THE
ATONEMENT
CHAPTER XVII.
Atonement in the New Testament. The Gospels.
WE now come to the New Testament. We have already carried
its doctrine with us in the interpretation of the Old; for our object has been,
not to trace the gradual unfolding of the truth from age to age, but to get as
completely as possible for our souls that truth, as Scripture, now complete, as
a whole presents it to us. Thus we have already anticipated much of what would
otherwise now come before us. Yet we shall find, if the Lord only open our eyes
to it, abundance of what is of unfailing interest for us, and that the
substance here goes beyond all the shadows of the past.
In the Gospels,
however, the doctrine of atonement is but little developed. We have instead the
unspeakably precious work which wrought it. The Acts also, while devoted to the
history of the effects of its accomplishment, speaks little directly of the
atonement itself. It is not till we come to Pauls writings that we find
this fully entered into, and its results for us declared. He is the one raised
up to give us the full gospel message, as well as the truth of the Church, of
both of which he is in a special sense the "minister" (Col. i. 23,25).
The gospel of John, however, more than all the rest together, does
dwell upon the meaning of the cross; and here it is mostly the Lord Himself who
declares it to us. Johns is, in a fuller sense than the others, the
Christian gospel; and in it, we may say, we enter into that holiest of which
they see but the vail rent at the end; while for John, the glory typified by
that of the tabernacle of old shines out all through.* It is necessary, then,
to show how this is possible, man at the same time being fully shown out for
what he is by the light in which he stands. Before we speak of this, we must
take up, however, the "synoptic" gospels, and briefly examine their testimony.
*John i. 14, where "dwelt" should be, as in the margin of the Revised
Version, "tabernacled" it is a plain reference to the glory of old.
Their direct teaching is scanty indeed. The Lords own declaration
that "the Son of Man . . . . came to give His life a ransom for many," and that
His blood was "shed for many," is given in all; Luke indeed changing this last
into "shed for you," and Matthew adding, "for the remission of sins." The
doctrine of atonement is quite plain here, however little enlarged on. Luke
gives us beside how, after His resurrection, He appears to the two on the way
to Emmaus, and reproves them for their unbelief of all that the prophets had
spoken, adding, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to
enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He
expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."
Afterward, to the eleven He says, "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved
Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in His name, beginning at
Jerusalem."
When we look more deeply at the work presented in these
three gospels, we find in them respectively, as I have elsewhere shown, the
features of the trespass, sin, and peace-offerings respectively. The
trespass-offering unites with Matthews gospel of the kingdom as being the
governmental aspect of atonement - the reparation for injury rather than
judgment for sin; yet this in its Godward side reaches of necessity to the
vindication of the holiness of His nature, so that Matthew and Mark alike give
the forsaking of God. But while the three gospels show the rending of the vail,
and the holiest opened, Matthew alone shows the meeting of death for us, the
graves giving up their dead; for death is governmental infliction, and so
belongs to Matthews theme. So, evidently, does that view of the cross
which is found in the two parables of the kingdom, the treasure and the pearl,
where the work is looked at as a governmental exchange - a purchase: "went and
sold all that He had and bought it."
Mark, while it has the forsaking
of God also - the characteristic features of the sin-offering - omits these
governmental features. It is the Son of God in the glory of His voluntary
humiliation, obedient even unto death, glorifying God at His own personal cost
- as the bullock is the highest grade of the sin-offering - but therefore
glorified of God in consequence, so that He ascends to the right hand of God
(xvi. 19). But His humiliation is most absolute. He does not, as in Matthew,
"dismiss His spirit" (xxvii. 50, Gr.), as One that had power to retain it, but,
in true sin-offering character, "expires" (chap. xv. 37, Gr.). Even in His cry
upon the cross there is a note of difference which is significant. He says, not
"Eli," - literally, although it be a name of God, "My Strength," - but "Eloi,"
"My God."*
*1n the twenty-second psalm it is "Eli," not "Eloi," but I think
it clear that the latter, in this connection, is the deeper word.
So
the results of the cross are characteristically different in Mark from Matthew.
It is not a commission given to disciple into the kingdom, but to preach the
gospel, with power over the enemy and over the consequences of sin accompanying
the simple believing in this precious word.
In Luke, the peace-offering
character is everywhere plain, as it is in the cross most manifestly. It needs
scarcely comment. The Lords cry is "Father;" and He openly assures a
dying thief of a place with Him in paradise. But further exposition would
belong rather to a sketch of the gospels than of the doctrine of atonement, and
it has been given elsewhere.
The gospel of John introduces a subject in
the Old Testament unrevealed - eternal life. Personally, the Lord was this, and
among men the light of men. But this only disclosed the truth of their
condition. The world - and the Jews in this light were only part of the world,
- lay in a darkness which no light merely could reach, for it was the darkness
of death; but a spiritual death of sin which not even life alone could reach.
Guilt must also be met. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone," are our Lords words. Life must spring for man out of
an atoning death. The water of cleansing and the blood of expiation must come
out of the side of a dead Christ. The Spirit thus bears record that "God has
given to us eternal life."
