The earliest believers interpreted the life and death of Jesus in different ways\u00a0\u2014 as substitute and sacrifice, ransom and reconciliation, adoption and example. But pride of place goes to what\u2019s called \u201cChristus Victor,\u201d another ancient view that was reinvigorated by the modern Swedish theologian Gustav Aul\u00e9n (d. 1977)\u00a0\u2014 that in his life, death and resurrection Jesus conquered the powers of sin, death, and evil that enslave us.<\/p>\n
The apostle Paul says as much. Jesus \u201cdestroyed death\u201d (2\u00a0Timothy 1:10), our \u201clast enemy\u201d (1\u00a0Corinthians 15:26). He \u201cdisarmed the powers and authorities, and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross\u201d (Colossians 2:15). Jesus \u201ctasted death for every one,\u201d and \u201cthrough death he rendered powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil\u201d (Hebrews 2:9,14). And so the paradox, that by death Jesus conquered death.<\/p>\n
C.S. Lewis called this the \u201cdeeper magic before the dawn of time.\u201d This deeper magic, says Mark Heim, \u201ccomes into this [Narnia] story as an unexpected development, something about which the evil powers knew nothing. And when Aslan rises, the ancient stone altar on which the sacrifice was offered cracks and crumbles in pieces, never to be used again. The gospel, then, is not ultimately about the exchange of victims, but about ending the bloodshed.\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n
And so every Sunday, and especially Easter Sunday, we confess the Apostles\u2019 Creed: \u201cJesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, he was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead.\u201d The harrowing of hell on Holy Saturday, after Friday\u2019s crucifixion and before Sunday\u2019s resurrection, is the most important day in salvation history that we rarely mention.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t Plato\u2019s immortality of an immaterial soul; it\u2019s the resurrection of your body.<\/p>\n
Nor is this some private benefit. Isaiah 65 imagines a new heaven and new earth. Paul says that God in Christ will \u201creconcile to himself all things, having made peace through the blood of his cross, whether things on earth or things in heaven\u201d (Colossians 1:20). He will \u201csum up\u201d or \u201cbring together\u201d \u201call things in heaven and on earth\u201d (Ephesians 1:10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From Daniel Clendenin: The earliest believers interpreted the life and death of Jesus in different ways\u00a0\u2014 as substitute and sacrifice, ransom and reconciliation, adoption and example. But pride of place goes to what\u2019s called \u201cChristus Victor,\u201d another ancient view that was reinvigorated by the modern Swedish theologian Gustav Aul\u00e9n (d. 1977)\u00a0\u2014 that in his life, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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