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1. Introduction to Jesus and NDEs
The following are some of the important insights concerning Jesus from many near-death accounts and my own research concerning the NDE and the Christian connection to it. There are many interesting experiences with Jesus from NDEs and many insights concerning him within them. Some of these experiences are humorous and all of them profound. There are many different descriptions of the appearance of Jesus which is because, as one person put it, Jesus appears to us in a way that we can recognize him. You will find all the various descriptions of Jesus from NDE accounts on this website. You will find interesting quotes and NDE insights concerning Jesus.
2. NDE encounters with Jesus
The following is a list of some very interesting encounters with Jesus that near-death experiencers had during their NDE:
(1) Jesus rescued a man from hell when he cried out for him. (Howard Storm)
(2) Jesus plead a woman’s case before God in order to take her out of hell. (Angie Fenimore)
(3) Jesus hugged a woman and she described it as feeling like a million volts of electricity going through her. (Susan)
(4) Jesus gave a man a hug and told him to, “Go and hug others.” (John P.)
(5) A woman was carried in the arms of Jesus toward the light of heaven. (Linda Stewart)
(6) Jesus turned into a giant sphere of light and absorbed a man with the ecstasy of love. (Berkley Carter Mills)
(7) Jesus told a gay man that he would send guardian angels to help him when he returned. It was two gay men who helped him. (Dr. Liz Dale’s research)
(8) Jesus said to a child (David Goines), “Will you come unto me?” The child told Jesus, “No.” (David Goines)
(9) Jesus told a child that because of his visit to heaven the child would never be the same again. (Randy Gehling)
(10) Jesus told a child that her heart condition was given to her to stay compassionate. (Lynn)
(11) A man realized that the light of Jesus is everything in the universe including himself. (Thomas Sawyer)
(12) A woman saw a beautiful valley with people in it and Jesus was looking over it all. (Kerry Kirk)
(13) A woman saw Jesus turn sideways and stretch out his arms as a bridge between her and God. (Valvita Jones)
(14) Jesus told a man to turn around and when he did he saw himself being pulled out of the car wreckage. (David Dawson)
(15) Jesus gave a man something to eat that tasted like chocolate. After the man ate it, Jesus informed him that he just ate the Bible and because of this, he will remember its contents. (Emmanuel Tuwagirairmana)
(16) Jesus gave a man a guided tour through four afterlife realms. (Dr. George Ritchie)
(17) A blind woman was reluctant to return until Jesus told her that she is going to have children. (Vicki Umipeg)
(18) Jesus revealed a woman’s mission to her in order to encourage her to return. (Betty Eadie)
(19) Jesus told a man (Dr. Richard Eby) that his “second coming” will occur before the man dies. However, the man died in December, 2002 and it is apparent the second coming of Christ hasn’t happened. However, if Christ’s second coming will be like his first coming, then a case can be made that perhaps Christ has indeed already returned. He was born into this world by a woman in his first coming; Christ may return in the same manner. (Dr. Richard Eby)
(20) Jesus had a child look into a television-like device to see her future. (Clara)
(21) Jesus and a man together traveled back in time to the Stone Age to watch cave men and women. (Guenter Wagner)
(22) A man traveled back in time and lived in the minds of Jesus and his disciples. (Dr. George Rodonaia)
(23) A man traveled back in time to witness the actual crucifixion of Jesus. (Don Brubaker)
(24) A man saw Jesus on a cross in heaven and Jesus glanced at him with a look of great love. (Dr. Gerard Landry)
(25) A woman saw Jesus with blood on his robe and he told her, “This is the blood that I shed on the cross for your sins.” (Lorraine Tutmarc)
(26) Jesus gave a woman who attempted suicide the choice to either reincarnate or return to earth. (Sandra Rogers)
(27) Jesus asked a woman if she wanted to be reincarnated. (Jeanie Dicus)
(28) A man saw the Being of light transform into Jesus, Buddha and Krishna. (Mellen-Thomas Benedict)
(29) Jesus was observed summoning other beings to join him by producing a musical note which they could hear. (Howard Storm)
3. Interesting experiences with Jesus
Before an 8-year-old with cancer passed away, the child had an NDE where Jesus was seen driving a school bus. Such NDEs experienced by children, transformed a pediatric oncologist from Yale from an atheist to a person convinced that NDEs are real spiritual experiences. (Dr. Diane Komp)
Ralph Duncan was a cancer patient who had an NDE where he encountered a luminous being whom he took to be Jesus. Ralph noted that Jesus didn’t look anything like the traditional images of him. Jesus’ eyes where “shooting fire” which resulted in Ralph being cured from his cancer. (Dr. Kenneth Ring)
John P. was in the presence of Jesus who expressed unconditional love and acceptance toward him. Jesus then reached out and gave him a hug. The hug was symbolic of the lack of affection that John experienced from being a neglected child. At that point, John was healed from his past. Jesus then told him to go and hug others. (John P.)
