Challenge Response: Jesus Was Only Dead for Three Days

Here is my answer to this week's challenge: 

 

Since the audio turned out so poorly, here is a brief sketch of my answer: 

THE CHALLENGE

A = length of sinner’s death

B = length of redeemer’s death

A = B?

THE ALLEGED PROBLEM

Since punishment for one is eternal, should punishment for the other be eternal? If not, is justice satisfied? Was Jesus' death insufficient?

THE ANSWER

#1 – No, A does not equal B. 

• There is a similarity in talking about length of death for “sinners” (A) and the “redeemer” (B), but that's as far as the similarity goes
• But there are two huge differences between A and B:

1. The nature of the being
2. The moral status of the being

#2 – The duration of a punishment does not determine its degree of severity. 

• Example: Parent who spanks vs. time-out
• Example: Criminal who is given 15 years vs. death penalty
• The death of Jesus—God incarnate, holy and innocent—seems to be an event that far outweighs our eternal punishment.

# 3 – But moreover, what satisfies God? 

• Propitiation = appeasement by an offering
• He is the Moral Law Giver and the Just Judge.  He gets to set the terms.
• It’s not the offering that is most important, it’s the Offerer.  Only God can satisfy His own wrath and justice.  And He does so out of His great love for broken and corrupt creatures like you and me!

Comments

[Neil Mammen]

I like to put it this way:

"The infinite punishment of a finite being is provided ample justification by the finite punishment of an infinite being."

[dave]

It was the blood of Christ that appeased God’s wrath in our behalf. His time in the tomb proved that He actually died, and His resurrection proved that He was sinless; else He would have remained dead.
Moreover, God credited His perfect obedience to our account, the same way He credited Adam’s sin to our account, making us born sinners in the first place.
The justice of God demanded the shedding of blood that only Jesus could provide in order to save us.