in the Temple in Jerusalem which Herod had transformed into the impressive thirty-five-acre gleaming white edifice featuring the dramatic sacrifice of animals to God on an immense fifty-foot square altar. Animal sacrifice had been practiced for centuries and was a central part of Temple worship when Solomon built the first Temple almost a thousand years before Jesus. All religions at that time were in the tribal stage of mythical beliefs and warrior-like gods. Judaism was a step up from the purely warrior-like gods that surrounded them in that the God of Israel was, while vengeful at times, was also loving at times. Animal sacrifice was such a significant part of Temple worship in Jesus’ day that the 2013 December issue of The Journal of Archaeological Science suggested that animal sacrifice powered the entire economy of ancient Jerusalem. Thousands of animals purchased in Jerusalem were slaughtered each day on the Temple altar which flowed with blood.
One of the two mandatory sacrifices in the Levitical law was the sin offering. Its purpose was to atone for sin and cleanse from defilement. The sacrifice could be a bull, goat, dove, or fine flour, depending on the financial situation of the giver. The animal served as a substitute—the animal died in place of the sinner. Some of the early Christians theorized that God decided one final sin offering was needed to atone for the sins of humanity—the sacrifice of his son, Jesus, on the cross. That theory is referred to today as “the atonement.”
Atonement theory
Most Roman Catholics, Evangelicals, Charismatics, and other conservative groups focus on human sin as the core problem of spirituality, and atonement theory is the answer. To make this atonement theory work, they must convince people that they are separated from God because of their terrible sin. The only way to be a forgiven sinner who is not separated from God and going to heaven is to believe in Jesus and become a part of their Christian tribe, participate in the Mass, or whatever else is required to be okay in the sight of the church and God. The result is that these churches exert a powerful hold on their followers’ conscience and consciousness.
Michelangelo’s Wrathful God
2. Atonement violence is based on similar violent acts attributed to God in the Old Testament
Jesuit priest, Raymond Schwager, points out, “The Hebrew Bible contains 1,000 verses where God’s own violent actions of punishment are described, 100 passages where Yahweh expressly commands others to kill people, and several stories where God kills or tries to kill for no apparent reason. Violence is easily the most often mentioned activity and central theme of the Hebrew Bible.”
Richard Rohr says that atonement theory implies that “God the Father was petty, offended in the way that humans are, and unfree to love and forgive of God’s own volition. This is a very untrustworthy image of God that undercuts everything else.”
3. Atonement theories ignore Jesus teaching about God
Trying to make sense of a seemingly senseless crucifixion, Paul writes, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (I Cor. 15:3). By Scriptures, he means the collection of writings the Jewish people considered part of their sacred books which we now call the Old Testament. These pointed to a suffering Messiah, and Paul applied to Jesus.
However, Jesus deconstructed his bible, the Torah. Like a good postmodern of today, but far ahead of his time, Jesus rejected all the angry warrior God parts of his scriptures. He said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies” (Matt. 5:33-34). Where did they hear “hate your enemy?” In the Old Testament, God was depicted doing that very thing—killing thousands of people in divine wrath and hatred.
Jesus did not teach that we are separated from God. He did not teach “original sin,” a concept not found in the Bible but developed by Augustine in the fifth century. Instead, Jesus taught original love, that we are all precious children of God. He taught that God does not act with violence, wrath, retribution, punishment, or threats of eternal separation.
He revealed that the character of God is everlasting love, mercy, grace, and compassion. Following Jesus’ example, we must deconstruct our Bible, including those parts of the New Testament that continue to reflect the vengeful tribal God of the past.
4. Atonement theories ignore the Apostle Paul’s teaching that we are all already reconciled to God
The Apostle Paul taught that no one is eternally separated from God. Notice the universality of the following biblical statements:
“As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Cor. 15:22). [The nature of our physical bodies metaphorically inherited from Adamic creation is that everyone ages and dies, while because of Christic revelation, we know that everyone’s spiritual body is eternal.]
“Through Jesus, God was pleased to reconcile to Godself all things, whether on earth or in heaven (Col 1:20). “All things,” ta panta, is an almost technical term in Greek meaning absolutely everything. Notice that this verse is past tense— it has already occurred!
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all” (Titus 2:11).
“In Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, is to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:9-10).
Jesus leaves so that awakened consciousness could come, not so our sins could be forgiven
In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself gave another reason to his friends for his death which left his friends without his physical presence.
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: 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 go, I will send the Helper to you” (John 16: 7).
The field of awakened consciousness intensifies
Why did Jesus make this startling statement about the “helper” only coming if he, Jesus, left? “Helper” is a reference to what is traditionally named the Holy Spirit. However, if we understand that “spirit” is the personification of higher consciousness in the New Testament, then awakened consciousness is indeed our “helper” in all things. Jesus knew it would be much better for his friends at that time, and for all us in the future, to let go of his physical bodily presence and welcome his universal spiritual presence. However, his spiritual presence is only available to those who move to another level of consciousness which is greater than basic, ordinary consciousness.
The Ascension by Salvador Dali
Ascension—Leaving
Jesus left his physical body at his death. However, his visionary resurrection appearances in his spiritual body were so vivid and dynamic that his friends were convinced this was Jesus in his physical body. Heaven in that day was considered to exist somewhere “up there in the heavens” above them. Therefore, Jesus’ stunning ascension or rising up into “the heavens” in clear view of his friends became the clear proof of Jesus’ body leaving this earthly realm and returning to where God lived.
The question remains: Why did Jesus have to physically leave for this awakened realm of consciousness to come, or arise, in his friends? I believe Jesus had to leave bodily so his friends would not settle for an ordinary physical perception of him. Nor would they be able to perceive other spiritual realities in ordinary consciousness. As long as Jesus was with them in his physical body they would only relate to him in everyday consciousness, the limited way of seeing and hearing him. Jesus wanted a much more intimate relationship with his friends than that. He also needed to provide a way for his future friends to access him and the saints in the coming generations. Therefore he invited them, and us, to move to a higher, awakened consciousness so that his presence and the spiritual beings and realities he was in touch with would be available to us in an unlimited way. I call this resurrected spiritual form of Jesus The Living Jesus.
He can now be with anyone, at any time, and in any place, unlimited by time and space. His dramatic resurrection appearances, where he seemed to be in the physical realm, were meant to wean his friends away from his purely physical presence. They, and we, could then continue to know his presence, but only in higher or more awakened levels of awareness. When we are able to enter the dimension of spiritual non-physical reality where he now dwells, then he can continue to personally guide and teach us in whatever ways we are ready for.
This understanding of Jesus and his direct, mystical presence as something immediately accessible should change how we pray and practice spiritually as Christians. We can learn to move into this realm of consciousness individually and collectively to be with Jesus now. This is what the Bible refers to as “being in the spirit,” which I will write more about next week.