During George Rodonaia’s NDE, he realized that all he needed to do was think about something and it would come to him. He felt it necessary to learn about the Bible. So, he went back in time and lived in the minds of Jesus and his disciples. He heard their conversations, experienced eating, passing wine, smells, tastes – yet had no body. He was pure consciousness. (Dr. George Rodonaia)
Sandra Rogers asked the light, whom she identified as Jesus, how people from other religions get to heaven. She was shown that the group, or organization, that people profess alliance to is inconsequential. What is important is how we show our love for God by the way we treat each other. Sandra learned that this is because when we pass to the spiritual realm we will all be met by Jesus. (Sandra Rogers)
David Oakford was told that Jesus is the being who is entrusted by God to ensure that souls evolve. He was told that Jesus is of the highest in vibration than any other soul. He said that God holds Jesus in the highest of favor because he was the best example of what humans need to do. (David Oakford)
Mellen-Thomas Benedict had a conversation with the light who kept changing into different figures, such as Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, mandalas, archetypal images and signs. Mellen-Thomas asked the light to clarify itself. The light responded that your beliefs shape the kind of feedback you are getting before the light. If you were a Buddhist or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own stuff. Mellen-Thomas then became aware that he was seeing humanity’s Higher Self matrix – a mandala of human souls within each of us. (Mellen-Thomas Benedict)
Jesus appeared to George Ritchie with tremendous light. Far more than power, what emanated from this presence was an astonishing unconditional love. It was a love beyond his wildest imagining. It was a love that knew every unlovable thing about him -the quarrels with his stepmother, his explosive temper, the sex thoughts he could never control, every mean, selfish thought and action since the day he was born-and accepted him just the same. After a life review, George is give a guided tour of the afterlife with Jesus. (Dr. George Ritchie)
Guenter Wagner’s encounter with Jesus: Jesus then poured pure love within him and his whole soul was immersed in love. Jesus told Guenter that he needed to be cleansed. Jesus lifted him up and placed him into a red light. Afterward, Jesus took him to the top of a mountain to converse. Jesus told him that there were very powerful and cunning beings who were his enemies with whom he had been constantly fighting. He told Guenter to warn the world against them. Then Jesus told him to turn around. When he did he heard people screaming and saw fire and smoke that gradually took on the shape of a mushroom. Jesus told Guenter that he will do everything in his power to prevent this from happening. Jesus told him that this war has been going on for a very long time and the evil beings had become more and more powerful. Jesus said that if this continued he would not see any means of preventing them from taking over everything. He said that if the enemy had really succeeded in coming into his world, the war would have been lost. He would have been powerful enough, no doubt, to fight them off, but the war would have been lost in the long run. Jesus was afraid of loosing this war. Then it was intimated to Guenter that Jesus needed help. Jesus told him that the only way he could help him was by going back and telling the world about his experience. Jesus told Guenter that he would become a new type of teacher. He said that he was going to teach while being in a sort of sleep. While asleep, Guenter would be able to hear and talk. Jesus said that people will come to him and ask him questions. What he will say while asleep will be of much importance.
[Note: This is exactly how Edgar Cayce had his out-of-body journeys to heaven to obtain information.]
