Lee
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Posts: 1,047
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Post by Lee on May 5, 2014 3:21:55 GMT
Deu 21:22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
Deu 21:23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Pretty interesting article on this by JJ Andrews
1874 Christadelphian p 26–29
There were some questions asked that he responded to, and might be good exercise for us to see how we would respond:
1. Was the curse, from hanging in general, or specifically "hanging from a tree"?
2. Was the curse, because one of God's Law's were broken, and the result was the hanging?
3. What was the direct result of the curse to Christ?
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jopa
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Posts: 15 
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Post by jopa on May 5, 2014 20:41:08 GMT
First, a person has to commit a "sin worthy of death" for the process to get started; and secondly, it appears that he was probably killed before he was hung on a tree. It seems that he was hung on a tree as a warning of what happens to an individual who commits a sin worthy of death.
The offence/transgression begins the process toward death. There would be a trial to prove him guilty. Stoning probably took place before the hanging. The tree comes into play only as a public display, it seems to me.
In Jesus' case, he did not commit a sin worthy of death but rather dedicated his life to healing, loving his neighbors and sacrificing self to God totally. So he did not deserve death. So it was THE INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW by the Jews that pronounced him guilty, not God's law. It was because of his obedience to God's real, actual Law that he was found guilty by the conflicting interpretation of God's people (who were no longer his people by their rejection of him).
Once found guilty, the penalty of hanging on a tree was to be carried out and the law stated, "he that is hanged is accursed of God" irrelevant of the guilt or innocence of the person. Why? Because the Law assumes the person(s) carrying out the sentence will do it in righteousness and justice and truth. Once this is gone, no Law (Moses' or Christ's) can be God's law because human nature has perverted it.
So Christ hanging on the tree was a public display of his perfect obedience to the death. It also displayed the terrible interpretation of the Law by the scribes- jealousy of losing position, misplaced zeal, fear of Romans- all contributed to wresting God's law for their benefit and yet their final destruction.
So the Law was holy, just and good but it still cursed the only person that should have escaped its curse. Every other person deserved the consequences of the Law's judgment but not Jesus. So what do you do with a Law that curses the only innocent person that has ever lived? You nullify it or take it out of the way and replace it with something better- the Law of Christ.
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