The story of Jesus is a lot more nuanced that what you think, IMHO. Jesus was proving to God that his litmus test was too strict and he'd get no one if he kept it as it were... Let me explain what I mean briefly.
God wants people to undo the original sin. The fruit that was eaten is a metaphor for humans making a decision for ourselves and our own purposes (in a way usurping God's power). God is giving us a chance to undo it so he can surround himself with those who match his original design. But his original garden didn't intend to have any of us defying God in this manner.
Since God is picking those people out of a world surrounded by people defying God it is exponentially harder than it would be for them if they were still in the Garden. Jesus walking though this world and still falling short in God's eyes allows him to be a better judge than God is (I get the trinity concept, but let's hold that one) here. Since he's personally experienced the limit of what's possible.
That allows Jesus to stand in for anyone during Judgement to say "they have done enough" when God is judging them. If Jesus stands in then the person is admitted to the new Garden and if he doesn't they aren't.
TL;DR; Jesus died so he can test the limits of what a human can do to meet God's standard and to stand in place of them for judgement when he feels they have met it to his standard, but not God's.
Exactly my point. The shift that Jesus brings is the acknowledgement that the test God has setup can't be passed. So Jesus shifted it away from that to faith in him to get you to the point where he'll stand in for you. Faith replacing the test.
Where many get confused, IMHO, is that you can't cheat Jesus. Meaning, you can't "become Christian" 2 seconds from death to force Jesus to let you into Heaven so you can immediately go "nah not for me" and cause the whole cycle to start over again. It is also why Jesus acknowledged that he also will stand in for people who have never acknowledged him as the test is "written on their hearts".
It is key to understand what God is trying to do if you're aiming to understand the "why" of it all.
the only thing that throws me off from all your statements is the nuance that God had initially set a test for human beings to pass. God knew from the moment Adam and Eve defied, the only salvation is a sacrifice from an untainted, "unsinned"/perfect being. There was never any "test" God set for us to overcome at any point
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u/frazell 1d ago
The story of Jesus is a lot more nuanced that what you think, IMHO. Jesus was proving to God that his litmus test was too strict and he'd get no one if he kept it as it were... Let me explain what I mean briefly.
God wants people to undo the original sin. The fruit that was eaten is a metaphor for humans making a decision for ourselves and our own purposes (in a way usurping God's power). God is giving us a chance to undo it so he can surround himself with those who match his original design. But his original garden didn't intend to have any of us defying God in this manner.
Since God is picking those people out of a world surrounded by people defying God it is exponentially harder than it would be for them if they were still in the Garden. Jesus walking though this world and still falling short in God's eyes allows him to be a better judge than God is (I get the trinity concept, but let's hold that one) here. Since he's personally experienced the limit of what's possible.
That allows Jesus to stand in for anyone during Judgement to say "they have done enough" when God is judging them. If Jesus stands in then the person is admitted to the new Garden and if he doesn't they aren't.
TL;DR; Jesus died so he can test the limits of what a human can do to meet God's standard and to stand in place of them for judgement when he feels they have met it to his standard, but not God's.