We began this series on atonement at the beginning of Lent, six weeks ago. Today we conclude the series. We have been learning about different aspects of atonement, and that atonement is the central purpose of the Bible and the Temple and the church. God’s purpose on earth is to bring atonement to humanity.
We’ve learned about several classic ways to understand atonement. We talked about the Ransom Theory, developed by Origen (185-202). The Satisfaction Theory draws primarily from the works of Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109). Building on this we learned that penal substitutionary atonement was developed by the Protestant Reformers in the 1600s. Then Gustaf Aulén published the Chrisus Victor theory in 1931. Aulén reinterpreted the classic ransom theory of atonement. Aulen believed that the Christus Victor theory was the original theory of the apostles, the first theory to be developed, before Origen’s Ransom Theory.
Each of these theories of atonement makes sense of the story of Jesus Christ in different ways. None of them are wrong, and each has important truths to teach us. But the least known, and most important is the Christus Victor theory. Why? Because it both precedes and concludes all of the others. This theory does not deny the necessity of Christ’s death, but emphasizes the greater importance of new life in Christ.
Easter morning makes Christ’s suffering and death meaningful and worthwhile. Easter morning turns the historical page of human history. It marks the end of the old and the birth of the new. And in order to embrace new life in Christ we all must let go of our sinful past which drags us down into the pit of sin and depression. The Easter message is that Christ is victorious over all of the sin and evil of the world! Christ is not on the cross! Nor is He in the tomb! He lives!
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