Was Jesus Sent to be Crucified?

 

 
Was Jesus Sent to be Crucified?
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One of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity is that Jesus had
died and allowed for the shedding of his blood for the sake of
granting forgiveness to people. In other words Jesus had died
on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Let us investigate this
topic from the Bible, and find out whether Jesus was sent to be
crucified or that he was crucified:
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1. Willingness of Jesus Christ to Die for Our Sins: 
 

Peter and the two sons of Zebedee were with Jesus Christ before
the elders of the people and the chief priests came to take him
to crucify him. Jesus at this point talked to Peter and the two
sons of Zebedee as in Matthew 26:38 "Then saith he
unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry
ye here, and watch with me." Then Jesus went a little
further way from them and prayed to God as in Matthew 26:39 "And
he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying,
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless
not as I will, but as thou wilt."

It is very clear from the above verse in Matthew 26:39 that Jesus
had no intention of dying. In this verse it is shown that Jesus
was praying strongly (Matthew mentions that Jesus repeated these
prayer three time) to have this death removed from him. Had Jesus
Christ been sent to be crucified he would not have hesitated to
be killed at all. When I relate this to my Christian brothers,
they tell me that this hesitation comes from the flesh side of
him (in other words he was tempted), and that his soul which is
godly does not have this hesitation at all. When we look at Matthew
26:38 we see that Jesus is contradicting this idea by saying,
"My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death."
(Matthew 26:38). He himself says that it really his soul that
is hesitating and not his body. These are Jesus' own words.
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2. God Answered the prayers of Jesus Christ: 
 

After Jesus made the above mentioned prayer he was answered by
God according to Hebrews 5:7 "Who in the days of his
flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong
crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death,
and was heard in that he feared." These words clearly
show that when Jesus was praying strongly to God, God would grant
him his request. The word "heard in that he feared"
(Hebrews 5:7) mean that God granted him what he requested. So
the above verse shows that when Jesus asked of God to "let
this cup pass from" (Matthew 26:39) him, God respond
to his prayer and saved him from death or crucifixion.
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3. The Post Crucifixion Prophesied Events never happened:

 

When the people were asking Jesus Christ if he was going to show
them a sign, He replied by saying that the only sign that they
should expect is the sign of Jonas. Jesus also made sure to specify
what exactly this sign was. The details are shown in the following
verses:

Matthew 12:38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees
answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
 

Matthew 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil
and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall
no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
 

Matthew 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights
in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus here emphasized what will happen to him by specifically
saying that he will be like Jonas in terms of the number of days
and nights he will be in the heart of the earth, "
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly;
so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40). Now let us
see if this prophecy came to pass.

Jesus was crucified on Friday, this is certainly known among all
Christians, and that is the reason for calling that Friday by
"Good Friday". Jesus was buried on Friday night. Now
let us start counting:

  »  Friday night Jesus was buried. This is night number 1.
  »  Saturday day Jesus was still in the grave. This is day number
1.
  »  Saturday night Jesus was still in the grave. This is night
number 2.

 

Mary Magdalene, very early in the morning before sun rise and
after the Sabbath (Saturday), went to the see Jesus, and he was
not there. The following verses relate this event:

Mark 16:1 And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene,
and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices,
that they might come and anoint him.

Mark 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of
the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
 

Mark 16:3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll
us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

Mark 16:4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone
was rolled away: for it was very great.

Mark 16:5  And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young
man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment;
and they were affrighted.

Mark 16:6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye
seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is
not here: behold the place where they laid him.

The number of days and nights that Jesus had spent in the heart
of the earth is 1 day and 2 nights. This clearly challenges what
Jesus had prophesied. When I tell this to my Christian brothers,
some of them responded by saying that what Jesus wanted to really
say was that he will be gone for a while, and not that he will
be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
This is clearly not the case. Had Jesus meant that, he would have
said it, but it is clear that he wanted the people to know that
this was a sign (miracle) and that it will be like Joans' sign,
and that he will be in the heart of the earth for three days and
three nights. These were his own words.
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Why Would Jesus Have to Die on the Cross? 
 

According to the Christian doctrine, Jesus died on the cross as
a sacrifice for our sins. The idea here is that every human is
born with sins, or that all humans will sin, and therefore it
was necessary that someone as pure as Jesus would be the crucified
to nullify these sins. The question is; why does anyone have to
die for our sins when God, the All-Merciful, could as easily give
us forgiveness if we ask for it? Isn't God the one who makes the
rules? Why does He have to make someone suffer for our sins or
for someone else's sins? Isn't that unjust of Him? According to
the Bible the way to redemption could be obtained without the
need for sacrifice. The Bible says:

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son
shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father
bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous
shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
him.

Ezekiel 18:21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins
that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that
which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not
die.

Clearly the soul that sins shall die. Clearly that no one shall
bear the iniquity (sins) of others. So Jesus cannot bear the sins
of others either. If one is righteous then it shall be upon him,
and if one commits a sin then it shall be upon him, and not on
Jesus. Finally, the way to repentance and forgiveness is by turning
from all sins, doing what is right, and keeping the commandments.

Also we see the same message given by Solomon. He says in the
book of Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Let us hear the conclusion
of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for
this is the whole duty of man." This is the whole
message, and this is the conclusion of messages. It is that one
should fear God, and keep the commandments, and nothing else.

Again in 2 Chronicles 7:14  "If my people, which are
called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek
my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
 This clearly states that to seek forgiveness from God we have
to humble ourselves, pray and seek God, and turn away from wickedness.

Finally the Bible says in Samuel 15:22 "And Samuel
said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better
than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
This clearly states that obeying God is better that sacrifice
whether this sacrifice is of objects, animals, or humans, or any
other type. What God likes is for us to heed and obey Him, and
if that is what God likes then it is not of Him to come later
and change his mind, and change his ways. God says in the Holy
Quran, "Verily God is All-Knowing, All-Wise"
(Ch 9: Vr 28).

Now that we have seen this, Christians say that Jesus has changed
some of these laws. Let's look at what Jesus says. In Matthew
5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law,
or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
Jesus clearly states that he was not sent to abolish the
law, the law of which had already existed. So what is mentioned
above cannot be discounted. Then Jesus continues to say, in Matthew
5:18 and 19 "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven
and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from
the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break
one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall
be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall
do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom
of heaven." Jesus here states that not even as much
as a dot (tittle) shall not pass from the law. Every thing is
kept the way it was. That is why the previous laws cannot be removed
or discarded, and those who willfully change these laws "he
shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven."