Schedule:

• Week of March 1: Introduction
• Week of March 8: Redemption
• Week of March 15: Satisfaction
• Week of March 22: Substitution
• Week of March 29: Revolution

Study #1: Introduction

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Notes:

The cross of Christ stands at the heart of Christian faith. Yet in spite of this fact, or perhaps because of it, Christians have never arrived at a uniform understanding of the meaning of Jesus’s death. Indeed, it has been understood in numerous and sometimes competing ways throughout the history of the church.

In theological terms, the English word that has come represent different ideas about the meaning of the cross is “atonement.”

Atonement means being reconciled or in harmony with another (at-one-ment). It describes the work that God did through Christ, particularly on the cross, to bring reconciliation and salvation to the world.

Throughout the centuries of church history, Christians have employed different explanations, theories, and metaphors to explain what happened on the cross.

These explanations and theories have always attempted to be faithful to the teaching of scripture, which serves as an ultimate authority for Christian faith.

Yet in spite of this reliance on the Bible, no single understanding of the cross has emerged in the history of the church.

This is because:

1. There are multiple strands of thought in the Bible concerning the meaning of the cross.
2. These ideas have been appropriated in the midst of different cultural contexts and situations.
3. These ideas have been conceived and developed in the midst of different, and sometimes competing, church traditions.

This combination of factors helps us to account for diversity of thought regarding the meaning of the cross in in the history of the church. This class will explore some of the most significant Biblical texts on the meaning of the cross as well as their various interpretations in the Christian tradition.

Questions for Reflection:

• Does it surprise you that the Christians have not arrived at a uniform understanding regarding the meaning of the cross? Why or why not? What is your response to this situation?
   
• How do you understand the idea of reconciliation or at-one-ment? What do you think that would look like if it actually came to be and how would it be different from what we see in the world today?
   
• How do you understand the authority of the Bible in your own life and in the life of the church? Have you ever thought about the different ways in which Christians view the Bible and if so, what difference does this make?
   
• What do you think about the idea that the Bible contains more than one way of understanding the meaning of the cross? Does this make sense to you? Why or why not?
   
• How do you think different cultures and Church traditions influence the reading and interpretation of the Bible? How do they influence you? What difference does this make and what can we learn from different interpretations?
   
• What does the cross of Jesus mean to you? What difference does it make in your life and faith?
   
• What is particularly significant to you in this study?
   
• What questions do you have?

Study #2: Redemption

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Notes and Scripture Texts:

One of the earliest conceptions of the work of Jesus of the cross is the idea of redemption. Through his death, Jesus redeems humanity from the powers of sin and death. This notion of redemption appears in three particular strands of thought in the Bible and in the history of the church: Recapitulation, Ransom, and Victory.

Recapitulation:

Jesus is viewed as the new or second Adam who succeeds where the first Adam failed. Because of Adam’s disobedience the process of human evolution went wrong and could neither be halted nor reversed by humans. Jesus recapitulates the course of human evolution and experience perfectly in obedience to the intentions of God bringing salvation to human kind.

Ephesians 1:7-10: In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Romans 5:18-19: Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Ransom:

This view teaches that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was a ransom, possibly paid to the devil to redeem humanity from his control and free them for salvation. From this perspective, Satan gained dominion over humanity of deceiving Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and leading them to disobey God.

Matthew 20:25-28: But Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Hebrews 2:14-15: Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.

Victory:

A variation on the ransom theory, this position maintains that the death of Jesus was not the payment of a ransom to the devil, but rather that it was the victory of Christ over the powers of sin and death as well as the devil. Through this victory, humanity experiences liberation from these powers and enjoys renewed life on earth and reconciliation with God.

1 Corinthians 15:22-26: For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Questions for Reflection:

• What does the idea of redemption mean to you? How do you understand it? Do you think human beings are in need of redemption? Why or why not?
   
• Have you ever thought about the life and death of Jesus in terms of a recapitulation of the human experience? What do you think of this idea? Is it meaningful to you?
   
• Does the idea of the cross of Jesus as a ransom make sense to you? Why might we need this? Can you think of any contemporary examples of ransom payment?
   
• Do you see the cross as a victory of Jesus over death? If so, what does this mean to you? What difference does it make in your life and the lives of others?
   
• What is particularly significant to you in this study?
   
• What questions do you have?

Study #3: Satisfaction

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Notes and Scripture Texts

In the last study we looked at the theme of redemption through the lenses of Jesus death on the cross as a recapitulation, a ransom, and a victory. We saw in scripture that these motifs particularly arise from God’s deep love for us. In this study we turn our attention to the theme of satisfaction.

While all conceptions of atonement embrace the love of God as an important motivation for this action, the focal point of the satisfaction motif is on God’s justice. This position says that the death of Jesus is to make restitution in order to satisfy the anger of God against human rebellion. Since one of God's attributes is justice, God does not simple ignore, gloss over, and forgive affronts to justice without restitution. This relates to the legal concept of balancing out an injustice. A key figure in the development of this idea is Anselm of Canterbury (d.1109).

Colossians 2:13-14: And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.

A related idea is that of Jesus as our merit. In this conception, Jesus redeems human beings by meriting or earning grace and salvation on their behalf. This was controversial for some because it seemed to suggest that salvation had some basic connection to works: How it can be an act of God’s free mercy and yet Jesus earns human salvation through meritorious good works?

