Chapter 8: Analysis of the theory of redemption

8-1: Jesus’ generation is paying for the prophets’ blood:

“49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: 50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.” (Luke 11:49-51)

If we read the previous verse well, we will find that it negates the theory of redemption completely, as it reads that God has become displeased with this generation and asked them to pay for the blood of all the prophets, so how can we believe that God has sent his only son to save this generation? In addition to some notes:

First: They conflict with the laws of God that were mentioned in the Old Testament. The laws provide that only sinners are punished. If someone killed a prophet, his sons should not be held responsible for his crime, as these conflicts with divine and even human justice.

Second: Does Jesus redemption compensate the killed prophets? Murder should be retaliated. Redemption then did not retaliate for the killed prophets because it did not benefit them as it did not retaliate from the killers.

Third: The verse reads that the blood of the prophets, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias shall be required from this generation. Jesus was born before Zacharias’ death. That conflicts with the claim that Jesus was sent to redeem this sin which was not committed yet in this period. The verse also imply that Jesus himself is required for this blood due to the fact that he is member of that generation

Fourth: God decided that this generation is required for the prophets’ blood and sent Jesus Christ for redemption. Therefore, he spared the true killers, and unjustly blamed this generation who has nothing to do with this sin. Then he sent his son to redeem them from this sin. Why is all of that? Wouldn’t it be better to adhere to the law and punish only the killers?

8-2: The verses of redemption

If we examined the verses that address redemption, we would note that they do not comply with the idea that Jesus died for the sins of man. Here are some examples:

“14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:14-18)  (We understand from this verse that redemption was meant to save and give eternal life to those who believe in Jesus. While on the other hand, disbelievers will not have eternal life. In fact, this contradicts with the claim that Jesus was sent to save people from their sin. Who believes in Jesus is already a believer and does not need to be saved by redemption. Nonbelievers, on the other hand, would be condemned and won’t benefit from redemption. Redemption is supposed to be for sinners. What is the usefulness of redemption then if it will not benefit the sinners?)

“35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:35-37)

First, Jesus says that who sacrifice his love for him and the gospel will live. This makes sense because who love his Lord will sacrifice for him, but it contradicts the theory that suggests that Jesus died to save people. The first theory is more rational than the second. The believer who sacrifices for his religion lives and has eternal life. In that sense, the true believer is different from others.

Second, we read in (John 3: 14-18) that the believers will be condemned and will not benefit from redemption. Here In Mark, it says that Jesus was sent to a sinful generation. This is true because we read in all the gospels that only a few individuals believed in Jesus. The majorities were sinful, they tortured and killed him. Therefore, in this time, only a few people were saved. This means that redemption had little effect because who benefited from redemption was so few. If the theory of redemption were true, God would choose a time when there are a lot of righteous people so that everyone would benefit from redemption.

“22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin… 24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.” (John 15:22-24)  Here, Jesus’ statement clearly negates the existence of a human sin which requires sending him to save them; it negates all the theory of redemption. In addition to that, the verse confirms that the reason for punishing them was disbelieving him not for previous sins (This verse asserts that people can be saved and redeemed if Jesus were not sent and done miraculous things. With his coming, they have no excuse. Thus, his coming and existence among them were negative. This means that if he were not sent, it would be better for them because only a few benefited from the redemption as we saw in Mark)

8-3: The scenario of redemption

If you were told that the son of God was sent to earth to die to redeem people from their sin and if we told every human to get away from every day’s concerns and think freely about this epic event, we would encounter endless thoughts. But there must be some fundamental principles for these thoughts:

– Reaching a conclusion regarding the nature of Jesus. Is he a God that came from heaven to redeem people on earth. Or is he a real human. This is very important. I can imagine a God or a son of God in a human body. If he incarnated, this incarnation would be just in the form, not in the characteristics and abilities. If God, for example, wanted to show himself to me on the road in the image of man, for instance, that would be fine. However, I would not be facing a man like me. If I had a sword and God was unarmed, I would not be able to cut him in half or beat him in a fight. His powers are far greater than mine no matter how armed I am. How can I imagine the son of God who is a God as a sperm in a woman’s body, growing in her womb and them born to be a baby that drinks milk, urinates and grows up and eats until he becomes a man? After that ordinary man was able to imprison and torture him, then kill him on the cross. God cannot be killed by a man. If that happened, then he cannot be a God. God must have powers. So either he is a real God, so all these stories about him being born and killed are just fiction or a real human who was born and lived like a human. And later we will discuss whether was crucified or not.

