Jesus's Crucifixion or martyrdom?

[voidpainsuffer]

Found this through another webportal explaining Jesus’s Crucifixion was obviously more of a martyrdom and self-love and self-scarification for one planet and one body.

Legitimate question here, and an interesting one for Catholics in particular to address (since they deem it an unforgivable sin).

First I’ll post a common definition of suicide for arguments sake:

noun
1 the intentional taking of one’s own life.
2 destruction of one’s own interests or prospects: Buying that house was financial suicide.
3 a person who intentionally takes his or her own life.
verb (used without object), su·i·cid·ed, su·i·cid·ing.
1 to commit suicide.
verb (used with object), su·i·cid·ed, su·i·cid·ing.
1 to kill (oneself).

Next I’ll cite some scripture where Jesus claims that no one is taking his life from him - he lays it down himself.

John 10:17-18 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”


So then, Jesus intentionally ended his own life - laying it down of his own accord. This would seem to fit the standard definition of suicide to me, but perhaps I am missing something.

Thoughts? I’d especially love to hear the Catholic opinion on this.

 

[Fauken]

So then, Jesus intentionally ended his own life - laying it down of his own accord. This would seem to fit the standard definition of suicide to me, but perhaps I am missing something.

Thoughts? I’d especially love to hear the Catholic opinion on this.

Letting someone kill you is not suicide. Jesus did not nail Himself to the cross. When a mother is told that the only way to save baby is if she has a C-section, but she will die, that is not suicide. The aim is to save her baby, not for her to die. Death is a side effect from that action. The Pharisees could have let Jesus go. They did not have to arrest Him. They did not have to twist Pilate’s arm into killing Him because He was setting Himself up as a King to oppose Rome’s authority. Instead they chose to murder Him, and Jesus let it be done.

 

[JerryZ]

Jesus is GOD and had HE wanted HE could wipe out the entire human race. This is what it means that HE allowed them to take HIS life.
In other words HE did not stop them.
Why? Because there was a greater good that would come from this action. By Jesus losing HIS life the most precious life of all the Universe a whole race would be saved from eternal separation from GOD.
Also HE being GOD HE knew that HIS death was not a permanent state of affairs. HE had prophesied that HE would rebuild HIS body in 3 days.
Which HE did.
Now if a human being that is NOT GOD takes his own life, that is quite a different affair is not it?
Peace!

 

[McDale721]

Wasn’t this question just asked a few weeks ago? What is the source of your definition? If it is not the Catholic definition, then your whole argument is moot and pointless. We don’t depend on your “common” definition.

 

[annad347]

Found this through another webportal explaining Jesus’s Crucifixion was obviously more of a martyrdom and self-love and self-scarification for one planet and one body.

Actually it was more like Satan took us hostage and said, it’s you or them… one of you will die… Jesus said then it will be, so Satan killed Him.

It wasnt suicide it was a sacrifice to save someone one else’s life, they killed Him and He prayed it would pass Him so He didnt want to die. It wasnt martyrdom because His suffering was real not exaggerated, plus not every cares that He died. It wasn’t self love because He died for people who again didn’t care that He did.

 

[InThePew]

Martyrdom and suicide are different because, while martyrs give up their lives as a witness, they are killed by another (directly or indirectly) and not by themselves. To put it another way, a martyr can’t seek out martyrdom; they’re not expected to try and avoid it but that’s not the same thing.

Christ however wasn’t a martyr because he had full control over his life (John 10:18); that doesn’t however make his death a suicide because it was inflicted by others and not by himself. Simply going willingly to death isn’t’ the same as suicide.

 

[Hodos]

There is a difference between suicide and laying down one’s life. In suicide, I actively take action to end my own life, ending my life being the goal. In laying down one’s life, one takes an action calculated to result in their death, but not for the purpose of killing themselves. Jesus laid down his life, but he did not take his own life. He followed a course of action calculated to result in his death, but not for the purpose of dying, rather he allowed himself to die that we might be freed from sin and death.