A couple of months ago, I received an invitation from a
church in Tempe to attend an event with the renowned Biblical scholar Marcus
Borg. The title of this event was “A Credible Christian Future: Getting Over a
Bloody Cross and a Vindictive God.” Borg claims:
Understandings of the cross and resurrection of Jesus have
evolved from the first century. For the first thousand years, Good
Friday and Easter were primarily archetypal images of
personal transformation and challenges to the powers that ruled this
world. Then, around 1100, the “payment” understanding of the cross
emerged – the notion that Jesus died to pay for the sins of the world so that
we can be forgiven and go to heaven.
It
amazes me how such an imminent scholar can completely ignore the teachings of
Scripture and the testimony of the church from the time of the New Testament.
To say that the “payment” understanding of the cross didn’t emerge until around
1100 is absurd. The New Testament testifies to the necessity of Christ’s blood
for salvation. According to those who were putting on this event, “a bloody
cross is a stumbling block to those who otherwise might follow Christ.” Paul
clearly said in 1 Corinthians 1:23, “but we preach Christ crucified: a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” He goes on to say, “but
to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and
the wisdom of God.”
In
the first century, not the 12th, Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “God
presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of
his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his
righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed
beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present
time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus”
(Romans 3:25-26). So, now that we have clearly established that the belief in
the sacrifice of the Cross goes back to the Bible itself, what does that mean?
It means God is both just and merciful at the same time. God did not punish
some random innocent to relieve a blood lust, as many of these contemporary
scholars want to say. God came to earth physically in the person of Jesus of
Nazareth, and God offered the sacrifice personally to justify the sins
committed by US!
Now,
here is the reason the Cross was, and still is, necessary. Sins, or wrongs,
have been committed by us, not just against God, but against each other. Jesus
showed us that not one of us is without blame. God loves us and created us to
enjoy God’s fellowship forever, but WE chose to walk away by wanting to be our
own gods. We choose every day to continue to hurt one another over and over
again. Webster defines justice as “the establishment or determination of rights
according to the rules of law or equity.” In a just society, people are treated
equally and fairly. When a person violates another, that person has to then pay
a price, either physically or materially, to bring equity back to the relationship.
It is not just to simply acknowledge the wrong without paying the price for
equity. All of our wrongs have to be paid for before leaving this world. The
Bible says of heaven that those who commit wrong, those who cause inequity,
will not enter (1 Corinthians (1 Corinthians 6:9). Romans 3:23 establishes that
we are all guilty, therefore, without some way of paying for our wrongs, all of
our wrongs, no one is worthy to enter heaven based on the principle of justice.
God
is not some vindictive being with a bloodlust, God is a loving God who desires
us to live equitably with one another. Our unsettled wrongs have to be taken
care of on this earth because that is where they were committed. God created us
to love us and have fellowship with us, so where does that leave our
relationship with a loving, but just God? Justice demands payment for wrongs
committed, we are incapable of restoring equity in our relationships on our
own, so the eternal enters time and takes upon Himself every wrong we have ever
or will ever commit. When Jesus died on the cross, it was to pay for my wrongs
and your wrongs. Our sin or crime debt is washed clean.
Now,
before anyone gets the notion of cheap grace, the cross cost God everything.
Jesus, part of the Godhead from all eternity, was cut off from everything that
gave Him life. The innocent Son became so marred by crime that God the Father
could not even look upon Him. For the first time in eternity, God was cutoff
from God’s own life-force. That is NOT cheap grace; that is LOVE. For God knew
that we had no way to set everything right on our own, so Jesus paid the price
for equity or justice that we couldn’t. When the Bible says Jesus died, He
died! Jesus, according to 1 Peter 3:19, “went and made proclamation to the
imprisoned spirits.” This means that Jesus literally went to Hell for us. If
that isn’t love, I don’t know what is. This way of thinking that the message of
the cross is that of a bloodthirsty God couldn’t be further from the truth.
Love, not wrath, put Jesus on the Cross. Love also broke the chains of Hell and
restored to us eternal life! THAT is the message of Easter!!
Yes,
the Cross has been, and still is a stumbling block for some. But rather than
remove the Cross from our theology, isn’t it better to focus on the Good News
that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life?
