QUESTION:

Doesn’t it bother you when people say that God came down to sacrifice himself to himself to save us from himself? How do you explain that in a way that makes sense? Do you admit the statement is true? People are supposed to believe a story like that, when it is said like that?

Answer:

No it does not bother me at all. However, I will confess that, on the face of it, the idea of the “Trinity” is not “logical” could be bothersome to those who do not fully understand it. In John 1:1 it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was God. Later in John 1:14 it says that “The Word of God became flesh and dwelled for a while among us. We beheld his glory, the glory of the one and only Son of God. The idea that Jesus was the “Son of God” and that he came in the flesh and lived among humans is hard to accept, at first. But then I look at the miracles Jesus did, such as feeding thousands of people with food he created out of nothing (John 6), and walking on water, and raising the dead (John 11), healing the blind and deaf and, finally being resurrected from the dead, and I am forced to listen to what he had to say. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” and then just a few minutes later raised Lazarus form the dead in front of hundreds of eye-witnesses (John 11). Jesus fed more than 5000, and later said that he is the bread of life (John 6). This forces me to pay attention to what he said. When I read the book of John, I was forced to consider this man, Jesus Christ who even his enemies admitted was an amazing man.

Then, when I started to read the Bible and read the prophecies in the Old Testament of the Messiah I was forced to accept that Jesus is who he said he is. In Psalm 22, it is predicted that the Messiah would be crucified. In Zechariah 11 it is prophesied that he would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver. In Micah 5 it is predicted that he would be born in Bethlehem. In Zechariah 9:9 it is also prophesied that he would ride into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. In Daniel 9 it is prophesied that he would die and bring salvation to mankind in about the year AD 30. All of this and many more combines to make be accept that he is who he said he is. He is saviour and Lord. He is the source of truth and of life (John 14:6). At this point, although it is still not completely “logical” to me that God would send his Son to die and take the just penalty for my sin, I am forced to accept what Jesus said.

By the way, the Father did not sacrifice the Father to save us from the Father. The Son offered himself as a sacrifice to the Father to save us from just judgment for our actions. So, the statement is not true. Still, I can see why you (or someone else who you read) put it the way you did. I believe that if you are willing to spend the time go get to know what Jesus did, what he taught and to consider his fulfillment of the Old Testament and your question will find a reasonable answer. I hope this helps.

John Oakes