Jesus told Guenter to write down everything that happened to him. Jesus then took him back into time to the Stone Age to observe early humans. Afterward, Jesus lead him through a life review. (Guenter Wagner)
Betty Eadie’s encounter with Jesus: “I saw a pinpoint of light in the distance. As I approached it, I noticed the figure of a man standing in it, with the light radiating all around him. As I got closer the light became brilliant – brilliant beyond any description, far more brilliant than the sun. I saw that the light immediately around him was golden, as if his whole body had a golden halo around it, and I could see that the golden halo burst out from around him and spread into a brilliant, magnificent whiteness that extended out for some distance. I felt his light blending into mine. And as our lights merged, I felt as if I had stepped into his countenance, and I felt an utter explosion of love. It was the most unconditional love I have ever felt, and as I saw his arms open to receive me I went to him and received his complete embrace. I felt his enormous spirit and knew that I had always been a part of him, that in reality I had never been away from him. I knew that he was aware of all my sins and faults, but that they didn’t matter right now. He just wanted to hold me and share his love with me, and I wanted to share mine with him. There was no questioning who he was. I knew that he was my Savior, and friend, and God. He was Jesus Christ, who had always loved me, even when I thought he hated me. He was life itself, love itself, and his love gave me a fullness of joy, even to overflowing. I knew that I had known him from the beginning, from long before my earth life, because my spirit remembered him. His light now began to fill my mind, and my questions were answered even before I fully asked them. His light was knowledge. It had power to fill me with all truth. As I gained confidence and let the light flow into me, my questions came faster than I thought possible, and they were just as quickly answered. I understood that he was the Son of God, though he himself was also a God, and that he had chosen from before the creation of the world to be our Savior. I understood, or rather, I remembered, his role as creator of the earth. His mission was to come into the world to teach love. This knowledge was more like remembering.” (Betty Eadie)
4. NDE descriptions of Jesus
“I knew right away that it was Jesus. I knew by his eyes.” (Randy Gehling)
“You can see yourself mirrored in Jesus’ eyes. He can look straight through you and into you. He glows with an iridescent golden light.” (Valvita Jones)
Ralph Duncan was dying of leukemia and had an NDE during which he encountered Jesus who appeared as an luminous being and did not look anything like the traditional images of him. Jesus’ eyes were “shooting fire” and he communicated a telepathic message: “That’s enough, it’s dead, it’s gone.” Ralph understood this to mean that he no longer had leukemia. Through Jesus’ eyes “shooting fire” and saying “That’s enough,” it was understood to mean, in effect, “I’ve zapped you with enough voltage for this to cure you.” Ralph later recovered from his leukemia.” (Dr. Kenneth Ring)
“He (Jesus) is about 5′ 9″ and about 150 lbs. He is slim and handsome. When he hugs you, it feels like a million volts of electricity going through your body.” (Susan)
“Everything you would want to see in Jesus’ face is there.” (Lorraine Tutmarc)
“He was dressed in white, long sleeve floor-length robe with a wide gold band around his mid-section and wears sandals. He has a long face and a broad chin. He communicated by looking at me.” (Clara)
“Children tend to be explicit about skin tones when talking about any religious figure who visited them. Jesus is seen as a man with tan skin. Adults are the ones who usually see Jesus as white.” (P.M.H. Atwater)
“To me he looked like the picture of the ‘Sacred Heart,’ the one looking upward.” (Stanley Villavicencio)
Margaret Tweddell’s description of Jesus: “When I first saw him, the light and the glory and the surging of power was so tremendous. It was like an avalanche of feeling over me. At the present time I just don’t feel that I have found a way in which to describe what it was like – an indescribable contentment and uplifting, a tremendous ecstasy of feeling on all realms, being completely out of yourself, an unusually vivid knowledge of the intense, sympathetic love around you – the warmth of it, the light of it – something that is not external but is part of you. It is like a sunrise on a mountain that is covered with snow, when the colors come down and reflect on you- a dazzling brilliance that would make you close your eyes and yet feel it in every pore of your body. This is the feeling that you have as you come toward the LIGHT.
