Why did Jesus die?
in Religion ·
Alex Ramos91 said:Look, let’s get one thing straight: Paul wasn't some outsider trying to dodge the "real" apostles. He didn't have anything to hide from them. He laid out the exact gospel he was preaching right to the Twelve, and they actually gave him the green light to take that message straight to the Gentiles. You can find the whole thing written out in the book of Galatians if you actually bother to read it. Plus, if you look at the Book of Acts, it's crystal clear—Paul kept the believers back in Jerusalem fully looped in on everything God was doing through him among the Gentiles, and they were right there celebrating God's work alongside him.
If you want undeniable proof that Paul and the other apostles were all on the exact same page, just look at what Peter wrote. He makes it crystal clear in his second letter—written right toward the end of his life:
"Think of the Lord’s patience as our path to salvation, just like it says. Seriously, you have to look at it that way. Our beloved brother Paul He just wrote whatever wisdom popped into his head that day. Just like that. To all the epistles! Where does it actually say that? Look, there’s stuff in those texts that’s just plain confusing. If you aren't careful, or if you're constantly jumping from one idea to the next without any backbone, it’s incredibly easy to twist those words out of context. I've seen it happen way too often. Just like all the other Letters. You're just asking for trouble. Seriously, you're heading straight for a disaster." (2.Peter's 2:15-16)
Look, Peter actually goes even further than that here—he’s basically putting Paul’s letters right up there in the same category as inspired Scripture (you know, the stuff they were counting as Old Testament at the time).
Look, Paul... 😛 Paul says that talking about the cross—about God's own Messiah dying such a shameful death—is a total stumbling block for the Jews. I mean, how can God’s perfect Anointed One be cursed? And honestly, looking at some of the Muslims in this group, they get just as offended by that message. Then you’ve got the Greeks. To them, the whole thing is just pure madness. With their obsession with philosophy, they basically laid the groundwork for Western civilization and everything we call "modern thought" today, yet even now, they still look at this story and see nothing but nonsense.
For those who actually have faith, talking about the Cross isn't just some religious ritual—it’s God's power in action. Period.
Look, I don't usually go around quoting the Bible in my posts, so bear with me while I get a little long-winded here. I just want you to truly grasp how much the Cross means to believers. Even Paul was fully aware of how scandalous and, frankly, "foolish" it seemed to the world. But that’s exactly the point—it highlights God's wisdom. It’s completely different from how we think; it’s unexpected and totally counterintuitive. If it were up to us, we’d probably just try to outsmart our way out of it.
Look, Christ didn't send me out there just to go around baptizing people—that’s not my job. My mission is to preach the Gospel. And I’m not doing it with some fancy, polished oratorical bullshit just to make sure nobody feels embarrassed by the idea of Christ's cross. Seriously. To the people who are headed straight for destruction, talking about the cross sounds like total madness. But for us? For those of us being saved? It’s the literal power of God. It’s written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the intelligence of the intellectuals." So, where are they now? Where’s all that self-proclaimed "wise" crowd? Where are the scholars and the academic experts trying to deconstruct everything? Hasn't God already made a fool out of the world's supposed brilliance? Honestly, it’s hilarious. When the world fails to know God through its own "intellect," God decides to use the seemingly foolish preaching of the Gospel to save believers. It’s a complete subversion of their logic. I mean, think about it. You have the Jews looking for specific signs and the Greeks chasing after philosophy and cleverness, right? And here we are, just preaching about a crucified Christ. To the Jews, it’s a stumbling block. To the outsiders, it looks insane. But to everyone called to Him—both Jew and Greek—it is the very power and wisdom of God. God’s "foolishness" is infinitely wiser than any human genius, and His weakness is a hell of a lot stronger than any human strength. As it says: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what has never entered the human heart, God has prepared for those who love Him."
God's wrath fell on Jesus, sure, but God's wrath is still hanging over this world today—it just shows up a little differently now. If you look at Romans 1, you see it manifests by God essentially letting people go their own way; He leaves those with hardened hearts who have zero love for the truth to follow their own paths, and eventually, they'll get exactly what they deserve based on those choices.
Yeah, the wrath fell on Jesus, but if we want to be spared from God's wrath ourselves, we have to "hide" under the protection of the cross, meaning we have to accept Jesus' sacrifice, experience personal forgiveness, and start a new relationship with God as a Father rather than a Judge. 🙂
Hardened hearts and no love for the truth? Wait, so does that mean someone who, say, converted to Islam because they genuinely believed it was the truth—is your God just going to toss them straight into hell?
It really makes you wonder why God allows thousands of different religions and cults to exist in the first place. How is anyone supposed to find the right path? Or is it all already decided—who’s headed for heaven and who’s heading for hell?