Death of Jesus
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For more details on this topic, see Passion (Christianity).
Within the body of Christian beliefs, the death of Jesus is a core event on which much of Christian doctrine and theology depend. According to The New Testament, Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, was crucified, died, buried within a tomb, and resurrected three days later (John 19:30–31, Mark 16:1, Mark 16:6).
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[edit] Atonement
Jesus' death and resurrection underpin a variety of theological interpretations as to how salvation is granted to humanity. A common feature of all these interpretations is that they place greater emphasis on the death and resurrection than on his words.[1]
One Roman Catholic view is that Jesus willingly sacrificed himself as an act of perfect obedience as a Substitutionary atonement, a sacrifice of love which pleased God.[2]
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In the Roman Catholic tradition this view of atonement is balanced by the duty of Catholics to perform Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ[3] which in the encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor of Pope Pius XI were defined as "some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury" with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.[4] Pope John Paul II referred to these Acts of Reparation as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified."[5]
The Christus Victor view, which is more common among Lutherans and Eastern Orthodox Christians, holds that Jesus was sent by God to defeat death and Satan. Because of his perfection, voluntary death, and Resurrection, Jesus defeated Satan and death, and arose victorious. Therefore, humanity was no longer bound in sin, but was free to rejoin God through faith in Jesus.[6]
The Catholic view off-shoot titled the judicial view was held by Martin Luther, and a major cause of the Reformation. It is the perspective held by most Protestants. It emphasizes God as both lawmaker and judge. All humans have broken the rules that God has set (sin), and all deserve to be punished. The only exception to this was Jesus, who received the ultimate punishment despite not having sinned. This is seen as an act of Jesus accepting the punishment that was meant for humans, meaning humans can be restored to a right relationship with God. The difference between the Catholic and Protestant views was a major cause of the Reformation.[7]
[edit] Records
[edit] Gospel narratives
The earliest detailed historical narrative accounts of the death of Jesus are contained in the four canonical Gospels: Matthew 28, Mark 15, Luke 24, John 20–21. There are other, more laconic references in the New Testament epistles.
According to all four Gospels, Jesus died before late afternoon at Calvary, which was also called Golgotha, after being sentenced to be crucified by Pontius Pilate for claiming to be King of the Jews. The wealthy Judean Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin according to Mark and Luke, received Pilate's permission to take possession of Jesus' body, placing it in a tomb.[8] According to John, Joseph was aided by Nicodemus, who joined him to help bury Jesus, and who appears in other parts of John's gospel (John 19:38-42). The three Synoptic Gospels tell of the darkening of the sky from twelve until three that afternoon; Matthew also mentions an earthquake (Matthew 27:51), see also Crucifixion eclipse.
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[edit] Critical analysis
The Gospel of John says that a soldier pierced Jesus' side, causing the flow of blood and water. Apologists claim that medical knowledge at the time would have only expected blood.[9] Some scholars[attribution needed] have hypothesized the 'water' as pericardial effusion and pleural effusion, and maintain that this medical anomaly would have been a fact that the author of the Gospel of John would have been tempted to leave out, had he not been interested in accurate reporting. This flow of water suggests fatal heart trauma required to release pericardial fluid. Without pericardial fluid, the heart may become bruised over time (due to friction between the heart and the pericardium). (The pericardial fluid is not required for the heart to function; it merely acts as a lubricant.) Roman soldiers were trained with such diligence that it is not logical to assume that someone could have survived a piercing in this region of the body.[10]
In the biblical narrative, while Jesus is hanging on the cross, the sky is "darkened for 3 hours," from the sixth to the ninth hour (noon to mid-afternoon), but if this claim concerns anything more than a local phenomenon, it is backed up by no Roman historian. This could not have been a solar eclipse, as Jesus died during the time of the full moon, Nisan 14 or 15.[11]
The synoptic gospels state that the veil of the temple split at this point, and Matthew says that there were earthquakes, splitting rocks, and dead saints were resurrected. The fate of these resurrected saints is never elaborated upon.[12]
The synoptics report that the centurion in charge, seeing how Jesus had breathed his last (Mark) or seeing the events that followed (Matthew, Luke) said: "Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39; or "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54); or "Surely this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47).
For the sayings, traditionally called "The Seven Last Words," the Gospels say were given by the dying Jesus, see Sayings of Jesus on the cross.
[edit] References
- ^ For example, see Matthew 6:14–15). See also Sermon on the Mount
- ^ "Doctrine of the Atonement." Catholic Encyclopedia." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02055a.htm
- ^ Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices ISBN 087973910X
- ^ Miserentissimus Redemptor Encyclical of Pope Pius XI http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_08051928_miserentissimus-redemptor_en.html
- ^ Vatican archives http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20001021_riparatrici_en.html
- ^ Johnson Alan F., and Robert E. Webber. What Christians Believe: A Biblical and Historical Summary. Zondervan, 1993, pp. 261–263.
- ^ Schwarz, Hans. Theology in a Global Context: The Last Two Hundred Years. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2005, pp. 255ff.
- ^ Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-56.
- ^ Jesus Died on the Cross
- ^ Edwards, William D.; Gabel, Wesley J.; Hosmer, Floyd E;On the Physical Death of Jesus, 1986, JAMA March 21, Vol 255, No. 11, pp 1455–1463
- ^ Carpenter, Glen. Connections. Xulon Press, 2004, pp. 13ff.
- ^ Matthew 27:51–53
