Hebrews 2:14 & 15 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
The mystery of the cross is that what occurred there on Golgotha was so profound on so many levels that to understand the true significance of Good Friday would be next to impossible. There are four major concepts of the crucifixion; Penal Substitution, Christus Victor, Ransom, and Satisfaction. It makes for an interesting hour as one Googles each of those.
The entire event, from the evening in the garden, to the resurrection, is the core of our faith. Each of the four major theories of atonement, reflects an underlying perspective on the nature of our existence, the nature of God, his love for us, and the substance of our relationship with him.
For me the crucifixion, I see an act of healing, of liberation.
Granted, my personal theology focuses more upon the resurrection. Romans 10:9 declares that we need to “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.” For without the resurrection, there is no victory. So previously, I have seen the crucifixion as a radical act of healing. That by taking on our sin, and defeating it and death, we are healed. (I Peter 2:24)
This year, I am struck by another perspective on the crucifixion. This year, I have posted about how God came to join with his creation. Thus, I was struck by how in his birth, he became one of the despised ones. In his ministry, he always seemed more interesting in being with those deemed unworthy, unrighteous, or just plain unacceptable.
Although Jesus was fully human, and for this celestial sleight of hand, he needed to have been fully human. He did not experience sin. Thus, could he be our high priest if only knowing part of being human?
We tend to misunderstand the idea and nature of sin. We imagine that it is simply God not wanting us to enjoy ourselves: that obedience to God is about docile submission. We have made sinful to mean mischievous, and self-indulgent. But is that really correct? Do we honour a God who does not want us to enjoy either ourselves or what the world has to offer?
When I think of sin, I think of despair. I think of Pauls’ words “I do that which I do not want to do, and don’t do that which I know I should.” I think of the pain, and harm that I have inflicted on others in acts of greed, selfishness, and ego-centeredness. Sin is what separates us from each other and from God. Thus, sin is neither a delightful indulgence nor an act that annoys and offends a petty deity.
Thus, the concept of Jesus taking on our sins becomes the sacrifice.
To my mind, the crucifixion is the easy part. He is God after all. Yes, he is tortured – beaten and whipped – then hangs on the cross for three hours. For God, it seems a simple task. Not quite the process to cause him to sweat blood. Not that I am meaning to diminish the act of the cross.
It is his taking on my brokenness, that seems the hardship. It is in his humanity, where his sacrifice lies. In taking on my sin, he took it on to its destructive conclusion; death. It is this part, the messiness of our lives, that would be the most challenging. It would also be quite like him to do so.
There are those that Jesus words of “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” as being a complaint. I am amongst those who think he was drawing our attention to Psalm 22. Yes, the separation from God was real at that moment. It is the same separation that the parent of a dying child feels, it is the same separation that the addict feels, it is the same separation we all feel within our lives.
The Easter Celebration reminds me that the separation I experience is temporary, and there will come a time when I will be fully in the presence of God.
