Explaining the Death of Jesus Christ

Explaining the Death of Jesus Christ apart from a Christian Worldview is difficult. Many want to retain the moral teachings of Jesus Christ because they like many of his moral teachings, yet they desire to disentangle themselves from His statements of Deity, for this implies more than they care to swallow. This is chiefly done by denying His statements of Deity and then claiming that Jesus' followers fabricated His claims of Deity.

However, if He would have never claimed Deity, the Jewish leaders would not have brought Him before the Roman leadership to be crucified. The other idea that the Romans leadership wanted Him crucified goes against both Biblical and extra Biblical data written within the lifetime of Christ. According the Biblical text, the Roman leadership actually tried to free Jesus, so that hypothesis is unsubstantiated as well. Josephus, the Jewish historian, comments that it was the Jewish leadership that brought Him to the Romans to be executed. Even if what is attributed to Josephus is suspect, nothing recorded during the time of Christ and the apostolic Church rejects the claim that it was the Jewish leaders who wanted Him crucified. Therefore, the only way to make sense of the data is to admit that Jesus Christ was executed because He claimed Divinity.

This then begs the question of His goodness, sanity and/or truthfulness. C.S. Lewis argues that one is then left with either bowing before Him as Lord, calling Him insane, or the devil of Hell; He never meant for us to claim He was just a good teacher as many who like His parables and such try to claim; He never left that option on the table.

To Him be the glory! Amen!