“And then suddenly to hear the voice that says, ‘Look at me.’ And when you look – there, just as you’ve always imagined -you see him. He shows himself to us according to our own understanding. If I want to think of him as a man who walked by the lake and a man who looked as the Jews looked at that time, then I’ll see him that way. If in my thought I think he’s modern and bright, then I’ll see him that way. We do not see him as the medieval painters made him. We see him as we, in our own selves, have pictured him, because otherwise we wouldn’t recognize him. How would we know unless we have the picture already in our own being – in our own minds, in our own hearts.
“To me he came walking across the air – across the tops of the buildings, the trees. I’d always known he’d come toward me with his arms and hands outstretched. He said, ‘Come, let me show you’ – because I have an insatiable curiosity and I must see and I must know. But there was no ‘falling asleep in the arms of Jesus.’ There was the knowing warmth of BEING that I’ve always known would be. It was so much beyond what words can tell.
“It is true that the Lord Jesus can take a form so solid that those who are in the body may see him – those who are in the dream state may see him and be called by him. But when I saw him transcendent, I was days and days just marveling and sensing and knowing. This was my rebirth. The body in which I now function was strengthened -made resilient, firm, aware. When I first came over here, I only knew what I had known and seen, shall we say, in a vision. But that was to see and not to experience. Until you have experienced it and been caught up without the ties and the cord that keep you with the physical body, it is very difficult to comprehend.
“Until you are released from the bondage of the physical body, you have no way of knowing the feeling and the uplifting and the thoughts that come into your head. The body is so much heavier than the personality which goes on. But even in your personality, there are times when you are completely detached – we call it a mystical ecstasy. Every time I turn my mind toward him now, I am engulfed in the power and time has no limits or meaning. It may be a flash, it may be hours – I know not. It is just a great knowing. I ask and he’s there. He says, ‘Follow me,’ and we follow. But we don’t follow with our feet. The whole being of you follows him because he is everywhere – in and through and around and everywhere. He is a manifestation of God.” (Margaret Tweddell)
5. A comparison of NDE descriptions of Jesus
Kevin Williams states: “Perhaps the greatest reason why Jesus is described in differing ways in NDEs can best be described by Margaret Tweddell who revealed that Jesus appears in a way that you can recognize him and/or just as you’ve always imagined you see him. He shows himself to us according to our own understanding. The reason for this is that souls can appear in any form they desire. This phenomenon shows up in many near-death accounts. For example, May Eulitt and her two companions, who were sharing the same NDE, each saw the Being of Light as entirely different beings (Buddha, a Valkyrie, and one of the companion’s father – a naval officer). Beings of light asked Howard Storm if he wanted them to change their appearance so that he wouldn’t be frightened. Jesus appeared to Dr. Gerard Landry on the cross as if he were flesh and bones, still with his nail-pierced hands and feet, and the wound in his side. Hal had a life review and the being who led him through his life review transformed from a ball of light into a hooded and robed figure. Ignorant souls in the dark realms can transform themselves into hideous creatures with melting faces and foul odors, for example. Even the experiencers, such as Reinee Pasarow, can transform themselves into an orb of light. With this in mind, here are a few NDE descriptions of Jesus. More will be added soon.” (Kevin Williams)
Valvita Jones described Jesus as having hair of dark brown and light red; eyes of wavy blue, piercing; skin of transparent olive and light golden.
Lorraine Tutmarc described Jesus of having hair of auburn, wavy beautiful; eyes are large, full of meaning.
Susan described Jesus as having dark brown hair; dark brown eyes.
Clara described Jesus having dark brown, shoulder length hair; having dark eyes with black around eyelids; and olive eyes of liquid love.
