Was the Cross Really Necessary?

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“I have no doubts about God, and I completely agree with the Church’s moral teachings… I am a little embarrassed to say it, but my problem is with the cross. Why Jesus had to die, this whole business of blood and sacrifice, I just don’t get it. Since the cross is the main symbol of Christianity… I suppose that’s a pretty big problem, right?”

 
Blood sacrifice was always required for the remission of sin - first through animals, and the the final perfect sacrifice, the Son of God, the spotless Lamb of God.
 
Necessary to whom? To God, no the cross was not necessary. He could justly execute his judgment upon us as sinners in rebellion against him. For us though, it is absolutely necessary. That is why we call it grace.
 
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Scripture says “cursed is he who is hanged on a tree” (Deuteronomy 21:23 and repeated in Galatians 3:13). When Jesus was hung on the cross (the wood of a tree), he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing and we are redeemed because of this and because of the shedding of his blood for us.
 
He was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Our hero is God humiliated and tortured, by His own creation, on a cross. This showed how man preferred darkness to light and what darkness is willing to do to maintain itself. And what He is willing to do and the lengths He’d go to overcome that darkness with the light of His love, in spite of our sin. And then prove that triumph by the resurrection.

A very different God from the one we automatically conceive of or default to-and very different from the world’s superheroes. The cross is there to draw us, without force, to love, to an amazingly humble and gentle and merciful God who could squash us like a bug if He wanted. But He doesn’t want. He wants us to choose to love as He does, as He is.

I don’t know if the cross was absolutely necessary, but it sure continues to stand as a bold proclamation to the world of a very different God, with very different values and expectations than this world has. A God worth desiring for ourselves, as we’re ready, as we come to be jaded by this world’s offerings and it’s relative darkness.
 
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It was the perfect sacrifice.

In the Old Testament, God decreed the sacrifice of animals as offerings for sin.
But in the grand scheme of things, this was only a taste of what was to come. It wasn’t a perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. The offering of animals is kind of like a child offering little gifts of something to its parent. Little doodles and dandelions and the like. Though not much value in themselves, they parent accepts the gifts simply because the parent love him.

God the Son would be the perfect lamb for sacrifice. Not as payment for our sins like some sort of necessary transaction, but as an act of excess love. Like a husband might offer his wife a bouquet of roses out of love. Except the roses are Christ Himself! His very life along with every drop of His precious blood. In this way He loved to the point of draining every last resource or all that He is in radical self gift. He joined humanity and divinity in His person, becoming the perfect mediator. The new Adam.

The old Adam wanted the honor of knowing good from evil. This sin came through a tree.
Christ went through the most humiliating of deaths of all. This source of life came through Christ’s death on a tree.

It wasn’t “necessary” per say. God could have saved us in any way He wanted. But acts of pure love are never necessary.
 
The sacrifice on the Cross was 100% necessary. Jesus knew how He would die.
 
“JimG said:
Was the Cross Really Necessary?

The sacrifice was necessary. But the cross? I don’t know.
“I have no doubts about God, and I completely agree with the Church’s moral teachings… I am a little embarrassed to say it, but my problem is with the cross. Why Jesus had to die, this whole business of blood and sacrifice, I just don’t get it. Since the cross is the main symbol of Christianity… I suppose that’s a pretty big problem, right?”

Was the Cross Really Necessary?
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Excellent article. Thanks for providing it. I read the other article that was presented, I believe they both referred to both St. Thomas and St. Augustine.

I, sort of, understand what they said. But, I have additional reasons why I believe that the crucifixion became necessary. Now, I don’t think it was absolutely required that Jesus be crucified. But, in my opinion, the sacrifice became necessary when Adam and Eve committed the Original Sin.

So, let’s start from the beginning.

God created Adam and Eve. So, they are His children.
Adam and Eve acknowledge this and accept God’s gifts.
They start out believing God, but then the Serpent tricks them
into disobedience.

This disobedience seems to signal a change of allegiance. Since
Adam and Eve obeyed the Serpent, they forfeited the gifts God had given them, natural righteousness and eternal life. And in exchange received concupiscence
and natural death.

In addition, at this point, it appears that the Serpent, or Satan, became their earthly master. He is sometimes called the “ruler of this world”.

John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Notice that they forfeited their supernatural life and received natural death in exchange.

This is why sacrifice became necessary. A life for a life.

cont’d
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cont’d

Now, in the fullness of time, Jesus came. But He was preceded by many false Messiahs. IN MY OPINION, these false Messiahs served a purpose. Satan tricked them into making false claims and they were killed.

In Jesus’ case, I believe that Satan was tricked, by Jesus. He assumed that he had won because it appeared that Jesus was killed. But Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity could not be killed by men. He LAID DOWN HIS LIFE.

John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

No man can kill the author of life. Jesus gave His life to the Father in exchange for our lives.

So, for me at least, that answers the necessity of His Sacrifice. But the crucifixion?

It seems that it could have been a stoning. I go back to this verse:

Deuteronomy 13 1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; …

Now, Jesus was probably classed as this type of dreamer because the Jews did not understand and had not heard of the Trinity. And He was therefore pronounced guilty and condemned to die.

If the Jews had been in charge, they would have stoned Him. But it was no longer up to them. The Roman custom was crucifixion.

So, why the Cross? I guess God wanted the pagan nations to be represented in this event. Why? I guess because the pagans were going to be grafted on to the root.

I know that God died for the salvation of the righteous Jews of the Old Testament. See Heb 9:15. But, I wonder if any pagans of the Old Testament were saved?

Anyway, those are my thoughts.
 
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