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1 The Shape of the Tradition The dogmatic tradition strives to understand and presentJesus' work in his life and death in a way that stresses his historical act for us rather than his being as such. The various theories of the atone­ ment have this aim. Insofar, however, as they attempt to capture the significance of the event in theories, they tend to defeat their own purpose and obscure the offense with roses. THE SCRIPTURAL TRADITION The basic material relevant to the work of Christ is simply the biblical story as it culminates in the cross and resurrection ofJesus, and some ad hoc at­ tempts to interpret the significance of that story for its first hearers. The story is simple enough and well known. Jesus, the carpenter's son from Nazareth, came declaring the imminent coming of the kingdom of God in connection with his own person and ministry, preaching repentance, forgiv­ ing sins, and performing signs and wonders. Those whom he encountered were confronted with a finality, with an ultimate judgment that could not be avoided. He opened a new vision of God for those who accepted him, a vision of the God whom he called his Father. InJesus' being for them, this God was there for them. He brought new life and freedom. He did not de­ mand, he gave; he did not crush, he raised up; he did not judge, he removed burdens and let people breathe freely. He broke and transcended the bounds of convention and tradition and advocated the poor, the downtrodden, the outcast, the oppressed. He gave hope. Jesus manifested the love of God. But he was not accepted. Perhaps he could not be—here. One cannot forgive sins here. It destroys all account books. One cannot run roughshod over the laws and traditions that keep earthly life and community in shape. The radical and unconditional love of God the Father could not go unchallenged—not when there is important business to attend to. He had to go. He was handed over to the Roman authorities and crucified, apparently as a messianic pretender. His life ended in an agonizing cacophony of voices. 11 7 / THE WORK OF CHRIST "Shall I crucify your King?" "We have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15). "Do not weep for me, but weepforyourselves and for your children" (Luke 23:28). And the inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews" (Mark 15:26). "Aha! \bu who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!" . . . "He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe" (Mark 15:29-32). "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). His death was not pretty. It is easy to forget that, when centuries of worship and art have made of the cross a beautiful cult symbol. Martin Hengel's Crucifixion in the Ancient World reminds us not only that the cross was ex­ cruciatingly painful, humiliating, and degrading—a death reserved for the public humiliation of slaves and political outcasts to deter further crime— but also that precisely that kind of death is the culmination of the story, an ineradicable part of the historical deposit with which the theology itself must grapple,1 The very folly and offense of it is the stuff from which the theology must start. But the story does not end with the cross. There are other voices that write the end—and a new beginning!—to the story: He has risen, he is not here (Mark 16:6). Why do you seek the living among the dead? (Luke 24:5). God raisedJesus from the dead. God vindicated the one rejected by all. God put the stamp of approval on the one humiliated and degraded. God ratified the action of the one who had the audacity to forgive sins here. Such, in brief, is the story. What does it tell us about the work of Christ? What does thisJesus and his story do? It is amazing, when one takes the New Testament as a whole, how little is explicitly said which gives what could be called a dogmatic explanation of the work of Christ—at least of the sort that has become so dominant in the tradition. The earliest layers of the New Testa­ ment Gospel sources, the sayings sources such as Q, indicate...

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