Why Did Jesus Die? Part 3
Original Christian with a Question: Why did Jesus, the Lamb of God, die for humankind?
Due to the complexity and embedded theology from 2,000 years this response will be a long answer which we have subdivided into segment posts.
Part 1: Historical and Theological Perspectives
Part 2: What if we back up further in history? The Temple and Jewish Practice of Sacrifice
Part 3: Ancient Theories Influence on Modern Translations; Taking a Look at the Original Greek and Aramaic Words and Translations (This post)
Jesus said in Matthew 22: “[40] On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets: [37-39] ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Therefore, the most important message from the Hebrew Bible is that we love, not get caught up in legalism.
Taking a Look at the Original Greek and Aramaic Words and Translations
A Greek text example: Redeem in Galatians 4:4-5, “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” (NRSV) The Greek word is exagorazo - meaning: to buy up, to rescue from loss, improve opportunity. It seems a more accurate meaning is to rescue, but redemption ties it back to St. Anselm’s theory.
Mark 10:45 states, “For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (NRSV) The Greek word is lutron = something to loosen; liberation from bondage, to set free. Lutron means liberation from bondage, not ransom. By representing God as Heavenly Father, I believe a better translation or paraphrase of this verse would be: “For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve & commit his life to liberate many from the bondage of fear.”
From a commentary called, Aramaic Light on the Gospels, “Multiple times in the New Testament the Aramaic word ‘porkana,’ meaning salvation, was mistranslated in the KJV (1611) as redemption.”
Another example in 1 John 2:2 Jesus is the Propitiation of our sins: Greek: (hilasmos) expiate: a) to make amends for b) to extinguish the guilt 2) to put an end to. Propitious means a favorable outcome, but according to The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary propitiation is defined: “A means of placating or pacifying displeasure due to an offense; hence an atoning action toward God.”
According to thegospelcoalition.com, “Propitiation means ‘averting the wrath of God by the offering of a gift.’ It refers to the turning away of the wrath of God as the just judgment of our sin by God’s own provision of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.”
For thousands of years we’ve been taught that God is wrathful, angry and jealous, based on ancient texts from a primitive society that participated in animal sacrifice and believed God was angry if there was an earthquake or volcanic eruption. But when we prayerfully ask about this, does it really add up? Jesus taught otherwise.
I’ll leave you with this paraphrase of John 3:16, For God so loved the world His son Jesus incarnated as human to show us how to live, to love and to worship the Heavenly Father. He died confronting corruption and hypocrisy by standing up for truth. He powerfully demonstrated a life devoted to God.
