"...because Jesus did not die for God."

In Christian theology there are a lot of shorthand sayings that carry with it a load of assumptions and theological ideas that are often assumed to be agreed upon by all parties in a conversation. Which may or may not be accurate. 

One of these shorthand sayings is "Jesus died for you" or "Jesus died for your sins". I agree. Jesus did die for us. Where the difference is what is meant by that idea. What assumptions and theological ideas are loaded into just a few words? 

I don't desire to lay out an entire personal Credo or theological document. I am not that good of a writer and you would be board. Instead I want to offer up a shorthand reflection to the shorthand statement. 

Jesus died for you, Jesus did not die for God. 

God does not demand the death of Jesus. God does not demand that there be a tit-for-tat system of justice where murdering one person will bring Peace. Jesus did not die for God to see the error of God's ways. Jesus did not die in order to appease an angry god. 

Jesus died for you and me. Humans demanded the death of Jesus. Humans demand a justice system of tit-for-tat where murdering one person will bring a "sense" of peace. Jesus died for us to see the errors of our ways. Jesus died in order to appease our anger, resentment and desire for resolution for our self-created scandals. 

So yes, Jesus did die for you, but not because diverted anger and wrath from us to Jesus. Jesus did not die for God, Jesus died for us, at our hands, for our own reasons, for our own purposes. 

The Good News is that in light of humanity saying no and killing Jesus, God said yes and resurrected Jesus. Regardless of why Jesus died, he did not remain dead. 

And neither will you.

God rejects sacrifice

Jonah is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I am proud of my religious tradition that in it's infancy it was the story of Jonah that the early Church elevated as a formative story. Not Moses. Not Isaiah. Not even the great Amos or David. It is the story of Jonah that we find carved in sarcophagus and on the walls of the early church meeting places.

Recently I re-read Jonah and lead a quick study on the book. There are many things that are worth elevating, and perhaps those will make an appearance on this site. But I want to share one insight that did not even dawn upon me until it just came out of my mouth the other night. I am sure that others smarter than me already knew this, but this insight is new to me. 

Jonah's name means "dove". Which is not that interesting on the surface, but when coupled with the idea that one of the most common animals sacrificed in the temple to "appease the gods" were doves, then we have something interesting. 

When the "dove" is thrown overboard and sacrificed to calm the storm, it is God who saves the "dove" from death by sending the great whale (big fish). Could it be that God is attempting to overthrow the sacrificial system? 

As the story moves along, the people of Nineveh are called to repent. We might expect the people of Nineveh to sacrifice animals to avoid the pending doom. But they don't. In fact all they do is put on sackcloth and cover themselves in ashes. They don't sacrifice a dove like the sailors did.

And then, the pending doom was not to be. The great city is not destroyed. 

Jonah is angry that this has happened. How could it be that God would forgive this city if they did not kill anything? How could God possibly forgive such sinners without the sacrifice of an animal (or for those who think Jesus was their sacrifice, remember Jesus was not around yet)?

The entire theological understanding of God that Jonah has is overturned. (Which may be what Jesus is trying to say when he overturns the tables that were in the temple selling sacrifices?)

“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt-offerings.”

— Hosea 6:6