Why Did Christ Die?

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Quick question that is bothering me and I can't seem to find any resources. Why did Christ have to die? Couldn't God have forgiven sins without this?

[Adeodatus]

thedude,

Christians have puzzled over this question for 2000 years. But in your question you get right to the heart of it. Yes, it's true that we cannot say that the crucifixion of Jesus is absolutely necessary. To say that is to say God's power is limited. God could easily have forgiven us and redeemed us by merely saying the word. The Son did not have to become a man, strictly speaking.

But given that the Son did become a baby, and that God did die on the cross for us, what can we say?

St Anselm came up with a beautiful idea of atonement. In the sin of Adam and Eve, offence had been given to God by humans. Only God can sufficiently 'make up' for this offence, but because man caused this offence, man must be the one to do it. The solution: God becomes man---Jesus. And Jesus, as God can atone for this sin, and Jesus, as man, does it on behalf of all humanity.

I think what we cannot say is that God demanded the death of Jesus. In the Old Testament God is already depicted as hating animal sacrifices and offerings. Would a human sacrifice make God happy? No. The Scriptures tell us how much He loves us, and does not desire the death and ruin of the guilty--let alone the innocent.

Regarding all the above, St Thomas Aquinas tells us that we cannot say God is forced or compelled or necessitated to suffer and die on the Cross. But we can say that it is "fitting" (conveniens). That word "conveniens" can sometimes be translated as "beautiful"---it is God showing us something beautiful, showing us His love.

Jesus comes to show us all how to be human. To love our enemies, to turn the other cheek, to do good to those who hurt us. This is a genuine human life, not like the artificial human life we experience with sin, death, misery and cruelty. Jesus comes not only to show us how to be human, how to be sons and daughters of God, but He also gives us His Spirit in order to truly be God's children (we live by grace, not our own efforts). I think the cost of being God's child is that you get crucified by the world. What Jesus asks of us is that we pick up our crosses and follow Him. Ultimately, to live like Jesus means you have to die to yourself, and the world (meaning all the things opposed to God, not the physical world itself) will seek to crucify you also.

The power of God confounds those who think the crucifixion is the end of the story. The Resurrection is not like a happy ending tagged on to a tale of tears, but it is the beginning of a whole new life, the life of the blessed in glory, in the vision of the Most Holy Trinity, transformed into the image of the First-Born Only-Begotten, by the Holy Spirit, reposing in the bosom of the Father, eternally in bliss.

There are many other ways of looking at the Cross, but I think this way gets to the heart of it. God be with you.