Did Jesus commit suicide? No, He did not desire to die and intentionally perform an action upon Himself that caused His death. He did not nail Himself to a cross. Nevertheless, some say that He willingly went to the cross, and by not stopping what would happen, He died, and this is suicide. Is this a good argument? No, it isn’t. To show why it isn’t, we need first to define the word ‘suicide.’
- Suicide: “the act of killing yourself intentionally.” (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/suicide)
- Suicide: “the act or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suicide)
- Suicide: “the intentional taking of one’s own life.” (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/suicide)
- Suicide: “the act of killing yourself deliberately” (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/suicide)
From these definitions, we can see that suicide includes two elements: 1) the intention to die. 2) performing an action to carry out that intention. But, according to Scripture, Jesus did not want to die. He prayed to God the Father and said, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done’ (Luke 22:42). Jesus did not perform any action that directly caused His death. He did not nail Himself to the cross. However, indirectly, He spoke and taught in such a way that the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Him. He is directly responsible for His words and deeds. But He is not directly responsible for their actions. Let’s take a look at some information concerning responsibility related to action. So, He did not commit suicide.
Efficient, Proximate, and Ultimate Causation
There are different kinds of causation. There’s ultimate, proximate, and efficient causation. Let me explain why this is important here. Ultimate causation is the condition or cause that must be for everything else to be. Proximate causation is the immediate context of an event. Efficient causation is the direct cause of the event. Let me illustrate.
- Efficient Cause: Adam freely ate the fruit of the tree. No one forced him to do it. He did it of his own free will. Therefore, he is the efficient cause of his own sin.
- Proximate Cause: God put the garden there, with Adam and Eve in it, and allowed the serpent to enter. The serpent tempted Eve, who ate the fruit and then gave it to Adam, who then ate it. So, God is the proximate cause, not the efficient cause. God is not responsible for Adam’s direct action.
- Ultimate Cause: God is the one who created the universe, the planets, etc. He is the ultimate cause of everything that occurs in the universe, though He is not the efficient cause of peoples’ sins.
So, at most, when we ask, “Did Jesus commit suicide?” we must respond and say that Jesus is the proximate cause of His own death, not the efficient cause. He spoke truthfully, performed miracles, and remained silent at His trial. These things led to His death – which He knew would happen. But He is not the efficient cause of His death any more than God is the efficient cause of Adam’s sin. Jesus did not perform the action of nailing himself to the cross, just as God did not perform the action of forcing Adam to eat the fruit.
Suicide requires intention and efficient causation to be defined as suicide according to the four definitions listed above. In other words, it requires a desire to die (intention) and a direct action that brings about one’s own death (efficient causation). But Jesus did not desire His own death (except in obedience to the will of God the Father) and He did not directly perform any action in physically causing His own death.
