Why Jesus had to die.

“Two things were necessary to restore the original order: the law had to be satisfied. The horror caused by a false judgment had to be made obvious to all. Reflected in a completely innocent man who was counted among the traitors for nothing and for no reason. God, who was accused of blasphemy ... How much more distant could we be from him in spiritual pride and self-righteousness?

 We had to and still have to see how much harm we can cause out of blindness and self-exaltation. In the crucifixion of Christ, who embodied nothing but pure life and hope, we recognize the entire rotten destruction that we cause in our zealous pursuit of power. Our behavior rightly provokes God's wrath; he is confronted with the destruction we produce instead of fulfilling our mission to spread Eden.

Second, a way had to be found to enable the complete restoration of the original plan in Eden and to overcome all distance.

The way to blessing and unhindered access to God as the source had to be freed again.

The curse of hybrid nature, the poison of supposed godlikeness, mistrust, and false accusations against God had to fall away from us and give way to the pure, reconciled spirit and our original purpose. For this, it was necessary that Satan was convicted of lies and presumption and would fall, so that the covenant once made with him would be invalid once and for all.

We recognize our own blindness, our own sin in the suffering of the Servant of God.

And nothing can relativize nor justify this cross, for the judgment on Christ cannot be whitewashed or justified by anything.

Jesus bore all the sins of mankind on the cross. He fulfilled the law completely: He

was the blameless man after God's own heart and showed us the way. He himself embodied

what it means to keep the commandments and what blessings and promises await us.

 And he fulfilled the curse on those who do not keep them – thereby freeing all

who are willing to accept his sacrifice for their freedom.

And then there was the eternal troublemaker.

Let us remember:

Satan planted doubt in us that God means well with us. He deliberately directed our gaze to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sowing the belief that God wants to keep us small. He whispered to us that we were only cheap gardeners who realized God's glory but had none of their own.

He made Adam believe that Eve was a mistake, that nakedness was shameful, and

that God's creation was therefore ridiculous. He offered us a path that was outside

God's plans: one that elevated us to God's level. He said that God knew that the

fruit of the knowledge of good and evil would make us equal to Him, that our judgment

would be as accurate as his. He promised us authority over angels, our own

worlds, independence from God. He said that we would suffer deprivation under

God's grace and that we had to be more than his gardeners, called to higher things. He

spoke of a petty, stingy, and controlling God who locked us up and withheld the best from us.

I ask quietly: When we look at the state of our souls, our hearts and our world today, was he right? Was it worth the price we paid for our supposed freedom and equality with God?

Jesus' victory over Satan on the cross is final and complete.

He defeated Satan in an overwhelmingly cunning and innocent way: Satan presumed to claim power, godliness, and position that did not belong to him? He, the most powerful, became the least. Satan outwitted people with an offer that brought them death?

 Jesus also had an outrageous offer to make; one that did not offer death, but eternal life. Satan had turned the images of God into caricatures of himself? Jesus would restore them, yes, even lead them to even greater glory as images of God: through him, they would be adopted, belong to God's family and reflect His glory. Satan had made Adam and Eve victims of a false assumption? He, Satan, would also become a victim of a false assumption,

a misjudgment that would break his neck: the accuser brought charges against

one who was sinless! Satan, who presumed infallibility, would have to recognize his error! It was too late for Adam and Eve when they recognized the deception? Satan would also only recognize his failure when it was too late!

And so Satan fell to his judgment: the proud defeated by the humble; the hate-filled

by boundless love, the accuser by grace and mercy. What Satan destroyed is restored a thousandfold by Jesus. All justified accusations against mankind have been paid for. Satan is exposed: as a deceiver, liar, and trickster.

Original sin is dissolved. Punishment and reward are replaced by chēsēd. Grace. It

is finished! And there is nothing more to add. That Satan still has a claim

on us or can bring charges against us for our sins: All of this is a lie. Whoever is saved in

Christ is free from the power of Satan. It is our decision how much of

this liberation we want to accept.

The reason why Jesus rose again after three days is that only those who

sin die. But since Jesus remained completely sinless, he rose again. And this

even though Satan did everything in his power to make Jesus' agony on the cross cause him to curse humanity after all. Jesus rose again with a completely healthy body,

which still showed the marks of his suffering, but was otherwise completely restored.

Why then did his disciples not recognize him?

What does a person look like when everything has fallen away? All pain, all darkness?

Every separation from God? What does a person look like who is completely free of fear, who has achieved victory? Who is completely restored? One with God, a perfect image, eternal, freed from death?

It is God's offer to us to find out, yes, to become such people.

And it is His promise that He who began the good work in us will also complete it.

.

That is the hope, that is the true promise of God: we will be completely restored.

 All darkness will fall away from us. All burdens. We will also receive a healthy, fresh, untouched earth. We will be without fear, connected to him. Jesus rose physically so that we would know: We too will not disappear, but live. Being transformed in Christ simply means that everything that oppresses us, all the wounds that are still there, all darkness will fall away from us. No heavenly spheres and eternal sitting on clouds; no! We will live, swim, dance, eat, celebrate. We will love, work, and bless. We will go to concerts and create art.

Welcome back to Eden! And yes, this offer is open to all people. However, they must accept it themselves."

Thank you, Jesus of Nazareth, jewish Messiah, uniquely Christ.

Excerpt from: Sibylle Töller: Hybrid Hearts. God's Call to Come Home.

Sibylle Töller: Hybride Herzen. Gottes Ruf, heimzukommen. Jetzt bei Amazon.

Worship: Fernando Ortega.

Photo: Wix.com