Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?

What is a Eastern perspective?

Danielwright2311 said:

What is a Eastern perspective?

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Eastern Orthodox. This is the Eastern Orthodox forum.

PloverWing said:

Eastern Orthodox. This is the Eastern Orthodox forum.

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Ok, I see, thanks.

one reason is when you love someone you identify with them at their lowest level. for a first century Jew, there was nothing lower than to be illegally killed in the prime of your life, with no kids or money, outside of the city by Gentiles, mocked and beaten, abandoned by your people, and by being hung from a tree.

not to mention crucifixion was arguably the most painful way to die.

It was necessary that Jesus (God) die, and in so doing defeat death, which was the ultimate result of man's sin. So that we can live forever, as God intended.

Our brokeness demanded it...

Jesus had to die publicly, so that there was absolutely no question of the fact that He did actually die, so that when He rose from the dead we could be confident of the fact that He had conquered death.

I cant answer from an Eastern perspective.. But there are a few ways to look at it. From the socio-political, his talk of a kingdom seed be a threat to the Roman authorities and his flaunting of strict laws a threat to the Jewish authorities.

At another level perhaps there was some larger cosmic work being done...some kind of moral discharge.

At yet another level, one could not think of a greater love and moral example to endure all that and remain faithful t ideals.

From a non-Eastern perspective.... a friend of mine and a mentor has a teaching he called, "The Gospel on LSD." He was known for his nifty titles. Essentially, he taught that a Life of Sin equals Death (LSD). And since that is a fact, then the opposite should bring about life. So the opposite of life is death, the opposite of sin is perfection, and the opposite of death is life. So the death of perfection would bring life. And that is what Jesus did and was... perfection put to death and whereas the grave was designed for sin and death, it was not designed for perfection thus He rose and in doing so earned the right to perfect whoever and whatever he pleases.

Christ’s Descent into Hades – icon explanation


This is one of my favorite Eastern Orthodox icons. It is referred to as Christ’s Descent into Hades, Anastasis or Resurrection Icon. It is the primary icon of Pascha (Easter).


Some key features:

• Christ’s cape/robe is flowing upward, this symbolizes his radical descent into Hades to save those who have died in the flesh.
• The golden bars by his feet are the gates of Hades, which he has broken and torn apart. There are keys floating in the abyss below, which symbolizes that he has entered and conquered both death and Hades.
• You may also note the skeletal figure who is chained up: that is Death and/or Satan. He has been bound and killed by Christ, which is why all throughout Pascha we sing “Christ has trampled down death by death.” The icon depicts Hebrews 2:14, “that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” The power of the devil and death have been destroyed through the life-giving death of our Savior.
• The two figures whom Christ has grasped and is pulling from tombs are Adam and Eve, symbolizing that his victory redeems all mankind, even back to the beginning. It also foreshadows the general resurrection of the body before the Final Judgment.
• To the left, we see three characters: David and Solomon, two of his ancestors according to his fleshly nature. We also see, closest to him, John the Baptizer, who was his forerunner in both life and death.
• The figures on the right vary from icon to icon, but usually represent Old Testament prophets and saints such as Moses, Able as a shepherd, and the three youths who were thrown into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). - Christ’s Descent into Hades – icon explanation

Notice also that Christ is pulling Adam and Eve from Hades by the wrists. It is all Christ's doing. Adam and Eve have no power to pull themselves out.

ArmyMatt said:

one reason is when you love someone you identify with them at their lowest level. for a first century Jew, there was nothing lower than to be illegally killed in the prime of your life, with no kids or money, outside of the city by Gentiles, mocked and beaten, abandoned by your people, and by being hung from a tree.

not to mention crucifixion was arguably the most painful way to die.

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I love this explanation about the role of the cross, can I use it somewhere else Father?

David Cabrera said:

I love this explanation about the role of the cross, can I use it somewhere else Father?

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sure, I didn't come up with it.

Markie Boy said:

can anyone describe why Jesus had to die, and how that fits into our salvation?

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ArmyMatt said:

one reason is when you love someone you identify with them at their lowest level.

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I thought you were going to say that we were at our lowest level, in sin, and so Jesus loved us by going to the cross where we deserved to be.

But then you said:

for a first century Jew, there was nothing lower than to be illegally killed in the prime of your life, with no kids or money, outside of the city by Gentiles, mocked and beaten, abandoned by your people, and by being hung from a tree.

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So, I guess you mean something else.

But this is good to feed on . . . how we can love like Jesus has done, by meeting people where they are, yet not joining in their sinning.

In any case, it seems Jesus did that partly in order to be our example of how to love > Ephesians 5:2.

Markie Boy said:

From an Eastern perspective, can anyone describe why Jesus had to die, and how that fits into our salvation?

If anyone had an AFR link to something on this would be great too!

Thank you

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-Obedience to the father
-To serve as a perfect sacrifice for the sin of the world
-Defeat death

I love what Fr. Matt wrote.

Markie Boy said:

One of the things I was wondering on is the Western way of thinking often is about paying debts - the "Jesus paid a debt he didn't owe, because we owed a debt we couldn't pay" line of thought.

That leads at times to the idea of "Faith Alone" - Jesus paid for my sins I don't have to do anything.

But Romans 4:25 says it was necessary for Him to be raised for our justification.

I am thinking out loud here - was Jesus death and resurrection more so we might truly believe, his ultimate miracle to show us who He is - than it is to simply pay a debt so now we can walk around like we are debt free, and care free?

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Christ's death and resurrection were to destroy death and restore us to life. I am sure that a lot believed because of it, but that's not the main purpose.