– I thought of the first case, which is Jesus being a real God who came from heaven to redeem people. I sat alone and started thinking how redemption would be. I visualized it as follows:

Jesus goes to earth surrounded by angles (in a God form, not a human of course) and stays on earth for a certain time ( a month or two or three). He frees Zechariah and John to help him. Then he teaches people the gospel and explains it everywhere as well as the principles of faith and the way of salvation. After that, he orders the angels to write the gospels and keep it in a safe place to save the gospel until the last day. Of course, e will not need a miracle to be believed by people. He himself will be a miracle as his look, and Godly body will be different. He will not need to drink, sleep, defecate or marry and he will have an army of angels.

After Jesus feels that people have a strong faith and it is time to accomplish his mission and return to heaven, he will call every soul including kings, priests, and army leaders as well as women, children, men and the elderly. Jesus will tell them: Son of men, you did evil and God is angry. He decided to destroy you in your sins. But because he loves you, he sent me to call you to the way of the Lord and to redeem you. I will make atonement now in the name of God. I will offer myself as a sacrifice so that God might forgive your sons. Then Jesus prays to God saying that: Lord you sent me to preach and I stayed among those people as you chose for me. Now it is my time. I gathered all those people; I will offer myself to forgive their sins. Here I am, Lord, offering my blood for their sin, so forgive them, Amen.

Then Jesus orders one of the angels to take Jesus’ sword and slaughter him to shed his blood so the priests would perform the rituals of the sin sacrifice as written in the Bible. After his death, people will admire and respect him for what he did. Then everyone will touch his blood to be forgiven.

After that, his body would be put in a steel cage covered with gold in the same place where he was slaughtered to be a shrine.

Thus Jesus would be a hero in the eyes of everyone. He would be remembered as he offered himself without fear. He reminded people that he saved them and all they have to do is to walk in the right way of the Lord.

I based this concept on many principles:

• Jesus is a God, so he must come to earth in his Godly form with his army of angels. This way people would believe that he was sent from God. Plus he would not be insulted or hurt by evil people.
• The gospel which is a central thing in Christianity must be brought by Jesus wrote on tablets or and be saved so that people do not disagree among themselves over the Bible.
• If Jesus came for redemption, he must bring everyone in this time for them to believe in God and be forgiven by the end of slaughtering.
• Redemption must be by slaughter because sins are forgiven only by blood according to the law of God. Also, everyone must touch the blood.
• The most important point is that there should be no resurrection after death. If he resurrected, it would be just a fabricated scene, how people would believe that a God would be slaughtered then resurrected after death? It would look like circus illusions when the magician cuts off a woman’s head then we see her without harm. Jesus must die and not resurrected until the doomsday then.
• Shrines are built for a lot of great individuals who died for their people in battlefields. Because linking the body of the human to the place where he was killed affects those who love him. Jesus is the most deserving of this love, so he must have a shrine made of precious metal in the same place where he was slaughtered for people to remember this great day.

I thought that nothing less than that would suit this great event. The event of Jesus’ coming to earth is a great event as well as his death. The whole situation should have been depicted differently. But after I thought of this visualization, I gave the matter a second thought and concluded that it does not make sense, especially the death of Jesus. In the following section, I will mention the reason.

