7.3 The Significance of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus
Hardin argues that the death on the cross is emphatically not a sacrifice to appease an angry God. There is a fairly technical description of a greek word which is translated proportion or expiation and what that means. "If the death of Jesus was not to propitiate the wrath of an angry divinity whose justice had been offended, then what does it actually accomplish? I will highlight three inter-related areas that Paul suggests Christ’s death affected: the realm of sin, the rule of law, and the principalities and powers,"
Sin, the Law and Jesus’ death. Paul generally speaks of sin in the singular implying that he is talking about a category, not a specific instance. We all pick and choose which laws we will break and which we will obey. Yet, as Christians we tend to codify our cultural mores and make them universal law. <There is a danger here to slip in moral relativism.> "If Christ is the end of the law it means he is the end, there is no turning back to the law in order to establish either our own personal holiness or as a basis for what constitutes authentic Christian community. The only law left is the law of love.”
Jesus’ Death Is the Death of Satan. Let’s summarize what Jesus’ death affects. The death of Jesus is:
- The end of sacred violence
- The end of violent Biblical interpretation
- The end of relationships based upon law
- The reconciliation of enemies
- The turning of the ages, the Eschaton
Quotes from Hardin, Michael (2013-09-26). The Jesus Driven Life: Reconnecting Humanity With Jesus, 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded (Kindle Locations 6411-6417). JDL Press. Kindle Edition.