#30 - Why did Jesus die? (Part 4) {Reflections}

what's up everybody.

My name is ryan braley and I am here in the, in the podcasting studio we call it.

We call it Mike's Beats Laboratory because Mike Lauer, this is his office.

I come down here once a week and we lay down some tracks, so we call it the Beats Laboratory or the Beats Laboratory, but laboratory is so much more fun to say.

So welcome everybody into our Beats Laboratory.

I'm Ryan and Mike is here.

He's the recorder, so you can't always hear him, but he's off to my I don't know.

He's off to my left and he's the master producer.

So what's up, mike?

Not much.

All right, let's get into it.

Hey, we are in week number I think three or four.

We're just trying to explore briefly I mean ever so briefly why did Jesus die?

And there's lots of theories.

Hopefully, if you really enjoy this, you can go online and Google.

You know all these, the variety of different.

You know they call them atonement theories.

By the way, there's a great book if you want to get really nuts.

It's actually not that in-depth, but it's really a good cursory view of a lot of these.

It's actually a book called Across the Spectrum by Greg Boyd and Paul Eddy, and they take a number of different topics within Christianity and they explore them from different angles and kind of give you the pros and cons of different views and then really let you decide and kind of wrestle with it on your own.

So they're not trying to indoctrinate you with what they think.

But they actually have a whole chapter on atonement theories.

They have three theories and they kind of weigh the pros and cons.

It's really cool.

So I'm not being paid by Greg or Paul, but it's a good book.

It's called Across the Spectrum and it's written for like an average you know, it's written for like just an ordinary person.

So it's just a great book to have on your bookshelf, all right.

That being said, I did not know.

I was going to say that that was a commercial, I guess.

But anyway, we've talked about the ransom theory, the final scapegoat theory, and this week I want to talk with you about the victor Christ, the victor theory.

Now, this is what it says that Jesus came.

Basically it's this Jesus came to overcome the works of the devil, the powers of darkness, the evil one, all the evil powers, and even death itself, and to free us from his power.

There are lots of great thinkers who sort of this was their view, and this was actually the predominant view for about the first thousand years in the church.

So guys like Justin Martyr, irenaeus, martin Luther if you've heard of him, gustav Allen, of course, greg Boyd this is his predominant theory as well but these people all affirmed that this was what was going on on the cross, at least in part, that Jesus came to conquer death and to conquer Satan, the powers of darkness.

He conquers death by entering into death and, of course, coming out of it with the resurrection, and he conquers Satan or the powers of evil, the powers of darkness, the principalities, by using the very means employed by the darkness or the powers to defeat Jesus.

So the cross, so the powers, the principalities, the evil one, they assume they're going to conquer Jesus by using the cross, but instead Jesus flips the script, as the young people say, and conquers Satan by his work on the cross.

So the idea behind the idea is that humanity is at one point, whether it's in the garden, which the garden could be just a story that's actually about all of our lives, it could be this metaphorical, mythical story that actually is about all of our lives, even today, but that humanity has turned itself over to the powers of the darkness and needs rescue.

So going back to the lion, the witch in the wardrobe, when edmund, he betrays his family by hanging out with the white witch and sort of giving them over to her and eating the Turkish delight and then suddenly, because of his betrayal, she owns him.

Same kind of thing that you and I are under the powers of the evil one.

1 John 5.19, if you want to look it up, says just as much.

So we're under the power of the evil one.

Somehow you and I are under the influence, the power of principalities and powers and darkness, not to say that we're like possessed by the evil one in some kind of like a 1970s exorcist kind of way, rather that we live in this world that's really got all these powers at play and at work that influence us in all kinds of negative ways and we need to be free from them.

And so the cross or the crucifixion is this act of divine love to rescue us from Satan's grip.

And I love it because I think this is really emphatically one of the major things happening that Jesus came to destroy the works of the evil one.

That's 1 John 3.8.

And in Colossians 2.15, it says that Jesus came to disarm the rulers and authorities, and by that it doesn't just mean like a little devil in a red suit with horns and a pitchfork running around poking and provoking people.

That's actually not a.

I mean the evil one.

The powers, the rulers and authorities are much more sinister than just some little guy in a red suit running around trying to get you to, you know, push an old lady over or whatever.

And Paul, when Paul writes about these things in Ephesians and other places, it's actually a much larger sort of these powers that are at work in the world, and they're often embodied by people or institutions, but they're this sinister thing and that Jesus came to set us free and destroy those and liberate us, you and I, from their powers.

And so in Hebrews 2.14, he says that he came to destroy the work, or rather he came to destroy the one who has the power of death.

And so Jesus of course enters into death, but doesn't stay dead and he comes back to life, he's resurrected and that's where he conquers death.

And it's awesome because in his ministry, before he even dies, he does all these things he sets people free, he exercises demons, he liberates folks from their oppression, from institutions and rulers and powers and authorities that are oppressing them or binding them up.

He heals people's diseases and sicknesses and reestablishes them back into the community, into their family, and then healing their relational fissures or fractures, and he takes back the kingdom of you know, he takes back the kingdom, or takes back the world from under the influence of the kingdom of darkness and begins to spread this new kingdom, his kingdom of light and hope and salvation.

And, of course, on the cross, he unequivocally unmasks the powers themselves and robs them of their grip on humanity.

Remember, there's that scene I love it where the man looks up the Roman centurion and says, hey, surely this was God's son.

Somehow, the powers, the evil one, was unmasked, their work was exposed and it was all considered a fraud, and Jesus is revealed as the divine son of God and in doing so he redeems us from these powers, from sin and, of course, from death itself.

So, anyway, there you go.

That's the Christ is victor or Christ is victor.

It's the Latin which you might.

If you Google it, you can also Google that, but I love this one.

It's one of my favorites.

I like them all, honestly, but it's a beautiful way.

So I hope, as you've heard, at least these three episodes, you have begin to have a broader, maybe more layered or nuanced view of what was going on on the cross and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Give me a holler, shoot me a text, email, a call or grab me in the hallway.

And yeah, of course, you're always welcome to come hang out with us at Central as well.

So, mike, that's all I got man.

Hey, grace and peace, love you guys.

Hey, grace and peace, love you guys.

Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends.

And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 8.30, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering, or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg Peace.