As Lent progresses we draw closer to Holy Week: the period of the Church Year devoted to reflecting on our Lord’s Passion.  Most biblical scholars agree that the oldest portions of the Gospel narrative recount the Passion.  Jesus’ teaching, his birth, and his manner of life are all important for us.  But his saving work is found most centrally in his death on the cross.  St. Paul refers to the Gospel message as “the message of the cross.” (1 Cor. 1:18)

So what did Jesus do on the cross? Generally speaking, Jesus achieved our atonement on the cross.  Bible teachers commonly explain the atonement by drawing our attention to the components of the word: at-one-ment.  Through the cross Jesus makes us one with God in a way that we could never have achieved for ourselves.

There are several theories about how the cross provides atonement.  Perhaps in another context I will have space to discuss them.  But as an alternative strategy for understanding the cross I will talk here about the three principal biblical metaphors about the cross.

The first metaphor is drawn from the law courts: justification. (Rom. 4:25; 5:1, 16, 18, 21; Gal. 2:21)  According to this metaphor, we have been found guilty of violating the law.  Jesus’ death on the cross absolves us of our guilt and achieves our acquittal.  Through the sacrifice of Christ we stand in right relation with the just God.

Redemption is the second metaphor.  It is drawn from the market place—the slave market to be precise.  (Rom. 3:24; 1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9:12)  We are slaves to the effects of the Fall.  We cannot escape our own brokenness by our own devices.  Jesus’ death on the cross is the price paid to buy us out of our slavery.  The work of the cross is the manumission of enslaved humanity.  Or, to take a slightly different approach to the same metaphor, Jesus’ death is the ransom paid for us who are held captive by cruel, destructive forces (Mark 10:45). C. S. Lewis was particularly fond of the ransom metaphor, as am I.

Finally, reconciliation is a metaphor drawn from family life.  (Rom. 5:6-16; 2 Cor. 5:15-18)  To reconcile is to restore a relationship to wholeness after that relationship has been broken.  On the cross, Jesus restores our broken relationship with the Father to wholeness.  We can feel comfortable at home again with our heavenly Father because Christ’s sacrifice has restored the bonds of affection between us.

These are rich metaphors meant to invoke memories of our personal experiences and to promote continued reflection.  All metaphors are limited.  There lies the genius of Holy Scripture.  The Bible gives us three powerful metaphors through which to consider the power of the cross.  There is no need to limit ourselves to one or the other, to advocate for one as superior to the other two.  Instead, each of these metaphors brings us to the cross from a different angle.  Each may speak to us with particular clarity and power at various points of our lives.

Take some time this Lent, and especially during Holy Week, to reflect on the cross.  Remember that Christ died for you because he loves you.  And that is a love that will never die.