Why Yeshua Had To Die (A Kabbalistic Perspective)

For a long time I've asked the asked the question "Why did Yeshua have to die?" Several attempts have been made by various people to answer this question. He had to die to fulfill justice because the wages of sin is death. Or because He walked through the pieces in the Covenant with Abraham and we broke that Covenant. Or in order to remarry Israel after God said her away with a bill of divorcement.

Central to my worldview is the Sovereignty of God. He is the Creator of heaven and earth, the Most High King. He is not bound by any law or any human understanding. We talk of free will--if we who are made in the image of God have any sort of free will, how much more does God who brought forth the heavens from nothing? So, by very definition, I start to have a problem when anyone says "God must do such and such."

The anti-missionaries frequently make the argument that God does not require a sacrifice for atonement--and rightly so. There are numerous examples in Scripture where God forgives without sacrifice. Ezekiel 18 is a favorite. More to the point, why should God be restricted in how He extends forgiveness? Did not God write the Torah and establish the principles of justice? If He did declare that a sacrifice is required, why?

This is where I want to offer some thoughts inspired by the kabbalistic understanding of sacrifice. This won't provide a satisfactory answer to the question of why Yeshua had to die, but I think it will shed some light onto why God may have chosen this method of atonement. To be sure, this is simply one understanding--by no means do I claim it to be the understanding.

The kabbalists cite two reasons for the sacrifices. The first is to move the heart to repentance. The act of shedding the blood of this innocent animal shows the gravity of sin and the importance of walking in God's Torah. This same concept can apply to Yeshua. In order to keep a consistent message, God has to show that sin is not a trivial matter that can simply be winked away. The idea that sin must be punished is not an arbitrary justice system, but rather a disciplinary teaching to keep our eyes on the path--to instill in our hearts how important it is to fear God.

How does one reconcile disciplinary justice with mercy? In the TNK, we see several examples of this. Sometimes the punishment is lessened or delayed. For example, when Moses pleads for Israel over the golden calf, God extends mercy but still promises to visit their iniquity upon them at a later date. The sacrificial system is another example, where unintentional sin is forgiven on the basis of repentance and sacrifice. It is said that a piece of our animal soul is placed on the altar with the sacrifice. It is after this pattern that the sacrifice of Yeshua follows. Mercy was extended, but in order to preserve disciplinary justice and show that sin is no trivial matter, God offered up His Son as payment. But this is only meaningful if we do as Paul said and die to ourselves in Yeshua--if we place a part of our soul upon that cross so that our hearts may be moved to repentance. Otherwise, it is to us as the vain offerings that Isaiah speaks of and we find ourselves guilty of trampling upon the blood of Yeshua. I will return to this idea of dying with Messiah, but first let's go on to the second principle.

It seems the kabbalists are never satisfied with such a simple explanation as that put forward above, so they also claim that through sacrifice the soul of the animal is elevated in holiness. I find this curious because we find exactly the same idea being taught about Yeshua. In the last section of Isaiah 53 we find that because the suffering servant poured himself to death for his people, he earned himself a position of honor. This is echoed in Revelation 5:9-10 where it is stated that only the Lamb is worthy to open the scroll, not simply because of who He is, but because of what He did on the cross. This is the kabblistic principle that to go up you must first go down, to become refined you must pass through fire.

In doing so, Yeshua set an example for us. Over and over, Yeshua taught an upside down Kingdom where the one who would be first must make himself last, the one who would be greatest must make himself a servant, the one who would save his life must lose it. The one who will be a part of the Resurrection of Messiah must take part in His death. This is the command to take up our cross daily, deny ourselves, and follow Him.

One of the fundamental misunderstandings of Christ's atonement that I frequently see is that "Christ died for my sin so I don't have to." While in a sense this is true--He did take away the full punishment of sin--it is incomplete for we are still required to die to self. Romans 6:3, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" This is where other explanations for Yeshua's atoning sacrifice fall short and why I think the ideas presented here are important. The matter is not purely academic; there are practical implications. If Yeshua was simply a substitute, then what is our role? But if He was also the firstfruits, the forerunner setting the example for us all, then it is for us to follow in His footsteps--Fearing God and denying our own selfish desires; taking on the form of a servant that we might be raised with Him in glory.

Puzzle Pieces

I've heard it said that each of us holds a piece to the puzzle. I believe that each of us *is* a piece to the puzzle. Torah is all about bringing those pieces together, about teaching us to look outside ourselves and create real connections with other human beings.

The adversary opposes this. He will tell you that you stand alone as the whole in yourself. Or that you are misshapen and unfit for the Creator's masterpiece. He will try to force you into holes that you do not fit to dishearten you. He will point out how different everyone else is and tell you that they must conform or that you must conform. He works with fear and pride--fear that you are mangled and do not belong; pride that you exist for yourself or as head of the puzzle. This is the lie.

Torah teaches us to Shema, to listen. To hear another for who they really are, to understand them. To walk in their shoes as Messiah walked in ours. To identify with their struggle, their pain, their joy, and their dreams. That means that sometimes we have to be still and listen. We have to stop talking like we know it all and admit that we can never completely understand the journey of another. We have to stop judging each other because we do not look alike, do not act alike, do not believe alike. The truth is that each one of us has a unique role in the story that our Creator is painting across the canvas of life--a role inseparable from the lives of others.

Torah is about relationship. The opposite of Torah is self-centeredness. Torah is about reaching out, courageously taking the hand of another and recognizing the signature of divine within that person. This is love.