This legal element is important in this view due to the role good works played in the judgment of God in the New Testament. In every passage where the immediate context is the final determination of eternal life, the basis for that judgment is always deeds. James 2:24 reads, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

Romans 5:18-19: Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Questions for Reflection:

• What do you think of the idea of satisfaction? How do you understand it? Does it make sense to you? Why or why not?
   
• How do you respond to the idea that God gets angry and has wrath toward human beings? Do you believe this is true? What difference does it make?
   
• Do you think of Jesus life and death as meriting salvation for human beings? Ids this necessary? Why or why not? What difference does it make?
   
• Have you ever thought about the connection between the meaning of the cross and culture? Can you think of contemporary examples?
   
• How do you understand the justice of God? How does it relate to the cross? Do you see any difficulties with this idea? What are the implications for your life?
   
• What is particularly significant to you in this study?
   
• What questions do you have?

Study #4: Substitution

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Notes and Scripture Texts

The idea of Jesus’ death on the cross as a legal substitution is probably the most common view of the atonement in the Western church. The idea is that Jesus dies in the place of sinful human in order to justify them before God. Jesus takes on the condemnation that human beings deserve through his death on the cross.

The focus of the substitution idea is on the legal aspect of salvation and is similar to the satisfaction theme but here the accent on Jesus enduring the punishment deserved by rebellious and sinful human beings rather than on satisfying the justice of God. In this motif, God is wrathful toward human beings because of their sin and Jesus bears the effects of God’s anger. This view is typical of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Protestant Orthodoxy.

Isaiah 53:4-5: “Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.”

Romans 3:23-25: “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement* by his blood, effective through faith.” *Propitiation: A sacrifice that turns aside the wrath of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Martin Luther referred to this text of scripture and this view of the atonement as “The Great Exchange.”

A more recent approach to the substitution motif is Jesus as Scapegoat. This idea of atonement theory is rooted in the philosophical concept of the Scapegoat. Here Jesus dies as the Scapegoat of humanity thus moving away from the idea that Jesus died in order to act upon God and turning aside the wrath of God. This view asserts that the atonement is non-violent in terms of the intention of God since Jesus is not in this view a sacrifice but a victim. God overcomes our violence by substituting himself for the victim of our typical sacrifices.

Questions for Reflection:

• What do you think of the idea of substitution? How do you understand it? Does it make sense to you? Why or why not?
   
• Why do you think the substitutionary understanding of Jesus’ death has become the most common understanding of the atonement?
   
• How do you respond to the idea that Jesus death is a “sacrifice” to turn away the wrath of God toward us? Do you believe this is true? Why or why not?
   
• What are the implications of the idea that God is love on this view? How do you reconcile God’s love with God’s justice? Why is this important, or not?
   
• How does the idea of Jesus as a scapegoat sound to you? Do you think it provides a helpful alternative to the traditional view of substitution?
   
• How do you understand the justice of God? How does it relate to the cross? Do you see any difficulties with this idea? What are the implications for your life?
   
• What is particularly significant to you in this study?
   
• What questions do you have?

Study #5: Revolution

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Notes and Scripture Texts

The final theme we will examine in our study on the meaning of the cross is the idea of Jesus’ death as revolution. In addition to revolution, this theme also picks up the idea of Jesus as a teacher and his life as a moral example. Some of these notions appear in the earliest teaching on the atonement and see further thought and development in the medieval church, in the Reformation, as well as in the present day. They are particularly significant because they point to the ongoing responsibility of human beings in response to the death of Jesus.

The first expression of this idea of Jesus life and death as revolution (though this name is not used) appears in the atonement motif of Jesus as the great teacher in the writings of Justin Martyr and Clement of Alexandria. This idea draws on the ancient Greek idea that the basic human problem is ignorance. The assumption being that if we know the right thing to do we will do the right thing. The difficulty is we do not know the right way to live. Jesus comes to teach the right way to live; he is the light of the world.

John 1:1-5: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

A second development of what we are here describing as the theme of revolution occurs in the work of Peter Abelard in the medieval church. In critical response to the satisfaction theory of the atonement, this view maintains that Jesus died as a moral example and influence. In this way, he is a perfect demonstration of God's love and this can and does change the hearts and minds of the human beings, turning them to God and changing their conduct toward each other. This brings about moral and spiritual revolution.

Abelard was particularly concerned to change the dominant perception of God by those of his time as offended, harsh, angry, and judgmental. Instead, Abelard sought to depict God as loving with the cross as a manifestation of the lengths God will go to demonstrate care and concern for humanity.

John 3:16-17: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

A more recent development of this theme of Christ as revolutionary occurs in the so-called theologies of liberation. This approach maintains that Jesus was a radical teacher whose death on the cross launched a social revolution to transform the world and bring about the Kingdom of God through the spirit-enabled work of his disciples. This theme has recently been explored in the work of New Testament scholar N. T. Wright, The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion. This social revolution is rooted in the radical welcome the church is called to demonstrate following the example of Jesus.

Romans 5:10a: “For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son.” Therefore, Romans 15:7: “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

Questions for Reflection:

• What do you think of the idea of revolution? How do you understand it? Does it make sense to you? Why or why not?
   
• Do you see the connections between the idea of Jesus as a great teacher and moral example and social revolution?
   
• What do you think of the idea that Jesus’ death is a moral example that the church and the world are to follow. What does this mean in actuality?
   
• Do you think the death of Jesus on the cross changes your life and the life of the world? Why or why not? If so, what examples can you see?
   
• What are our responsibilities as individuals and as a church in the light of Good Friday? What are we doing well? How might we need to change?
   
• What is particularly significant to you in this study?
   
• What questions do you have?