A God, if he is real God, would die only by another God. He cannot be killed by a sword of an angel or by a cross. God’s nature as we said is different from human. The latter feels hungry, thirsty and pain and can be killed. A man can either be killed when God decided that he shall die or when another man kills him. But a real God cannot be killed or crucified by a human. Another God can only kill a God. Therefore, even Jesus has shown in the form of man, and he should be a man only in form, not in his characterized & powers as we mentioned earlier, if Jesus was really a God and really died, only God himself can kill him. But this never happened, it was never mentioned in the Bible that God killed Jesus. All of the four gospels tell us that Jesus was crucified by humans. There are two possibilities:

• Either Jesus is a God (or the son of God) and his father decided to sacrifice his only son to redeem people. In that case, he cannot die on the cross even if people saw it, because he cannot be killed by humans. Thus the theory of redemption is not valid , or
• Jesus is a real human. In that case he might have been crucified and killed on the cross. But because he is a human who was born and did not come from heaven, he cannot be sent by God to redeem people. Therefore, his death was an execution by the priests as we read in the Bible because he defiled the Sabbath and claimed he is the son of God. This means it was not planned by God and this eliminates the theory of redemption.

What we read in the bible contradict with the divine nature of Jesus:

1. The story of his birth and growth is meaningless if we are talking about a God. It would be more appropriate if he was sent in his glory from heaven and stayed for a short period of time.
2. Many verses that talk about his fear of the Jews are not justified as well because he is a God.
3. The way Jesus was captured, interrogated, insulted, beaten and his fear of death and asking God to save him conflict completely with the theory of redemption. Who was sent to redeem should do it willingly and everyone should witness that.

8-4: The way Jesus life was ended

Let us analyze some points that make the story of redemption illogical.

8-4-1: Did Jesus redeem people or was killed?

That is the question, was Jesus’ death planned by God or did it happen by evil people who did not believe in Jesus? If it was planned, then every person that participated in that including Judas and the priests are heroes because they participated in enforced the well of God and helped Jesus to be the redeemer. If the crucifixion was accidental, those wrongdoers must be punished because they insulted and killed Jesus. But in this way, Jesus would be dead because of a normal crime. Let us read about this crime:

“ 6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”. (53-1-Corinthians 2: 6-9) (Paul says if the wrongdoers had known the wisdom of God, they would not have crucified Jesus. This means that the crucifixion was done by wrongdoers against the wisdom of God which in turn means that redemption was not planned.)

“The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.” (Mathew 26:24)  (If he came and is ready for redemption, why would he blame who betrays him)

“10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? 11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.” (John 19:10-11)  (Here we see another assertion that Judas’ sin is greater)

“52 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? 53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” (Luke-22:52-53)

We see that who betrayed and killed him are sinners. This means that redemption was not planned previously.

8-4-2: Was Jesus crucified willingly or by force?

“ After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.” (John 7:1) (his escape from the Jews is contrary to what he said about them torturing and killing him)

“53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. 54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.” (John 11:53-54)

“67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: 68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.” (Luke 22:67-68)  (he wants to be let go and not to be tortured)

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” (John 12: 27)  (Here we see a detailed description of Jesus’ state of mind. He is afraid and wants to be saved. This leads us to believe that he did not come for redemption willingly, if so he would be brave in such a tough situation)

“41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:41-44)  (Look carefully at how he asks God not to allow his death. Jesus does not want to die nor redeem people. How can we be asked to believe that Jesus came to redeem and save us while he died against his well. Let us examine the following verses as well, they show how afraid he was.)

“33And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; 34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.” (Mark 14:33-34)

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mathew 27: 46)

All theses verses show that Jesus was very afraid of that painful end. He hoped to be saved from that and even prayed for God. If Jesus truly came for redemption, he would be ready for it.

Here we should stop for a while and think. Jesus’ fear of death negates completely that he is a god embodied in the flesh, which means he did not incarnate while keeping his human qualities, because if he did so, he should not be afraid of death. Therefore, he is a complete human. This is very problematic; we thought that God has sent his son to save people which mean that he would send him as a god to earth in a human shape. Now as it was proven that he is a human in appearance and in essence, that leads us to doubt the divinity of this creature that lived on earth and died on the cross, could we believe that he is a god? Let us think about this.

