Continued from Chapter 22b
Exalted, lifted up, very high
Rewarding the servant: The servant is to be raised to a higher position in the estimation of those who were previously appalled at the sight of him.
Does “He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high” refer to Jesus’ alleged rewards after death in heaven and on earth?
Some Christians believe that the meaning of these words is to be found in Philippians 2:5-11, which speaks of Jesus’ supposed exaltation in heaven and on earth following his death. But why should such a divine creature receive a reward for doing what he was programmed to do from the very start? If he was one-third of God or some sort of a supernatural being makes no difference. Jesus is portrayed unlike a mere human who has free will and is capable of making the wrong choices and sinning. The Gospels’ Jesus had no choice but to do as he was programmed to do. In fact, no matter what the temptation placed before the New Testament’s Jesus he could not sin, he had no free will. The New Testament’s Jesus could not deviate from the alleged preordained divine program.
Unlike a martyr who has no firsthand knowledge of what to expect for his sacrifice, Jesus, it is said, did have that firsthand knowledge. If Jesus knew where he came from and he knew where he was going, and if he knew exactly what his rewards would be for his obedience to the will of God he sacrificed nothing.
The rest of the story
The fact is that Jesus’ death through crucifixion was no remedy for sin. He did not die in man’s place; his death was not a ransom price paid for all eternity. His death was no sacrifice. Jesus’ death was the means by which the New Testament says he obtained great rewards for himself of which he was fully aware they would be his if he allowed himself to be executed (Philippians 2:7-11). Jesus sacrificed absolutely nothing if he was a supernatural being. He knew what his mission on earth was, he knew that his was a temporary death (John 10:17), he knew he would be restored to life with an in tacked body, and he knew he was to be well rewarded for allowing himself to be executed. As an equal member of the supposedly triune god he rewarded himself for his troubles.
Did the Jesus of Christian theology have free will and could he sin?
Jesus is described as lacking a basic human characteristic — free will. Where there is no free will being sinless is no problem. Free will is an innate quality of the human species not a consequence of a sin nature. The presence of free will allows for one to make decisions — right or wrong. Adam and Eve possessed free will prior to eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Their choice to partake of its fruit was a free will decision. Their sin was disobedience to God’s instruction. Their ability to choose between obedience and disobedience indicates the presence of free will. Whether the Jesus of the Gospels was tempted at various points in his life is not the issue. It is said that Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). John said about Jesus: “In him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Hebrews states that in his alleged post-resurrection state Jesus is “a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26), but we are here concerned with him while alive. There are two specific issues involved.
- If Jesus did not sin, why did he not sin?
- If Jesus did not sin, was he truly human?
The New Testament envisions Jesus as a supernatural being who could not sin. Then again it is said that because Jesus was a man, he could be tempted — but because he was God he could not sin. A temptation might be genuine, in that it has an enticement factor. But one man’s temptation leaves another indifferent. It is not simply ability to be tempted that is of concern, but what one’s response to that temptation is. According to the New Testament, Jesus was tempted (Satan’s temptation — Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13) but without free will being part of his nature he had no choice but to reject Satan’s offer.
Jesus could experience genuine temptations being offered to him, but he would not be tempted to give into them. Jesus allegedly had no ability to even consider the temptation because as a supposed divine entity he could not sin. That being the case, his physical body might appear to be human but his humanity was deficient in his ability to make free will decisions. Without free will Jesus was not in a significant sense a true human being.
Continued
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