6. Quotes by Jesus during NDEs
A 13-year-old child (Lynn) with a heart condition asked Jesus during an NDE if he gave her the heart condition so that she would have a cross to carry like he did as her sixth-grade teacher told her. Jesus replied, “No, this heart condition of yours is not a cross from me for you to bear. This heart condition is a challenge to help you grow and stay compassionate.” (Lynn)
Jesus told Randy Gehling that he should never worry if people doubted his story or could not understand what he was telling them. “One day, everyone will come to see for themselves what you have seen.” (Randy Gehling)
“As Jesus was about to leave me with them, I felt his amusement again, and he seemed to whisper to my spirit, ‘Go learn of things,’ and I understood that I was free to see and experience all that I wanted.” (Betty Eadie)
During Dr. Richard Eby’s NDE, Jesus commanded him to tell people that: “These are the last days before I return for my body of believers. I am coming for them soon!” Jesus explained that he would be giving some of his children much documenting evidence to validate his prophecies. Jesus told Eby that: “I need eyewitnesses of my glory and truth now. You are but one. Go, tell them. There is but a little while until I come for my body of believers.” (Dr. Richard Eby)
Vicki Umipeg, blind since birth, saw Jesus during her NDE. She noticed that he is a figure of great radiance. Jesus greeted her tenderly while she conveyed her excitement to him about her newfound omniscience and her joy at being there with him. Telepathically, Jesus said to her: “Isn’t it wonderful? Everything is beautiful here, and it fits together. And you’ll find that. But you can’t stay here now. It’s not your time to be here yet and you have to go back.” (Vicki Umipeg)
Jesus lifted Linda Stewart from the void and into the light filling her with ecstasy and love. She realized that the only reality is God and that there is no other. And God is love. She turned to Jesus and said, “This is beautiful. I am home. This is where I want to be. I want to stay.” And Christ answered: “You can stay for a little while and then you must return.” (Linda Stewart)
“In the NDE documentary video entitled “Shadows”, Cindy Massey described a conversation she had with Jesus about having to return to life during her near-death experience. Describing this conversation with Jesus to others is difficult for her. She stated, “This parts really hard. As many times as I tell it, I keep thinking I’m going to get through this [sobbing].”
Cindy: “I want to come home now.”
Jesus: “No, you can’t” He replied.
Cindy: “But I don’t want to stay there anymore. I don’t like it.”
Jesus: “I know that.”
Cindy: “Well, I just want to come home. They are very mean down there. I don’t like it.”
Jesus: “I grieve for you and what they’ve done to you. And I grieve for what they do to each other. I grieve deeply. I hurt for you and for all of you. You have to go back. You have to return.”
Cindy: “Why?”
Jesus: “Because you promised me.”
Cindy: “But I can do it another time and another place.”
Jesus: “There is no other time. There is no other place. You must do it this time. You promised.”
Cindy: “Well, you don’t understand.” When Cindy looked into his eyes, she knew he did.
Jesus: “You promised me, child, it would be this time. You must return but I promise you I will be back when it is time for you to go.”
Cindy: “I don’t know what I am supposed to do.”
Jesus: “You’ll know. You’ll know when it’s time and you’ll know what to do.'” (Cindy Massey)
7. NDE insights concerning Jesus
Before the universe was created, every soul that ever existed and will exist, including Jesus, was created by God. Millions of years ago, some of these souls entered into the universe and some entered the path of the Earth and desired to experience it. They began to possess the bodies of ape-men and through the process of millions of years of evolution became homo sapiens. The race of humanity was influenced by a soul who had completed its experience of creation and returned to God. This is the soul known as Jesus. (Edgar Cayce)
After reincarnating as the Biblical personalities of Adam, Enoch, Melchizedek, Joshua, and David (to name a few), Jesus knew that he needed to create a pattern for humans to follow to attain at-onement with God to lead them back to their heavenly origins. He did this through his final incarnation as the humble carpenter from Galilee. By becoming triumphant over death and the body, he laid down a way for people to follow to crucify self and the ego and return to God. (Edgar Cayce)
P.M.H. Atwater researched the identity of the initial greeters met in near-death states. She discovered that religious figures usually conform to the predominant religion the experiencer was exposed to, but not always. Jesus has appeared in near-death scenarios of Jewish people, for instance; a Muslim man once told her he was met by Buddha. (P.M.H. Atwater)
According to Edgar Cayce, the so-called “trinity” that Christians talk about (i.e., Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is actually how God can be viewed from the earth’s three-dimensional perspective. That is, God can be viewed three-dimensionally as Mind, Body, and Spirit. In this sense, the trinity can be explained as the “Mind of God”, the “Body of God,” and the “Spirit of God.” The Bible describes this as the “Mind of Christ” which is the Son – the light of God. The “Body of Christ” which is the Father – the life of God. And the “Spirit of Christ” which is the Holy Spirit – the love of God. This is why Jesus said that “you are gods.” In other words, all humans can become as Jesus was: one with the Mind of God, the Body of God, and the Spirit of God. (Edgar Cayce)
