| Bishop's CornerThe Cross of Christ
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
 If there is one thing that is
difficult for us to comprehend it is the cross of Jesus Christ. Indeed,
I do not think that we are able to fully comprehend the meaning of the
crucifixion of Jesus because it is a mystery. A mystery is a truth that
is beyond the capacity of the human mind to grasp.
The cross is a mystery because it is more than
martyrdom. Jesus was a martyr for his cause that he called the kingdom
of God. Yet his death on the cross is still commemorated because it
was not only the death of one innocent man, but also the death of “the
Lord of glory” (I Corinthians 2:8). The faith of the church is that
the death of Jesus Christ was accomplished for our sakes according to
the will of God the Father.
Because of the testimony of the apostles that
Jesus Christ died “for” us (Romans 5:8) or “instead of” us
(Greek in Mark 10:45) the church has described his death as a “substitute”
for ours. Many resist thinking of Jesus’ death in terms of
substitution. Part of the resistance is because of a distorted notion
that his death for us should be understood as an appeasement of an
angry God, a concept at variance with John 3:16.
There are other reasons why the idea of
substitution is resisted. For one thing, the idea of substitution
seems to undercut our moral responsibility; how could someone else
take my place since I am responsible for my own life? For another
thing, it implies a human solidarity; how could the death of another
human being have effect upon me?
The reason substitution is resisted is because
it is an affront to our pride and individualism. This is the very
reason the idea of substitution is integral to the meaning of the
cross: in ways beyond our comprehension Jesus Christ’s death on the
cross is what God has done for us that we cannot do for ourselves, and
it is God’s remedy for the predicament of the human race from which
no one can extricate herself or himself.
John R. Stott said salvation is God’s
substitution of himself for us; sin is our substitution of ourselves
for God.
Because the cross of Christ is a mystery there
is no human theory of its meaning that is complete. That is why the
church has never developed a dogma or only one clearly defined
interpretation of its meaning. It speaks to the heart in tones that
the intellect perceives, but cannot express in thought or words. The
cross is God’s Word our hearts hear as both a healing of our
estrangement from God, our guilt, and our capacity to sin and death
and a calling to love and serve others for whom Christ died.
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