Q

LIFE APPLICATION. Here’s one main teaching of Christianity that doesn’t seem to make much sense to people outside the faith: “Our sins are a capital offense, but God sent Jesus to take our punishment. Jesus bled and died for the sins we committed” (Romans 3:25 Casual English Bible). How would you explain why Jesus had to die and how on earth his sacrifice saves us from getting punished for our sins?

A

That’s a tall order for most Christians. Many would simply say they take it on faith, which doesn’t help make a case for Christianity. Taking it on faith might come across as, “That’s what I’ve been told all my life, so I believe it and I don’t think much about it.”

The problem is that when we think about it, it’s still hard to figure out. That’s because God doesn’t often answer our why questions. Instead, he tells us how it is, instead of why it is.

The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God; it creates a barrier. That gets made clear after Adam and Eve eat forbidden fruit. “God banished them from the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23 NLT). The point gets made over and over through the history of the Jewish people, especially in the book of Judges. There, the people sin. God sends punishment, usually raiders. The people repent. God saves the people from whatever is hurting them. That cycle gets repeated throughout the book. Sin and God don’t get along.

God set up a sacrificial system, allowing people to sacrifice animals to express their sorrow for sin. “Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own” (Leviticus 17:11 CEV).

We can only guess why God chose animal sacrifice. Perhaps because it was common among other religions and familiar to the Jews; it would have made sense to them because it fit into their culture. In addition, it expresses the seriousness of sin. A creature had to die because of sin. Human senses registered the seriousness in several ways: the squealing sound of the creature dying, the feel of the blood, the sight of the creature cut up and displayed on the altar, the smell of burning meat.

It’s also tough to explain why God didn’t come up with a plan of salvation that didn’t involve his Son getting crucified. Maybe one reason is that the Jews wouldn’t have understood any other means of forgiveness because they had been offering sacrifices for about 2,000 years. On the other hand, Jews prohibited human sacrifice: “Don’t sacrifice your son or daughter” (Deuteronomy 18:10 CEV).

Yet Jesus voluntarily sacrificed himself for others. People understand it when someone gives up their life to protect another. A father lies on top of a child, to protect the child from a shooter. A soldier falls on a grenade. For many Christians, why Jesus had to go through this may remain a mystery. But why he did it is clearly taught: “The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them” (John 15:13 CEV).

Here’s one of many ways of looking at it. Sin created a gap between people and God. Jesus bridged the gap. God invites everyone to cross the gap and join him in his kingdom. Some people have faith in the Bridge, so they cross the gap. They find themselves welcomed into God’s world.

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Q

What happened to most people who got crucified in Roman times?

1. If they got lucky, a friend sweet-talked someone into freeing them.
2. They got a proper burial.
3. They got thrown into a mass grave or nearby pit.
4. Crows, dogs, and wild critters recycled their protein.
5. A wild bear ate them.
6. Witches pulled off the nails and cut off hunks of flesh for casting spells.
7. Physicians used the nails to cure someone’s pain in the neck and the ropes to treat a fever.

A

All of that happened from time to time.

I’ve been surprised at the wide variety of ways Romans crucified people and what they did with the corpses.

First-century historian Josephus said he talked Roman General Titus into freeing a couple of his friends who had been crucified. In spite of medical help, one died. One lived.

Some corpses got buried. An archaeologist found the bones of one crucified man with a nail still in the heel bone. The victim had been buried properly, in a tomb.

Witches and physicians each used some pretty strange ingredients to take care of business. A first-century natural history writer named Pliny the Elder writes about both. Just google “Pliny, witches, nails.”

Ignore the pictures of fingernails that pop up on your screen. Fingernail clippings were for malaria.

So was menstrual blood, soaked into black wool and worn in a silver bracelet.

If you get a chance, spend some time with Pliny’s Natural History, which is free to read online. It’ll make you happy to be living today, in spite of the high anxiety most everyone seems to be feeling because of [go ahead and fill in the blank if it’ll help you].

Peace to you.

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VIDEOS:
What Romans said about crucifixion
Crucifixion Q: Did the body of Jesus rot on the cross?

Q

Paul wrote as though he believed Jesus was coming back any minute. He said he expected that the people in Thessalonica, like himself, would be relieved of their troubles “when Jesus returns from heaven, with his entourage of mighty angels” (2 Thessalonians 1:7). Didn’t happen. Jesus did not come back, as far as we can tell from reading ancient Christian writings. Christians continued to suffer. Paul was executed, beheaded according to some reports. Did Paul get it wrong?

A

Many Christian scholars would answer yes, Paul got it wrong. They say that Paul’s earliest writings, such as the letters of 1, 2 Thessalonians, reveal that he expected Jesus to come back before Paul died (see 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). They also say that later in his life, he came to believe that he might not live long enough to see the Second Coming. In a letter he wrote about a decade later, he wrote from prison saying he was ready to die: “As far as I’m concerned, if I live, I live for Christ. If I die, I win the jackpot. Here’s my dilemma. If I live, I get to keep on working and helping grow the church. But honestly, I don’t know which I want more. I’m pulled both ways. I want to leave and be with Christ” (Philippians 1:21-23).

Reprinted from Leader’s Guide & Atlas for 1, 2 Thessalonians.

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Q

The angel Gabriel struck Zechariah mute, and possibly deaf, some experts say, merely because Zechariah asked how it would be possible for him and his wife to have a child: “I’m an old man, and my wife is up there in years, too” (Luke 1:18). Gabriel got ticked by that. And it could seem as though he overreacted. Why do you think Gabriel struck Zechariah mute? He didn’t do that to Mary when she questioned how she could get pregnant since she was “a virgin” (Luke 1:34).

A

There’s no indication about why Gabriel treated Zechariah like that. Perhaps we are getting just part of the story reported in this Gospel, and if we knew all the facts, we would understand why Gabriel did what he did. But because he did strike Zechariah unable to speak, the story of the birth of John the Baptist became so dramatic that Luke decided to include it in his book about the life and teachings of Jesus. If the story hadn’t been so dramatic, with Zechariah miraculously recovering the ability to speak at the birth of his son, who knows if there would have been any mention of the birth of John the Baptist.

Reprinted from Leader’s Guide & Atlas for Luke.

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Q

LIFE APPLICATION. Writing from Corinth, a 300-mile walk (483 km) south of Thessalonica (400 miles/645 km by sea), Paul says everyone in what is now Greece seems to have heard about the people of Thessalonica getting religion: “You have managed to shout out God’s message all over the place” (1 Thessalonians 1:8). Have you ever known of a church like that, which had a reputation for believing in Jesus and living like it? If so, what was it about that church that got people talking?

A

For some churches, the worship services might become the subject of complimentary conversation because of engaging and relevant sermons or vibrant and emotive music that helps carry the congregation to God. Or it might be because of practical ministry the people perform in the community and abroad. The church helps the poor, the elderly, and other needy folks with everyday concerns: painting a house, making household repairs, setting up a daycare or preschool for kids, providing backpacks loaded with school supplies for students. In other words, the church looks for a need and then works on taking care of it.

Reprinted from Leader’s Guide & Atlas for 1, 2 Thessalonians.

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