“The way out of the void (outer darkness) is simple. You must think of love. If you are a Christian and you think of Jesus and you see Jesus as love, then you will be thinking of love. To recognize love as a reality is the key to escaping from the void.” (Brian Krebs)
According to Edgar Cayce, the Biblical references to the title of “Christ” (the anointed one) is a reference to the divine consciousness within human beings. In this respect, it can be said that Jesus and Buddha became “Christs” because they were a manifestation of the divine nature in humanity. This divine nature is also known by other titles in various religious traditions such as: Dharmakaya, Brahman, Collective Unconscious, and Universal Consciousness. This union of the human with the divine is the ultimate goal of everyone and is spiritually possible for all. (Edgar Cayce)
Nora Spurgin writes, “The higher one’s soul development, the brighter the light will shine from their spirit. What determines what one looks like in the spirit world is the person’s quality of heart and life. One’s inner quality is perceived as light. One’s features are visible but the light that comes from their very essence is the identifying feature. For example, because they lived totally for other people, Jesus and other religious leaders emanate brilliant light.” (Nora Spurgin)
Edgar Cayce foresaw that Jesus would return in the year 1998. Critics who are not very familiar with the Cayce material have pointed out that 1998 has come and gone and the second coming has not occurred. Such critics wrongly expect the second coming to happen when Jesus appears in the sky with a chorus of angels while Gabriel blows a horn and dead bodies crawl out of their graves. This idea of the resurrection was the result of a misunderstanding of the concept of reincarnation – the ancient concept of birth and rebirth. (Edgar Cayce)
Kevin Williams writes, “The fact that Christianity is so dominant in the West may be the reason that the Being of Light appears in the form of Jesus so frequently in western NDEs. To Buddhists, the Being of Light often appears in the form of Buddha. To Jews, the Being of Light may appear in the form as Adam (as revealed in the Zohar) or the Jewish Messiah. To Hindus, the Being of Light may appear as the Lord of Death.” (Kevin Williams)
8. Religious insights concerning Jesus
The following is an example in the Bible of Jesus teaching his disciples about the reincarnation of Elijah as John the Baptist:
Jesus said, “For all the prophets and the law have prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who was to come.” …
And the disciples asked him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” But he answered them and said: “Elijah indeed is to come and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also shall the Son of Man suffer at their hand.” Then the disciples understood that he had spoken of John the Baptist …
“But I tell you, Elijah has come.” (Matthew 11:13-14; Matthew 17:10-13; Mark 9:13)
Elizabeth Claire Prophet wrote, “The main controversy during the early Church age was about the nature of humanity and how humanity is saved. It involved two pictures of Jesus: Either he was God who had always been God or he was a human who became God’s Son. If he was a human who became God’s Son, then that implied that other humans could also become Sons of God. This idea was unacceptable to the orthodox, hence their insistence that Jesus had always been God and was entirely different from all created beings. Otherwise, it implied that the soul did not need the Church to achieve salvation.” (Elizabeth Claire Prophet)
Kevin Williams writes, “Jesus constantly taught the importance of good works of love to achieve spiritual growth. The idea that people achieve at-onement merely by giving verbal assent to Jesus, or by worshiping Jesus, or by merely believing in his name, or by believing in his work on the cross, is a gross distortion of his teachings. Having faith in Christ alone means nothing. Having the faith of Christ means to become like Jesus through living a life of love and good works toward everyone.” (Kevin Williams)
“We can each experience a taste of His embrace by opening ourselves to His unconditional love and then by giving that love away to everyone we meet. The ripple effect, from its very source, is available to all who are willing to pass it along to others. Heaven can be anywhere.” (Betty Eadie)
“More information about Jesus and his mission can be found in many NDEs such as [1], [2], [3], [4], and [5].” (Kevin Williams)
“The promises of Jesus given in the Gospel of John can help you unlock your inner self.” (Edgar Cayce)
9. Ten reasons why Jesus went to the cross
Central to mainstream Christian doctrine is the bizarre claim that God required a human sacrifice for sin. The gospels tell us Jesus believed the culmination of his divine mission was to die for the sake of others. In Jesus’ day, it was believed animal sacrifices were necessary for the forgiveness of sins. This made good sense to people two thousand years ago; but to the modern mind it is utterly ridiculous. The idea that God needs human or animal sacrifice to be appeased is repulsive and barbaric. It is also incredibly unjust for God to require the killing of an innocent person for the transgressions of the guilty. The Bible suggests there are much deeper spiritual reasons for Christ’s death and why Jesus ultimately volunteered to have himself killed. The following list describes some of these deeper spiritual reasons.
