How Can the Torture, Humiliation, and Killing of the Innocent Jesus Be Considered Love or Compassion?

How Can the Torture, Humiliation, and Killing of the Innocent Jesus Be Considered Love or Compassion?

By Bobby Darvish - darvishintelligence.blogspot.com

As a former Imam, Executive Director of CAIR-Columbus, and President of the Muslim Forum of Utah, I spent much of my life studying and promoting Islamic doctrine. For many years, I questioned the Christian teaching that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross was the ultimate act of love and compassion for humanity. How could the torture, humiliation, and killing of the innocent Jesus be an expression of love or forgiveness? How could this brutal event satisfy justice, especially when we have scriptures like Deuteronomy 24:16 and Quran 17:15, which tell us that each person is accountable for their own sin and that no one should bear the sins of another?

In Deuteronomy 24:16, we find a clear statement of justice: "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers. Each is to die for their own sin." Similarly, the Quran echoes this principle in 17:15: "No one shall bear another's burden." This message of individual accountability is a strong foundation for understanding forgiveness in both Jewish and Islamic traditions. Forgiveness, according to the Quran, is achieved through repentance, humility, and God's mercy. As stated in Quran 9:104, “Do they not know that it is Allah who accepts repentance from His servants and receives charities, and that it is Allah who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful?”

This belief is deeply rooted in the idea that God's mercy and justice do not require a sacrifice, let alone the sacrifice of an innocent person. In Islam, the concept of human sacrifice resembles pagan practices, where rituals were conducted to appease deities or gain favor in the afterlife. The Maya, for instance, offered human lives to their gods for peace and salvation. These gruesome practices were performed at temple altars, with the hope that shedding innocent blood would bring blessings or forgiveness (Sharer & Traxler, The Ancient Maya). It’s easy to see why this comparison could lead one to believe that the crucifixion of Jesus was unnecessary and even contrary to divine justice.

As an Imam, I often preached about the necessity of repentance and humility before God for the forgiveness of sins, without the need for a mediator or sacrificial atonement. To me, the notion that God would require the death of His own son seemed unjust and irrational. Why would a just God demand such a price for forgiveness, especially when both the Torah and the Quran emphasize personal responsibility for sin?

However, when I began to explore Christianity deeply, I realized that the crucifixion of Jesus was not about God requiring an innocent person to be punished in place of the guilty. Instead, it was about Jesus voluntarily offering Himself out of love and compassion to take upon Himself the full weight of humanity's sin and brokenness. The Christian message of the cross is not about God's wrath or cruelty, but about His profound love for us. Jesus willingly bore the penalty that we could never pay, not because God delights in violence, but because Jesus was the only one capable of bridging the gap between a perfect God and a fallen humanity.

In this sense, the cross is not an act of injustice but of divine mercy and compassion. It’s the ultimate expression of love, as Jesus took upon Himself the punishment that we deserved. Romans 5:8 states, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The crucifixion, therefore, is not a pagan ritual of appeasement but a unique act of divine love where God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, took our burdens so that we could be reconciled with Him.

What sets Christianity apart from paganism is that Jesus was not an unwilling victim, nor was He sacrificed to appease an angry deity. He was God incarnate, willingly laying down His life to restore humanity to God. In John 10:18, Jesus says, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again." This act of sacrifice was not forced upon Him; it was a willing and purposeful act of love.

Through the lens of Christianity, the crucifixion of Jesus does not contradict the principles of justice found in the Bible or the Quran. Rather, it fulfills them by showing that God’s justice and love are not mutually exclusive. God’s justice demands that sin be punished, but His love provides the way for sinners to be forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ. The cross is the place where justice and mercy meet.

As an Iranian-American ex-Muslim Christian, I now understand that the cross of Christ is the ultimate demonstration of God’s love for humanity. Far from resembling pagan sacrifice, the crucifixion reveals the depth of God’s compassion for us. Jesus’ death was not about satisfying an angry god but about reconciling a broken world to its Creator. His sacrifice was necessary not because God needed blood to forgive, but because humanity needed a Savior who could take on our sin and offer us eternal life through His resurrection.

In conclusion, while I once saw the crucifixion of Jesus as a stumbling block to belief, I now see it as the very heart of God’s love for us. The death and resurrection of Jesus are the ultimate testament to the truth that God is not only just, but also deeply compassionate and loving. His love for us was demonstrated in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, offering us forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life.

References:

• Deuteronomy 24:16 (ESV)
• Quran 17:15 (Sahih International)
• Quran 9:104 (Sahih International)
• Romans 5:8 (NIV)
• John 10:18 (NIV)
• Sharer, R. J., & Traxler, L. P. (2006). The Ancient Maya. Stanford University Press.