In addition to that, let us suppose that Jesus is only a human, and his mission is to save people, why would he be afraid while he knows his destiny previously?

We are not going to talk more about historic stories. We have read many stories about the national heroes in the east and west who lived in recent and old times. They did their duties towards their countries, sacrificed their souls and resisted occupation without fear of death. They did not care for their lives as long as their countries love. Why was Jesus afraid while he was doing his duty towards all the people of the world? Are these heroes better believers than Jesus? Is this fear reasonable from a god (or from a human) who knows that he will save the entire world? Isn’t it strange that a person who knows that he will be alive after three days be that afraid? Or a person who has all that glory?

We cannot find a reason for a human to be afraid of death if he will be alive after three days. A human who will get back to his great glory and be a god, and there is no reason to feel this fear even by a simple national hero who sacrifices his life for the sake of his people, a soldier will not be afraid of death while he is fighting for his country, a policeman will not be afraid while he is fighting thieves even if they shoot him. The same goes for ambulance man who will not fear death while treating the wounds of the soldiers in the battlefield even if he was showered by missiles. Fireman as well won’t be afraid even if they threw themselves in fire to save children.

If these men died, they deserve our love and respect as we would appreciate their sacrifices.

8-4-3: Why was Jesus killed?

We have seen in the last paragraph that redemption was not a divine plan that was made earlier. We noted that Jesus was not ready but was afraid of this end. That means killing Jesus was something that his enemies wanted to do. Now let us examine the motivation of this crime.

The Bible tells us that the priests and the Pharisees started murmuring about Jesus and demanded his death because he broke the law. What they hated most was that he defiled the Sabbath and claimed to be the son of God. Here are the most important mistakes that they wanted to kill him for:

1^st crime. Eating with Publicans and Sinners

“16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark-2:16-17)

2^nd Crime. Claiming that he came from Heaven:

“14The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? 43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last dayIt is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. 46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. 47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John -6:14-51)

(Jews did not like that Jesus said he came from heaven. His answer did not confirm that he came from heaven for real. He just showed them what faith is: who hear from the Father and come to Jesus will be saved and have eternal life. Jesus talked using parables as he always does saying that he will be the bread which will be given to people. He also said he is the bread that came from heaven which means the teachings of the God that came to him from heaven. The teachings that came from heaven are the bread that people are supposed to eat not Jesus’ body. This is strong evidence that Jesus did not come literally from heaven, he considered himself coming from heaven with the teaching of the God for people to learn. Thus he provided evidence that he is a normal human and did not come from heaven.

3^rd Crime. Claiming that he is the Son of God

“ Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” (John-5: 18)

Making himself equal to God was his worst crime according to the Jews which means this claim was not familiar with them.

“33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. “(John 10:33-38)  (The verse reads clearly that he did not mean literally that he is the son of God. Jews themselves were called gods in the law which is not literal as well. So in that sense Jesus called himself the son of God)

“6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. 7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” (John 19:6)  (According to the law, who claims that he is God or like God shall die. Moreover, the law of God provides that who claims to be God shall die:)

“2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. 6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.” (Deuteronomy-17:2-7)

4^th Crime. Working on the Sabbath

“23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? 25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” (Mark 2:23-28)

“1And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.” (Mark 3:1-6)

“15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. 16.Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them” (John 9:15-16)

“5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. 10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. 15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. 16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. “(John 5:5-17)

(This is the second charge because according to the law of God, one should  not work on the Sabbath , as per the law here:)

“12 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. 14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.” (Exodus-31:12-16)  (So when the priests sentenced Jesus to death, that was according to the law)

5^th : Miscellaneous Crimes:

“1Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashed, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why to walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” (Mark 7:1-5)

“27And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, 28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? 29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. 31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? 32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. 33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. “(Mark 11:27-33)  ( Look at verse 31 above , how did Mark knows what they reasoned with themselves )

