The followers of Jesus are scattered around the world in this group and that group. We are not unified in love and service. We face serious competition from secularism. Just think what could happen if we were to be unified. In order for that to happen we would need spiritual unity, because theological uniformity is not on the horizon, and intellectual agreement is a very inadequate basis for unity in love and service anyway.
One of the toughest topics that the professed followers of Jesus have to come to grips with is the meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross. In particular, debates on the atonement doctrine are intense. In what follows I offer an attempt at peacemaking.
The Apostle Paul labored to unify his thorough knowledge of Jewish law with his new experience of Jesus. Paul portrayed God as generous, and Jesus as cooperating willingly with God when the time for crucifixion had come. Jesus opens the door of invitation to salvation for Gentiles as well as Jews—to the whole world. Paul’s atonement doctrine connects these powerful affirmations with diverse strands of Jewish tradition. He weaves together many metaphors based on Leviticus and other places in the Hebrew Bible without fully spelling out the implications of these metaphors. It is as though he sensed some of the difficulties, too.
In the metaphors, some themes are clear. The idea of substitutionary atonement, sacrifice, is prominent. So is the idea of transferring the sins of the community onto something like scapegoat. Also prominent is the idea of paying a ransom to liberate captives. For his Gentile readers, Paul touches on the theme of the noble death of a heroic martyr. Paul wove these themes together in a tapestry that was effective in preaching and teaching in the first century.
Many people have questions about atonement. Where the justice is in punishing an innocent person for the sins of the guilty? How can sin be transferred from the community to another person? To whom was the ransom paid? Was God full of wrath and incapable of forgiving us until Jesus’ crucifixion and death persuaded God to relent?
Paul’s writings have enough complexity to fuel ongoing scholarly debates. And they have enough depth of meaning to inspire believers with a deep realization of being forgiven, an overwhelming gratitude to Jesus, and a sublime confidence in eternal life.
On the cross Jesus accomplished a breakthrough that only the incarnate Son of God could accomplish. His at-one-ment through his death on the cross liberates us all to receive the supreme revelation of God’s love and mercy and Jesus’ perfect dedication to fulfilling the will of God. Belief in Jesus includes and goes beyond intellectual acceptance of theological doctrine; belief in Jesus involves love and trust.
There is mystery in the cross that we cannot nail down with a definition or doctrinal statement. But we can turn to Jesus to ask for more revelation of truth and for the peace that passes understanding. Jesus’ redeeming love rehabilitates the sinner. Jesus expressed the meaning of his death when he said, “The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” What happens if we take that teaching as central, and use that as a lens through which to search for truth in the different ideas of atonement? The believer can rejoice in the promises: “Happy are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” “I am the resurrection and the life.” “Whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
See the 8:05 video? Listen to the podcast episode?
Image credit: Georgia O’Keefe, Black Cross New Mexico, at the Art Institute of Chicago. https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/e61a742a-bffe-9df0-c157-363e3fc6c205/full/843,/0/default.jpg
