Is Jesus the equal of the man Adam?

Is the balance equal?

On page 63 of the 1982 edition of You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, the Watchtower shows Jesus and Adam on a balance and says, "Jesus was the equal of the perfect man Adam". The Watchtower makes it very clear that the sacrifice that Jesus made could not be any more or less than the price of a perfect man to assure that the balance was equal. On page 62 of the Live Forever book, the Watchtower states that the legal principle of God's law in the Old Testament requires that there is to be a life for a life. Because of this principle, the Watchtower says, Jesus could not be any more than a perfect man - he could not be a "God-man" as this would be an overpayment of the price that was required. In the Watchtower Feb. 15, 1991 page 13, the Society states that a spirit creature or a "God-man" would not balance the scales of justice. But is the Old Testament's equality of an "eye for eye" "tooth for tooth" and "life for life" the same principle that Jesus' life was sacrificed under?

We agree with the Watchtower that Jesus' sacrifice could not be worth less then Adam's sin, but who said that it could not be worth more? Romans 5:15-17 says, "But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." Did you hear that? The gift is not like the trespass! Jesus' gift of his life is much more then the value of the original sin of Adam. Romans chapter 5 clearly shows us that the idea that Jesus' sacrifice perfectly balances Adam's sin is not correct. There is no perfect balance. Jesus' sacrifice far outweighs Adam's sin. "How can that be?" one may ask, "Doesn't the price have to equal what is purchased?" Not at all! Let's look at an example. Let's says that your beloved family puppy is dog-napped. The captors demand $10,000 in exchange for the puppy. The puppy is not worth $10,000 but you decide to pay the $10,000 ransom price because you really love your puppy and want him back. Your sacrifice of $10,000 is far greater then the value of the animal, yet because of your great love for your puppy, you pay the ransom. The price you paid tips the scale when measured by the value of what was bought. It doesn't have to be equal. In the same way, God's love for us far outweighs our value. The sacrifice of His precious Son was a price that the Father was willing to pay not because we are worth it, or because our value equals the value of His Son's life, but because he loves us greatly and is willing to give His best in order to redeem us back into his family.

Is Jesus worth more?

The good new is that Jesus' sacrifice is more than enough to pay for Adam's sin and your sin and my sin and the entire world's sin. Jesus willing gave himself to die a horrible death in order that his death be given in exchange for many not just the value of one man's sin. Matthew 20:28 says "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." The Watchtower has misrepresented the ransom sacrifice of Jesus by putting his sacrifice on a balance with the one man Adam. Jesus is worth so much more.

 

Go back to Part One: Does Adam benefit from the ransom?

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