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Scripture: John 19:33-34
33 But when they came to Jesus and
found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a
sudden flow of blood and water.
Many people are
understandably uncomfortable with the bloodiness of the crucifixion.
Specifically, theologians have grappled with the fact that the Father demanding
that the Son undergo such a gruesome experience makes the Father into a
monster, demanding the torture and anguish of the Son in propitiation for the
sins of humanity. Certainly, if the passion and crucifixion of Jesus of
Nazareth was nothing more than a means of satisfying the Father’s need for
blood to be shed, this would be deeply disturbing. However, a different
perspective can be taken to this.
The world is a bloody place.
Not a day goes by in which the news does not relate of some atrocity or tragedy
that has resulted in the often gruesome deaths of innocent people. Bombs fall
on civilians, children in their homes are shot accidentally in the midst of
gang conflicts, murders, suicides, and torture abound. The sin behind this
spilling of blood is truly monstrous. It leads people of all stations, ages,
races, and religions to a terrible end and seems to attest to the fact that
might ultimately triumphs over life. Life cannot withstand the violent assault
– it must spill its blood and admit defeat.
God offers a different view
of this in Leviticus 17:11: “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I
have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the
blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” The shedding of blood, stated God,
was for the atonement of those who had sinned. The one killed carries the
ultimate power of testifying for the redemption of the killer. This is the
context in which Jesus suffered and died: He was not seeking to satiate a
bloodthirsty God, he was voluntarily allowing his innocent blood to be spilled
that he might claim the authority to forgive those who had transgressed the
will of God. Moreover, in claiming the role of the victim, Jesus was empowering
every victim of violence to stand over his or her killers with the power of
forgiveness. Victims no longer, they hold the destiny of their killers in their
hands and can offer them peace through their blood.
God’s demand for the blood
of Christ was not to fill the divine desire for blood, but to declare the
bleeding ones as the ultimate victors over those who made them bleed.
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