Christ Committed Suicide

Jesus was not omniscient during his life on EarthIt is clear from the scriptures that Jesus was not omniscient during his life on Earth. Consider the incident with the fig tree:The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.Mark 11:12 If Jesus had been omniscient, he would have known in advance that the fig tree didn't have figs and so he wouldn't have gone to investigate, and he wouldn't have been angry at the fig tree for disappointing him.Jesus was also explicit about his lack of knowledge in the following passage:But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.Mark 13:32It is clear from this passage that there is a distinction between the capabilities of God the Father and God the Son (Jesus), and that there is knowledge that God the Father has that was not accessible to God the Son. Therefore, Jesus was not omniscient. Jesus was not omnipotentOmnipotence requires omniscience because accessing knowledge is a capability that would be covered by omnipotence. Therefore, if Jesus was not omniscient, then neither was he omnipotent.The relationship between Jesus and God the Father is obscure and probably impossible for us to comprehend, but there are several passages in the scriptures that give us clues about Jesus' status in relationship to God the Father. Most strikingly perhaps was when he was being crucified, he feels abandoned by God the Father, an event which illustrates the separation between Father and Son, but also the limitations of Jesus' knowledge and power.About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?Matthew 27:46 In the following passage, he clearly separates himself from the power of God in heaven: And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.Matthew 23:9 Here, Jesus describes a distinction between his own authority and the authority of God the Father, and implies that God the Father's authority is much greater than his own.Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. John 14:10 Suicide is a goal-directed actionSuppose you were in a prison cell with your daughter, and there was not enough food for you both to survive. You could ensure your own survival by keeping all the food for yourself or by killing and eating your own child. You refuse to do this, not because you want to die (you really don't) but because your personal values forbid you from committing what you believe to be an atrocity. I don't think most people would see a refusal to kill and eat your own child as an act of suicide because the intent to die is not there, even though death is an unfortunate and forseeable consequence. Please notice the language about Jesus' death in the scripture. The emphasis is mine:From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.Matt 16:21Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.Luke 24:46 SummaryJesus was neither omniscient nor omnipotent, and he was operating on behalf of God the Father whose powers and knowledge were greater than his. Presumably, he had two higher order goals: 1/ to obey God the Father 2/ to save humanity Pro has argued that Jesus could have avoided death if he had wanted, but he couldn’t have without disobeying his Father’s command or dooming humanity to whatever non-saved-destiny it would have been. When your Father is an omnipotent God it is impossible to disobey him. Jesus was merely reporting on what limited information he had about his own role and what was to happen. He did not kill himself physically - the Roman killed him, obviously - but nor did he "commit suicide" by not taking life saving action. There were no such paths available to him. He could not avoid death because of his obedience to God and his love of people; therefore, he did not commit suicide.