Washed in the Blood of Jesus

It is almost Easter. Now we focus on the turning point in human history according to Christianity. This being the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Without it, Christianity would not exist. Yet, let's be real, it is troubling to say the very least.


This post will deal with controversial issues. I'm not doing it to offend or cause anybody pain. Rather, I'm wishing to address something that is troubling for most people. Was the crucifixion necessary? To many Christians this is a silly question. The answer is an easy "yes". For me, it is not so simple. Perhaps it is not so simple for you either.

People who say that Jesus came to earth for the sole purpose of being crucified for our sins believe that this was all planned by God from the very beginning. They say that God requires a blood sacrifice in order to forgive humanity. I ask you. Does that make sense? I say "no". God did not send Jesus to be tortured to death. God does not require blood to be shed in order to forgive human beings.

Psalm 50:13-15 records God speaking these words: "Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."

If God does not eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats, one can pretty much rest assured that God does not eat the flesh of people or drink the blood of mortals. Of course, it is easy to find scripture that counters what I'm saying. People can toss scripture at each other all day long and still not resolve the issue. Ultimately this comes down to using our heads and hearts to discern God's nature.


There are many things in life that we cannot choose, but we can choose our beliefs. We can challenge beliefs that were handed to us and find them unsatisfactory. It is important to take our choice of beliefs seriously. Beliefs affect action.

Look throughout the history of Christianity. Like an old apple, it has many bad spots. "Christian nations" were more than happy to go to war with people who had differences of opinion regarding religion. (Of course, they would have found another reason for war had religion not been the issue.) If one believes that God will only forgive humanity by having a person (his son according to Christian story-telling) tortured to death, then they believe humanity is essentially evil. This makes it pretty easy to kill others.

I'm going to state it clearly and boldly. Human beings are not essentially evil. We are created in the image of the Creator!

There is another problem with the crucifixion. When we look to it as a model for behavior we encourage people to roll over and accept being victims of violence. This is toxic in homes where domestic violence is a demonic presence. Frankly, I'm not even for pacifism. Let us not choose violence. Let us not choose to commit acts of violence. Further, let us not choose to be passive victims of violence. There have been too many martyrs throughout history. It is time we said, "No more!".

Don't get me wrong. The crucifixion and resurrection are central to my faith. On the cross Jesus suffered because of humanity's evil toward humanity. In that sense he took our sins upon himself. I don't believe he had to be crucified, but he was. The part that brings tears to my eyes is what is connected to the cross - RESURRECTION. God said NO to death. God said NO to sin. God said YES to life. God said YES to humanity. God still does. Gods says YES to you and to me. Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. AMEN.