I don't know what that adds to the discussion. It is like saying that birth is a condition for death. The question is whether the salvation of the human race was predicated on the death of Jesus Christ. The answer is No! This does not mean that Jesus did not die or that his death was meaningless.

Do tell, what was the meaning of Jesus death?

Paul's answer is that every individual's salvation is predicated on Christ's death. Therefore, the same is true for the race.



Do you have a verse for that?

You cannot depend on an opinion expressed by an individual who is commenting on past issues. The connection between the death of Jesus and the salvation of the race must be established before the death occurred. That said, who do you think required the death of Jesus for the race to be saved? To answer that question you have to understand what happened in Eden. Too many believe that the human race rebelled against their creator even though the Bible is clear that they were deceived and the enemy took occasion of their fall to claim them as his. No amount of dying could reverse that claim. Besides, it is impossible for an eternal God to die.

When you consider Jesus' declaration before He went to the cross that His work of redeeming the human race had been completed it is obvious that at best the death of Jesus was a useless act of vengeance on the part of the enemy. The hold he had on the human race had already been broken and he struck out the best way he knew how. He was being a thug and we are honoring him by attempting to make him a party to the redemption of the race.

So, why didnt Jesus defend Himself? If He didnt have to die, why did he? We know that He chose to, why?

Mat 26:52 Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back in its place! For all who use a sword will be killed by a sword.
Mat 26:53 Don't you think that I could call on my Father, and he would send me more than twelve legions of angels now?
Mat 26:54 How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say this must happen?"

Darius,

You say that at best the death of Jesus was a useless act of vengeance on the part of the enemy?

Are you saying that it didn't matter whether or not Christ died?

Good passage. This says, that even if only for a day, Jesus was in exile from heaven while on earth.

All I know is that according to John 17:1-5 the work of redemption had already been completed. Any claims the enemy had on the race had already been dealt with. The life of Christ dealt with all misunderstandings concerning the character of the Creator.

Let us not confuse the willingness of love to go to any lengths with what is legally required to achieve a particular result. He also did not have to allow the enemy access to Adam and Eve in the garden. There is no need to ask why.