Was Jesus Death Only to Satisfy the Justice of God?
The Cross and Covenant
For the last 150 years, the dominant thinking in the Western church has been a legal view of Christ’s death. The emphasis in this model is to view God as a judge sitting in His courtroom and ourselves as criminals worthy of the death penalty. This is not an article written to deny the legal or forensic aspects of the death of Christ, but I do believe there is another powerful understanding of Christ’s sacrifice that has strong biblical support and is rooted firmly in the Jewish understanding of what it meant to be in covenant relationship with God.
What does Jesus Himself say concerning His impending death? “This wine is the token of God’s new covenant to save you — an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you.” (Luke 22:20, NLT)
In addition to the legal aspects of Christ’s death, let us consider a few thoughts that speak to the idea of covenant. First, let us not ignore that Jesus’ death is also covenantal in nature (Luke 22:20)
Second, the nature of covenant is relational more than it is legal: “I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” (Leviticus 26:12, NRSV)
Third, Jesus’ sacrifice seals (establishes) the covenant, providing a renewed opportunity for meaningful relationship between God and all who identify with Christ’s incarnational work: “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” (Hebrews 8:8, NRSV)
Finally, similar to the Old Covenant, this relationship is a gift and is entered into and maintained by faith: “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” (Romans 5:1-2, NLT)
In response to all of this I conclude by inviting you into a relationship with God that is defined by covenant, not only by law, and in response to that loving relationship “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:2, NRSV)