(1) Jesus’ death was a way to emphasize the major point of his teachings which is to practice unconditional love through self-sacrifice, self-deprecation, and self-denial by crucifying your lower “beastly” nature of humanity which is self-gratification, self-indulgence, self-centeredness, self-righteousness, self-importance, self-condemnation, selfishness, and humanity’s constant clamoring for SELF (i.e., the ego, the “false god”, the “devil“).
(2) Because of Jesus’ death, his teachings proliferated and drew worldwide attention. The incredible injustice of his execution, combined with his life-changing teachings, made Jesus one of the greatest spiritual teachers the world has ever known.
(3) Because of Jesus’ death, he demonstrated his testimony to be highly credible because of his willingness to die in such an extremely horrible execution for the sake of his testimony and teachings. A liar would not suffer this much and die for the sake of a lie. A lunatic would not say the profound things Jesus said. The only other option left is that Jesus was who he said he was and his teachings are therefore true.
(4) Because of Jesus’ death, he fulfilled a large number of Hebrew prophecies which drew a large number of Jews to his cause to build the foundation for his church.
(5) Because of his death, Jesus was able to return to heaven in order to continue his ministry on earth at a later time. His return to earth from heaven will satisfy prophecies demonstrating him to be the Hebrew Messiah. Should his return be a spiritual return instead of literal one, his return may represent a time when the Holy Spirit will rule the collective consciousness of humanity.
(6) Because of Jesus’ death, he was able to visit his disciples in spirit at a later time. Their testimony of Jesus’ ability to conquer death provided the world with strong evidence of life after death. His after-death visitations with his disciples are remarkably similar.
(7) Because of Jesus’ death, he was better able to serve humanity through the outpouring ministry of the Holy Spirit which Jesus manifested throughout his life. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit resulted in the spreading of his teachings throughout the world.
(8) One particular near-death experiencer, Arthur Yensen, said Jesus also came to stop the age-old practice of slaughtering innocent animals as scapegoats for human beings in the name of God. Killing animals for nourishment is one thing, but killing them for the purpose of removing the guilt of people’s misdeeds is abhorrent. Spiritually mature people pay their own debts and seek the forgiveness of those they offended. Having an innocent one killed to pay your debts is for the spiritually immature. Jesus himself said we must take up our own cross and follow him.
(9) According to Betty Eadie, life on earth is our opportunity to learn unconditional love as Jesus taught it and to serve and sacrifice personal welfare in behalf of others. Part of Jesus’ mission was to demonstrate this … our mission is to live as he did.
(10) For all of the above reasons, it can be said that Jesus died for the benefit of the whole world as he so eloquently stated in the Gospel of John: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Who are the ones “whoever believes in him”? John explains in his first letter to the churches: “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love … Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (1 John 4:7-16).
I am sure there are other spiritual reasons for Jesus’ death. Unfortunately, for thousands of years the human sacrifice motif has been the dominate motif in Christianity concerning Christ’s self-sacrificial death.
