Before United Methodist pastors get fully ordained, they have to write a pretty long paper touching many points of theology, church life, the ministry, the sacraments, etc. Then they go in front of a small group of other pastors (and a layperson or two) and essentially defend what they’ve written. I remember being very nervous about this process, especially because I heard that they would often ask about the atonement, or, in simpler words, what meaning does Jesus’ death on the cross have?
I had struggled with that and was hoping I wouldn’t get asked about it, but, sure enough, first question: "It’s Good Friday. What are you saying to your parishioners?“ I hemmed and hawed about God’s presence with us in the suffering, but it was a pretty incomplete answer. They were graceful, however, and let me make it through anyway.
These texts come up again as we draw closer to Holy Week and over the years I’ve been thankful for books like Scot McKnight’s that reminds us that there have been many atonement theories throughout the church’s history and I have found that depending on where a person is in his or her faith life, there’s one that has particular meaning for them. Does the crucifixion mean that our sin/debt has been paid? That Jesus’ death takes the place of the death that we deserve? That it is the ultimate sign that good has triumphed over evil? That it is a divine revelation that scapegoating and violence are, in the end, failures to make things right? I know people would line up behind each of these and I have been at particular points in my life when each of these theories have been what I needed.
And when I came across the quote I just posted by N.T. Wright, I was grateful for his insight.