8-4-4: Sentencing Him to Death According to the Torah

“6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. 7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” (John 19:6-7)

“66 And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, 67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: 68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. 69 Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. 70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. 71 And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.” (Luke 22:66-71)

“7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. 8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; 9 And went again into the judgment-hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? 11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.” (John 19:7-11)

“59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. 66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. 67 Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, 68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?” (Mathew 26:59-68)  (The priests found themselves facing a man who claims to be the son of God. The priests asked him to admit that he is the son of God but he did not. So they smote him. They did not do that just to revenge, but also to test his powers. If he was really a god, he would be able to protect himself or at least tell who smote him. But Jesus could not defend himself nor was he able to tell who smote him. So he deserved death according to the law of God.)

8-4-5 : Was Jesus really crucified ?

We want to go back to read the last verses – Mathew 26 – 59, we would note the following:

• Jesus was tried but they did not find him guilty of any crime, and they wanted to accuse him of the five previously mentioned crimes (working on the Sabbath – saying that he is the son of God,,,, etc)
• A false witness claimed that Jesus said he can build the temple in three days? Why would they need a false witness when Jesus said that already?
• During the trial, Jesus denied his truth, although this would save him and they would believe in him if they know his truth.
• Peter previously denied Jesus three times before the rooster crow.
• Jesus said in the previous verse 64: “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty. “ He did not say later, shortly, or tomorrow. He said from now on, what did he mean?
  • If he means that the son of man who is sitting at the right hand of the mighty is Jesus, this would mean that creature who is being tried is not Jesus. The verse means that Jesus is in heaven (during the trial) and the one being interrogated is another person.

Wouldn’t it be a valid question if we asked why didn’t Jesus speak of his truth? Did his denial aim to serve a purpose or be beneficial to his people’s cause or would increase the belief in redemption? As a matter of fact, we cannot find any justification for Jesus to deny himself.

• Nor Peter’s denial.
• Nor his call for help during the crucifixion.
• Nor his fear from death.
• Nor his disciples being absent during the crucifixion and resurrection.
• Nor his disciples doubt of his resurrection.
• Nor insulting him while taking him.
• Nor his crucifixion with two thieves.

The only justification for all of this is to serve as an evidence to show that this person is not Jesus but an inferior person.

8-4-6: His Death

Let us read about his last moments and their significance:

“ Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.” (Mark 15:32)

The challenge remained until the last moment. People thought he deserved to be punished because he claimed to be the son of God. Meanwhile, they were also waiting to see if he can save himself to prove that he is truly the son of God. But he did not, so he was punished according to the law.

“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. “(Luke 23:39)

Note what he said last before his death:

“34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. 36 And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.” (Mark 15:34-36)

Here is a question for every sane person: Does Jesus’ call for help indicate that he was ready to die and sacrifice or that he knew he would die? This cry for help shows clearly that Jesus hoped that God would save him. So how would anyone believe that Jesus died for our sins?

Nothing in this story tells us that he scarified himself to save people from their sins. What happened is actually to the contrary. He was taken to die against his well. He hoped he could be saved. He was insulted, hit, spitted on, was taken to the cross with two thieves and cried for help.

We ask again, do the scholars and interpreters of the Bible accept Jesus’ death (whether he is the son of God or the son of man who was sent by God to save people from their sins) to be in that way? and we also ask again: Do these events indicate that the man who was crucified is Jesus himself?

Then :

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” (Luke 23:46)

And now lets read what people said after death :

“And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.” (Mark 15:39)

“Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” (Mathew 27:45)

“Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.” (Luke 23:47)

No one understood that Jesus died for our sins. So we ask: What message did the people receive from the scenario of Jesus’ death? People did not gather to witness this great moment which is the redemption of man neither did they respect this great man who sacrificed himself to save them. He died in a very humiliating manner. Only few believed he was righteous (even good people thought only he was a righteous man. They did not know he redeemed them). This crowd did not scream for example saying: we believe in Jesus our lord as our savoir and redeemer. This casts doubt on this scenario. Let us see what happened after that.