Why did Jesus have to die? It is a great question… one that has been and will be grappled with in churches around the world. For one eloquent, detailed, and passionate answer to this question, I cannot recommend highly enough this post by my friend and fellow blogger, Mitch Teemley.

While Mitch’s post is concerned with exploring the cosmic reasons for the death of Jesus, I want to keep my focus grounded here on the earthly plane, if I may. 

As the biblical narrative tells us, Jesus was arrested, tortured, humiliated, and executed by agents of the Roman Empire. These Roman rulers were, of course, aided and abetted in their actions by members of the Jewish religious establishment.

As a young church-attender (I’m not sure I could have called myself a Christian then, in the fullest sense of the word), I was always confused and angered by this part of the Jesus story. I mean, here was this kind, handsome, bearded (white-skinned, of course) man who walked around saying wise things, healing people, doing magic tricks with fish and bread, and taking little children up onto his lap and being kind to them. Sort of like a wizardly Mr. Rogers from the ancient Near East.

When all of a sudden BAM! Jesus is arrested! He is put on trial! He is mocked and laughed at and beaten! Finally his hands and feet are nailed to a gigantic cross with huge iron spikes! He stays there for hours, hanging on the cross, suffering unimaginable pain, until he finally looks down, forgives everyone who did this to him, and dies.

That Good Friday story always brought tears to my eyes… along with a deep sense of confusion. “Why?” I asked my parents through my tears. “Why did Jesus have to die? What did he do that was so WRONG?” If I had thought about it a little more deeply back then, I might have concluded that being nice can get a person into BIG trouble!

But today I am an adult. Today I have done a lot of reading and thinking about the death of Jesus. Today I am (reasonably) clear that Jesus was not killed by the Roman Empire (in cahoots with institutional religion) for being NICE. 

No. Jesus was killed for being OFFENSIVE. Deeply, profoundly, divisively offensive. Offensive enough that he needed to be violently silenced.

Yes, Jesus was kind. Yes, Jesus said, “… let the little children to come to me…” (Matthew 19:14, NRSV.) Yes, he healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cured leprosy, empowered women, fed hungry people, and dished out hope to everyone he encountered. He was a life SAVER and a life CHANGER.

But those deeds of compassion were not what got him arrested and killed. He was killed because he dared to speak truth to power. He dared to stand up and boldly declare, “It’s not about wealth. It’s not about political power. It’s not about military might. It’s not about personal status. It’s not about appearance. It’s not about the reach of your social media influence. It’s not about pleasure. It’s not about ANY of the things people have told you all your life that it’s about.”

And then, while people were pausing to pick their jaws up off the floor, he delivered the theological haymaker: “My friends, it’s about LOVE. Period.” He continued, “It is about self-emptying, self-denying, ultimately costly, sacrificial LOVE. Nothing else.”

In preaching and living this message, Jesus offended the defenders of political power. He offended the defenders of religious power. He offended the defenders of all forms of the status quo. Jesus’ ministry finally became intolerable to the power brokers when they saw that vast crowds of marginalized and forgotten people were following him and echoing this radically offensive message.

And so… Jesus had to die. And for a time, the dominators of his world smiled smugly to themselves and said, “That’ll teach him.”

So, what do you think? What about TODAY? What about US? 

Is Jesus sufficiently offensive today? Is his message provocative enough to ruffle powerful feathers? Are his followers sufficiently committed to his manifesto of unconditional LOVE that they might shake the foundations of the world? Do we see that same kind of self-sacrificing love that knows no political, ethnic, sexual, or racial boundaries in action today? 

Or do we worry more about being RIGHT than about being Christlike? Do we love our STUFF more than we love the world? Do we cling more tightly to our notions of SECURITY than to Jesus’ call to follow him? Are we afraid to pay the price that charity… or forgiveness… or mercy… might ask of us? Do we value RETRIBUTION more highly than RECONCILIATION?

To answer my own question from two paragraphs ago, I believe Jesus and his message is just as offensive today as he was in his time. But I also believe you and I continue to find creative new ways to domesticate and “de-claw” his world-changing mission, much to his Eternal Dismay.

This week is Holy Week. It was the week that seemed to pound Jesus and his message onto the sharp rocks of Unyielding Power… leaving nothing behind but puny, weak splinters.

But wait! What’s that? I think I hear something beginning to stir…

Abundant blessings;