Why is Christ's death considered a sacrifice?

[Undeceived]

True story:

Moses Mendelssohn was far from handsome. In fact, he had a grotesque humpback. One day he visited a merchant in Hamburg who had a very lovely daughter. Moses fell hopelessly in love with her. But the girl was repulsed by his misshapen appearance.

When it came time for him to leave, Moses gathered all his courage and went up to the young lady to speak to her. She was truly beautiful. However, she wouldn't even look at him. After several attempts at conversation, Moses shyly asked, "Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?"

"Yes," she answered, looking down at the floor. "And do you?"

"Yes, I do," he replied. "You see, in heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the Lord added, "But your bride will be humpbacked.

Right then and there he called out, 'Oh, Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.'"

The girl looked up into his eyes. She reached out and gave him her hand. Later she became his devoted wife.

Mendelssohn was just expressing his love, but he paints a picture of Jesus' feelings for us.

"It was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured. He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins. Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole. By his wounds we were healed.'" (Isaiah 53:4-5)

[Minimalist]

Mara Ben Serapion

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicen...f_Serapion

Or the Jews by the murder of their Wise King, seeing that from that very time their kingdom was driven away from them?

In 37 BC, Antigonus II, the last Hasmonean king of Judaea was killed by some combination of Herod and/or Mark Antony. This was the end of any sort of independent Judaean kingdom and the beginning of about 140 years of rule by one Herodian monarch or another under the tutelage of Rome. The Jews did resist with Parthian help but were overcome. Their "kingdom" was thus "driven away."

For with justice did God grant a recompense to the wisdom of all three of them. For the Athenians died by famine; and the people of Samos were covered by the sea without remedy; and the Jews, brought to desolation and expelled from their kingdom, are driven away into every land.

This last effectively rules out the 73 AD date as the jews were not dispersed at the end of the Great Revolt but rather at the end of the bar Kochba revolt in 135.

[Ryantology]

Oooh, let's hear the Legend of the Wandering Jew next. I love myths.

[Undeceived]

Mara Ben Serapion

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicen...f_Serapion

Or the Jews by the murder of their Wise King, seeing that from that very time their kingdom was driven away from them?

In 37 BC, Antigonus II, the last Hasmonean king of Judaea was killed by some combination of Herod and/or Mark Antony. This was the end of any sort of independent Judaean kingdom and the beginning of about 140 years of rule by one Herodian monarch or another under the tutelage of Rome. The Jews did resist with Parthian help but were overcome. Their "kingdom" was thus "driven away."

Perhaps a more understandable translation is

What advantage did the Athenians gain from putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as a judgment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king? It was just after that that their kingdom was abolished.

So, according to Mara Ben Serapion, the Jews killed their "king", not Mark Antony.

For with justice did God grant a recompense to the wisdom of all three of them. For the Athenians died by famine; and the people of Samos were covered by the sea without remedy; and the Jews, brought to desolation and expelled from their kingdom, are driven away into every land.

This last effectively rules out the 73 AD date as the jews were not dispersed at the end of the Great Revolt but rather at the end of the bar Kochba revolt in 135.

Do you mean thoroughly dispersed? Because, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsou...spora.html

[Minimalist]

No I meant EXPELLED from Judaea which is what Hadrian ordered.

Following the battle of Bethar, there were a few small skirmishes in the Judean Desert Caves, but the war was essentially over and Judean independence was lost. The Romans plowed Jerusalem with a yoke of oxen. Jews were sold into slavery and many were transported to Egypt. Judean settlements were not rebuilt. Jerusalem was turned into a pagan city called Aelia Capitolina and the Jews were forbidden to live there. They were permitted to enter only on the 9th of Av to mourn their losses in the revolt. Hadrian changed the country’s name from Judea to Syria Palestina.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsou...volt1.html


Herod couldn't take a dump without Mark Antony's permission. When Antony was defeated Herod scurried to Octavian willingly kissing the new ass presented to him.

Nonetheless, in the aftermath of the Great Revolt:

After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai moved the Sanhedrin to Yavne. Some scholars believe the so-called Council of Yavne met there. The Sanhedrin left Yavne for Usha in 80 CE and returned in 116 CE.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yavne

Yavne was only about 40 miles from Jerusalem. They didn't have to go very far.