H
hansard
Guest
Hi, all. Here are some unstructured thoughts on Jesus, and what he had at stake when he became human.
Firstly, Jesus never sinned. Indeed, he could not allow the possibility of sin, for the sake of his own existence. This is why he had to reject Satan in the desert. Had he succumbed to the smallest of temptations (say, throwing himself off the cliff so the angels could catch him), Satan would have had a victory over him. He had staked his whole being on this. If he had sinned even once, he could not have been resurrected and would have simply stayed dead for all time, and so would we all.
Needless to say, it would have dire implications for the entire of creation if God were capable of sin.
And just think what a demonstration it was that he avoided sin on every occasion. Wow!
This is the key to his sacrifice: he died without needing to, and received God’s grace without needing it (he hadn’t sinned).
How much greater, then, the giving of that grace to all sinners.
His death was the sacrifice of the truly innocent, made more poignant by the fact that it was at the hands of those he came to save.
Secondly, he went to his death not knowing the outcome. He thought his Father had abandonded him. He had prayed that the “cup” be taken from him, but still bent to his father’s will (note: his father’s will, not his own). He was terrified of death, probably thinking it might be the end of him. He gave up his spirit to his father, placing complete faith in God’s grace and good judgement. His resurrection was, therefore, a complete justification and a vindication of his whole “human quest”. Take away the sin, and you take away the death.
You could always take the attitude that he was God, and therefore sin was never going to be an issue. But I think this misses the point: he had to be tempted—genuinely tempted in the flesh, such as Satan’s promise of untold wealth—in order to overcome sin. I mean, if it was all predestined and there was never any risk to him, then that makes it a token gesture, a walk in the park. My thinking is that he faced real risks, and probably placed his entire being (human and divine) on the line.
Anyway, there it is—some of it is standard Catholic teaching, some not. I get that. I just like reasoning my way through important things like this.
Firstly, Jesus never sinned. Indeed, he could not allow the possibility of sin, for the sake of his own existence. This is why he had to reject Satan in the desert. Had he succumbed to the smallest of temptations (say, throwing himself off the cliff so the angels could catch him), Satan would have had a victory over him. He had staked his whole being on this. If he had sinned even once, he could not have been resurrected and would have simply stayed dead for all time, and so would we all.
Needless to say, it would have dire implications for the entire of creation if God were capable of sin.
And just think what a demonstration it was that he avoided sin on every occasion. Wow!
This is the key to his sacrifice: he died without needing to, and received God’s grace without needing it (he hadn’t sinned).
How much greater, then, the giving of that grace to all sinners.
His death was the sacrifice of the truly innocent, made more poignant by the fact that it was at the hands of those he came to save.
Secondly, he went to his death not knowing the outcome. He thought his Father had abandonded him. He had prayed that the “cup” be taken from him, but still bent to his father’s will (note: his father’s will, not his own). He was terrified of death, probably thinking it might be the end of him. He gave up his spirit to his father, placing complete faith in God’s grace and good judgement. His resurrection was, therefore, a complete justification and a vindication of his whole “human quest”. Take away the sin, and you take away the death.
You could always take the attitude that he was God, and therefore sin was never going to be an issue. But I think this misses the point: he had to be tempted—genuinely tempted in the flesh, such as Satan’s promise of untold wealth—in order to overcome sin. I mean, if it was all predestined and there was never any risk to him, then that makes it a token gesture, a walk in the park. My thinking is that he faced real risks, and probably placed his entire being (human and divine) on the line.
Anyway, there it is—some of it is standard Catholic teaching, some not. I get that. I just like reasoning my way through important things like this.