Jesus died for our sins . . .

yes, but did he have to?

It’s important to begin this post with a definition of sin. The idea of debt and sin are related, and for this discussion, essential to connect. Sin is understood as something prohibited, and if it occurs, a remedy is needed.

The obvious fix for sin is forgiveness, if possible, and if not possible, then the remedy is punishment. In any case, something is owed. You are responsible for the debt that you have incurred, and this debt must either be paid or forgiven, just like an outstanding bill. If you can’t pay, and the person to whom you owe the debt won’t forgive, then you must be punished. The language of the 2nd Temple period (516 BCE-70 CE) is that of commerce, of business.

One of the central beliefs in the Christian faith system is that Jesus’ death is the remedy for the debt we owe to God. Our creeds and confessions, our songs and sermons, the Lord’s Supper liturgy, and our prayers all declare that Jesus died for us, specifically to lift from us the burden of our debt. According to evangelical Christianity, this remedy, this dying, this blood sacrifice is required by God. The good news is that this human sacrifice in the person of God’s son, Jesus, is for all those who believe this atonement theory to be true.

But the question that keeps popping up is this: Did Jesus have to die for our sin?

I don’t think so . . .

If we put aside our preconceived notions of what is true, maybe we can look at the cross through a new lens. Let’s try.

The writers of Matthew (7:5-15) and Luke (11-1-13) present The Lord’s Prayer. Before and after this foundational Christian prayer, these writers offer teachings of Jesus. These teachings are as important as the prayer itself.

In Luke the setting for the prayer and the teachings is as follows. Jesus is praying, which appears to have been a regular practice for him. The disciples are watching him pray. As they are being mentored by him, they want to learn what he knows and do what he does. These young men are also aware of Jesus’ cousin John and the mentorship relationship that Jesus has with the older and more learned John. 

“Lord, John taught his disciples how to pray. Will you teach us please?”

And, of course, Jesus does teach them. “When you pray, say . . .”

The section of this prayer pertinent to us in this discussion is this line: “[F]orgive us our debts, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us” (NRSV Luke 11:4a). Immediately following the prayer, the writer of Luke has Jesus telling a story. It is a “suppose” story, a “think about this” parable. It goes something like this: You have unexpected company, so you need bread. You pound on the door of your neighbor begging for his help. He sends you away empty handed. Bad neighbor, right?

Good God though

As in other stories, Jesus is drawing a contrast: God is not like the stingy neighbor. When you ask God for something, God gives it. If you need bread, you ask, and God provides. And when you need a debt forgiven, a burden lifted, you come to God and you ask, and God will forgive. Jesus makes no mention, nor does he even hint, at the need for a blood sacrifice. You don’t have to give up your first born for God to act, nor does he. God is gracious and loving and generous, and God will respond to your request.

Does the Book of Matthew agree?

The book of Matthew’s teaching is even more explicit. With this beautiful line, Jesus teaches them to pray: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (6:12).

Wanting to be clear, the writer of Matthew adds, “For if you forgive . . . then God will forgive” (6:14). The key phrase here is—“God will forgive.” I find it interesting that out of all the seminal lines in this prayer, Jesus chooses to emphasize forgiveness.

Note also that this teaching of Jesus comes before the cross. And there is no mention by Jesus (nor, I venture, does the thought even enter Jesus’ mind) that God needs blood shed or a human sacrifice to forgive sin. What kind of God would need that?

According to Jesus’ teaching, what God does need is for us to be gracious as God is gracious, for us to forgive as God forgives. In fact, the necessary and reciprocal action connected to God’s grace is for us to be gracious as well. And this expectation, it seems to me, is consistent with both Jesus’ and John’s inaugural sermons—“Repent!”

Did Jesus have to die in order for God to be gracious in forgiving sin? According to Jesus’ teaching around prayer, the answer is a definite NO.

A parable about debt

Matthew also records the Jesus story of two debtors (18:23-35). In this parable, a king is settling accounts. A slave owes the king a huge amount. The desperate man cannot pay; the burden is too great. The remedy for lifting the weight is either grace or punishment. The king chooses the latter and orders the slave to be sold along with his wife and children. The man falls to his knees and begs to be forgiven the debt. The king shows mercy and forgives. It’s all good, right?

Not quite! The now burden-less slave comes across a fellow slave who owes him a mere pittance. The debt-free slave refuses to forgive his fellow slave even as the man falls on his knees and begs, so the fellow slave is thrown in prison. The king hears about it and responds rather forcefully, ordering the first man to be tortured. (Ugh!) Jesus declares this fate for those of us who will not forgive as the king does.

Jesus’ point

If God is the king represented in this story, which I assume to be so, then what picture of God do we get? Does God forgive without payment needed? Is God responsive to repentance? Does God expect grace to be reciprocated?

You decide.

Then ask yourself how this parable could inform our understanding of Jesus’ death. Did Jesus have to die for God to forgive us our debts? Does God require a human sacrifice, blood for blood, in order to lift the burden off our heads?

I don’t think so

Last night I had dinner with an 18-year-old. In the course of our conversation I asked her about church and religion and all that stuff. She said that she didn’t go to church much anymore because it was always the same and she knew what was coming.

“And what is that?”

“Jesus died for our sins,” she said, “and so we have to be good.”

“What does that mean to you?”

“I don’t know really, but it’s an awful thing to think,” she said.

Our food came, the conversation shifted, but wow, her honest line hit me hard. The traditional message of the cross is that Jesus loves us so much that he willingly laid down his life as a payment for our debt. That’s compelling, until you really think about what this says about God, or if this claim is even true.

The Gospel that is compelling to me is the rhythm Jesus both taught and lived: Grace given, grace received—grace received, grace given.

A prophetic word

I think the prophet Micah got it right and that Jesus got Micah right as well.

6 With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:6-8).

My point

Should we not expect from God exactly the same as God expects from us?