Tomorrow is Easter. Today is what some have called “Silent Saturday.” It refers to the disciples huddled together, whispering their fears about the reach of “the authorities” and quietly voicing their profound disappointment. The crucifixion had broken their hearts. They had no idea (though they had been told) what the next morning would bring.
You don’t have to be an expert in world religions to know the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is crucial to understanding Christianity.
A popular theologian—yes, such creatures apparently exist—offers up what many of his disciples see as a more palatable explanation of the cross than the traditional view offers. (I will leave the popular theologian unnamed since, despite claims that his viewpoint is new, he really represents a certain type of theologian, a type who has been around for centuries.) Instead of the cross being a place where a man died to placate an angry God, the popular theologian sees the cross a place where a man died to self—his self-centeredness, selfishness. This allows the popular theologian to avoid what he sees as troubling aspects of the standard explanation of the cross. As for the resurrection—the Easter event—our focus shouldn’t be on a lone man leaving the tomb, but on the light emanating from that tomb, a light filling the whole world. Indeed, some of the popular theologian’s critics wonder if he believes the resurrection was the kind of event that could have been captured on cell phone cameras had they been around in the first century. The popular theologian believes his view frees God from scandalous character flaws more traditional orthodoxy attributes to Him. The popular theologian probably believes this.
The popular theologian claims he is rescuing God’s reputation; in fact, he is rescuing humanity’s reputation. The cross doesn’t show how harsh God is; is shows how bad we are. Only the death of God’s Son could deal with the problem of sin.
The popular theologian doesn’t like the imagery of sacrifice when the cross is mentioned, even though that image is found everywhere in the New Testament. In Hebrews 9:23, Jesus provides the better sacrifice. In Romans 3:24-26, Jesus is described as providing “propitiation” for our sins. I have left the popular theologian unidentified, but I will respond to his thinking using an old cliché about Christianity. If he is Protestant, he must deal with Paul who says, “We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins….” (Ephesians 1:7 AV). If he is Roman Catholic, he must deal with Peter who says, “you were not redeemed with corruptible things as gold or silver, from your vain conversation [way of life] of the tradition of your fathers: But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled…” (I Peter 1:18,19 Douay-Rheims).
In short, the popular theologian does not take our sins seriously, nor the depth of God’s love. Rather than the cross proving God’s harshness, the cross proves God’s love—self-sacrificing love. It can’t be much clearer than Romans 5:8, “Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly!”
Look for references to the cross in the New Testament and you’re likely to find, close by, a reference to the resurrection. Though the initial response to the Risen Jesus showing up may have been, “Well, that was unexpected,” further reflection produced another response, “Well, of course.” The earliest preachers insisted it would have been a monumental injustice for Jesus to remain in the grave and, linked to this, was the claim that his resurrection proved who he was: God’s Anointed, the Messiah, in fact, God Incarnate (Acts 2:39, Romans 1:4, Philippians 2:9). At the same time, they argued the resurrection was evidence Christ’s self-sacrifice provided effectively dealt with our sins and provided salvation (Romans 4:25).
Now what I have just outlined in the last three paragraphs is a kind of generic theology. It’s what you would expect to hear in an Easter sermon. In fact, if you hear a sermon on Easter, you will probably be able to guess what the preacher is going to say next. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s something the popular theologian can use. He offers novelty. He offers to give you insights your parents don’t have. If you embrace, what the popular theologian has to say, you a cut above the ordinary Christian. You have special knowledge. You are more mature. (Huh, that almost sound like Gnosticism. But mustn’t digress.)
Sure, the popular theologian’s promise of living in a new way, selflessly, lovingly, sounds good. But, it is an empty promise without the cross and the empty tomb. The popular theologian’s alternative leaves you powerless. The orthodoxy of the Bible promises Christ’s resurrection power, mediated through the Holy Spirit in your life (Acts 2:33).
So, this Easter be aware of the popular theologian. Don’t let yourself be fooled by about how good you are, about how you can be like Jesus on your own. It sounds good, but it doesn’t work.
The popular theologian will never go away. He shows up whenever people want to hear they are not so bad that Christ had to die for them, wherever we want to hear how much we can do if we really try, with no need for silly notions like repentance and forgiveness. Instead, the popular theologian flatters our egos. That’s why the popular theologian is popular. But remember, the popular theologian has traded truth for popularity.
