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Answer: Verse 8, a statement made by the enemies of
the suffering servant of the Lord, shows that Jesus
could not be the suffering servant.
Christians allege that Jesus suffered as atonement
for mankind's sins. It would appear from the New Testament
that Jesus became flesh and blood, that is, a human
being, in order to pay the ransom for sins and bring
redemption through blood sacrifice as required by the
Law of Moses. For example, Paul writes in Colossians,
"we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins" (1:14) and "through the blood of his cross"
(1:20) and "in the body of his flesh through death,
to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable
in his sight" (1:22). He also states, "But now, in Christ
Jesus, you who sometimes were far off are made close
by the blood of' Christ" (Ephesians 1:13). Thus, it
is alleged that "the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5)
suffered as atonement for mankind's sins through the
shedding of the human blood of his human flesh. It is
not his alleged divinity that was supposedly sacrificed
but his humanity.
This presents a problem for Psalms 49:8 (verse 7 in
some versions) declares, "No man can by any means redeem
his brother, or give to God a ransom for him." Yet,
it is precisely through his humanity that Jesus would
have to offer himself as a redemption or ransom. Are
the psalmist's words "no man can by any means" confined
solely to ordinary man? If Jesus was fully human while
still allegedly being divine, then he was a man in every
way understood within the context of the psalm. Then,
in no way can he redeem mankind or give himself to God
as a ransom for mankind through the means of his human
nature or his supposed divine nature. |