Catching My Breath
Occasionally, we get asked a question that makes us catch our breath. We were sitting on a mat under the moon and stars that lit up the West African sky. It’s a sky void of those urbanized infrastructures that are pumped with enough electricity to actually cause the stars to fade out of view. Contrarily, the moon and stars gave a soft light to our faces as we pondered God’s story. A good friend of ours serves as one of our translators, grew up in a Muslim family and has only known the story of Islam. However, his kind heart and sincerity had led him on a path of inquiry. He is curious, especially about Jesus, so he asks questions. Ironically, the question that stole my breath was one that we often hear in the halls of our Sunday School classes at a very young age. Truthfully, for those of us who hear it posed in our youth, it’s a fairly simple answer to deliver. But for some reason, on this night, it was asked with a different weight and seriousness than what you hear growing up. For some reason, on this night, I had to catch my breath before I began to answer the question, “Why did Jesus have to die?”
I think the reason for that added weight has everything to do with context. You see, whether we like it or not if we grow up in church, then we are conditioned to certain perspectives and worldviews that are innately accepted more than they are challenged.
Here’s what I mean, to answer the question, “Why did Jesus have to die,” you have to also ask, “Who is Jesus?” When you grow up in the church you constantly hear that Jesus is the Son of God, a concept that is incredibly foreign to most Muslims. If you grew up in the church, consider your reaction when you hear a basic summary of the ever-more-popular beliefs of Scientology. The concept of Scientology advocates that we are all immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature. Moreover, our souls are reincarnated after living lives on other planets prior to coming to earth. While I’m not sure what sort of reaction this would elicit if someone approached you and offered it to you as ultimate truth, I am willing to assume that the general concept is very difficult to embrace. Imagine what you would feel if someone asked you to believe in this concept. Take that feeling … and now you know what a Muslim feels upon hearing “Jesus is the Son of God.” Couple this feeling with a passionate devotion to the sovereignty of God where the implication of God having a son is nothing short of blasphemy. Only when you truly try to identify with these feelings are you beginning to tap into what may be considered a common Muslim reaction. Essentially, understanding these reactions is what makes this question a little heavier.
To explain Jesus’ death, however, we cannot negate his life and we must explain the divinity found in his “Sonship” (or more simply, we must explain the Trinity). So after much conversation and challenging questions, on this night our friend concedes for argument’s sake so he can ask the question weighing on his mind. “So why did Jesus have to die?” And really, what he is saying is, “Ok, if you are going to say, Jesus is God, then what you are implying is that God Himself was crucified. And if God is so powerful and so infinite, why would He ever need to die? He is too great and powerful. In my faith, you are neck-deep in blasphemy.”
So it’s a question that made me catch my breath. There was a lot said that night to try and answer our friend’s inquiry. A lot discussed about sin and sacrifice, even more concepts that are difficult to grasp. But as we parted ways for the evening the question continued to ring in my ears for the remainder of our stay. “Why did Jesus have to die?” The text that kept raging back into my mind comes from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. In the midst of his explanation of spiritual gifts, Paul refocuses his letter with a beautiful reminder, “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel by this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain” (15:1-2 NIV). The entirety of the 15th chapter is built on the simple truth of the gospel, our answer to the question of “Why Jesus had to die.”
What makes this chapter unique is that Paul looks at the gospel through the lens of the resurrection, which I think is a valuable lesson for those of us who follow Jesus. It seems that so many times we focus on the cross and death of Christ. We focus on his blood and sacrifice. We focus on his pain and suffering. And that becomes our only answer to the question of “Why did Jesus have to die?” Honestly, I sometimes wonder if we truly believe Jesus is alive. That’s what makes this chapter so eloquent and refreshing. Why did Jesus have to die? To offer his blood? Yes. To be a sacrifice for sins? Yes. To endure the wrath of God? Yes. But that is not all. We cannot stop there. The death of Jesus is more than just a model of sacrificial love and an example of how we should endure suffering. As Paul explains, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile … If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (15:17-18).
It is important that we are constantly in tune with the magnitude of sin. It becomes such a familiar word in the church that we neglect its weight and implications. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and “we were by nature objects of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). Death is the ultimate expression of sin. Consider the first sin, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die” (Genesis 3:3). In this, we have to concede that death becomes one of the sharpest revelations of sin. Paul says it like this, “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (15:24-25). Why did Jesus have to die? To conquer death.
Is there any enemy more universal to mankind than death? Is there any greater fear? Is there a greater statement indicative of the fact that we aren’t God? But take heart, Paul reveals that God wants us to live for more than just this life. Our hope is an eternal hope. Our purpose is an eternal purpose. For there will be a day …
“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”(15:54-57)
As a result, we must maintain this sense of victory, with our eyes set towards the eternal. We must not fear the challenging questions or minimize what Jesus can accomplish, for he, like no other, has conquered the grave. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (15:58). So while we may frequently be faced with questions that make us catch our breath, praise be to God that in Christ we have an answer that allows us to breathe.
One Response to “Catching My Breath”
Leave a Reply
Great job Jerimiah… took my breath away!