Killing God

Greetings to all.

We have come to the place in our story where Jesus dies.  This is an incredible moment, as one with all authority and all power, even power over death, is killed.  How can that happen?  How does one kill God? Let's look at Luke 23:44-46: 

44 From noon till about three, darkness covered all of the land, 45 as the sun failed to shine. The curtain in the temple was ripped in half. 46 Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” After saying this, he died.

This is a very momentous occasion, as the creator of the Universe allows himself to be killed by his own creation, and the Creation itself responds in sorrow. The Sun goes dark for three hours, failing to shine. This is a fulfillment of Amos 8:9: 

In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,

“I will make the sun go down at noon

   and darken the earth in broad daylight.”

Matthew records that in that moment the Earth shook, and rocks split in half. (Matt. 27:51.)

According to Darrell Bock, the darkness that comes over all the land is also a symbol of judgment.  He references Joel 2:31. "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” If this is a judgment against Israel for the death of Jesus, we do not see the sentence carried out until the destruction of Jerusalem forty years or so later. 

Attempts have been made to offer naturally occurring phenomena, like an eclipse, to explain the darkening of the Sun.  I would have to admit that an eclipse at the exact moment of Jesus’ crucifixion is, in and of itself, a startling coincidence.  However, it is not recorded as an eclipse.  I am sure that the Roman world knew what an eclipse was, and would have recorded as such. 

The Creation responds to the death of Jesus, and so does the Temple, the dwelling place of God. The Temple's curtain was torn into two pieces.  The tearing of the curtain is also quite possibly a symbol of the judgment that has come upon Israel.  The temple would no longer be the center of God’s activity, and like Jerusalem, would eventually be destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, never to return.  However, the tearing of the Temple curtain can be in a different, more pleasant light. It can also be seen as symbolic of a new open communication with God.  Entrance into the most sacred space in the Temple no longer requires a preist.  That privlege is now open to all. 

Jesus then commits his spirit to his Father and dies. Only Luke shares these words as Jesus last.  “Father into your hands I entrust my spirit.”  John mentions Jesus saying, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

Here is a question to consider. How do you kill God?  We have established throughout this study of Luke that Jesus is the Son of Man and has all power and authority. His authority extends over even death.  So then, how can he be killed?  He can only be killed if he allows it to happen. His enemies may have thought that they had acheived some kind of victory, but they had not.  They had merely done what Jesus had led them to do, and had predicted several times that they would do.  

I cannot adequately explain why it was necessary that God decide that Jesus must die on the Cross so that we can be forgiven.  However, that was the decision that was made, and now Jesus has made it happen.  Even though he had all authority, he chose to submit to another authority for a moment and allowed himself to be killed.