The first word as to atonement in the gospel
of John is in the Baptists testimony: "Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh
away the sin of the world." This is the broad general view of Christs
work and its effect. By and by, a "new" earth - not another earth, but the
earth made new as to its condition, - will be eternally the abode of
righteousness (2 Pet. iii. 13). To us, how wonderful a condition for this
world, which for nearly six thousand years has been the abode of sin, to be the
abode of everlasting righteousness! What will have accomplished this? The
precious sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Every inhabitant of that new earth will
be one redeemed by the blood of Christ, and secured eternally by its value. Sin
will be completely banished. Its memory only will remain, to give full melody
to the praises of the saints.
But who is this Lamb of God? "This is
He," says the Baptist, "of whom I said, After me corneth a Man which is
preferred before me, for He was before me." After in time as a man, yet
the One inhabiting eternity! It is God Himself who is at the cost of
redemption, and that when not power merely could redeem, but only blood!
Therefore a man, incarnate, to be in meek surrender of Himself a Lamb slain.
This is what is of moral value to fill the earth with righteousness, and to
lift to heaven also those made members of Christ by the baptism of the Holy
Ghost (i. 33).
In the next case, the need of man has just been fully
exposed in the Lords words to Nicodemus. He must be born again, as
Ezekiel had already witnessed; although not able to declare the full truth and
magnitude of this work of God in man. But One was come from heaven to declare
it, Son of Man on earth, yet still in heaven. Nor only to declare it, but to
make this work possible; for "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so also must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life."
The imperative necessity of
atonement is here affirmed. The Son of Man must be lifted up, and faith in Him
be the way of everlasting life. The type of the brazen serpent shows in what
character "lifted up;" for Moses serpent clearly represented that by
which the people in the wilderness were perishing. At bottom, for them as for
men in general this was sin, the poison of the old serpent, which has corrupted
the nature of every one born of flesh. For this, "made sin," Christ was "lifted
up" - offered to God a sacrifice - that men might have, by faith in Him thus
offered, not a restoration of mere natural life, but one spiritual and eternal.
But again we are assured of who it is effects the sacrifice. Not only
it must be One who as Son of Man could be lifted up, but "God so loved the
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." It is not only the Son of Man,
lifted up to God, but the Son of God in the full reality of this, the eternal
Son, the only begotten, sent down, Gods gift, from God.
Thus
eternal life is ours who believe. The character, privileges, and accompaniments
of which are detailed for us in the chapters that follow. The sixth chapter
shows it to us as a life enjoyed in dependence, lived by faith, maintained by
the meat given by the Son of Man - meat which endures to everlasting life, as
long as the life itself does. But this meat is the bread from heaven, and the
bread is His flesh, which He gives for the life of the world. But this involves
His death, - blood shedding; so that "except ye have eaten the flesh of the Son
of Man, and drank His blood, ye have no life in you; he that eateth My flesh
and drinketh My blood hath eternal life - abideth in Me and I in him. As the
living Father hath sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he that eateth
Me, he also shall live because of Me." (vv. 53, 54, 56, 57.)
We must
notice a difference here which neither the revised nor the common version makes
apparent. The first expression - "have eaten" "have drunk" - speaks of once
partaking, the others of continuous. The once having eaten and drunk insures
eternal life, but it is maintained as a practical life of faith by continuous
eating and drinking. It is a life dependent though eternal, and what
communicates it sustains it also.
The tenth chapter presents the Lord
as the Shepherd of the sheep, giving His life for them, in perfect freedom, and
yet as fulfilling the commandment of the Father. He is thus able to give a
reason for the Fathers love (v. 17), and they are saved, have eternal
life, and can never perish, nor any pluck them out of His hand. In the twelfth
chapter, again, He compares His death to that of a corn of wheat which dies to
produce fruit; but I pass on to consider the character of the closing chapters.
Here, what is a feature every where, is just this voluntariness of
self-surrender which the tenth chapter has declared. No one takes His life from
Him: the men sent to take Him fall to the ground before Him, and while giving
Himself up, secures the safety of His followers by an authoritative word. To
Pilate, He declares His kingdom founded on the truth, and which every true soul
would recognize; while the authority of the governor over Him existed but by
divine permission for a special purpose. Upon the cross, there is no darkness
and no weakness. He declares His thirst, to fulfill one final scripture, then
announces the perfect accomplishment of His work, and delivers up His own
spirit to the Father. The soldiers errand doubly fulfills the prescient
word of God, who on the one hand guards the body of His holy One from
mutilation, while on the other giving to man the threefold witness of completed
atonement. All this speaks of the offering for acceptance (Lev. i. 3, 4, R.
V.), the voluntary burnt-offering.
To this the account of the
resurrection answers also perfectly. Relationship established, the corn of
wheat having died to bring forth fruit, the Lord owns His "brethren," ascending
to His and (thus) their Father, His and their God. He assures them of peace,
the fruit of His work (xx. 19, 20); of their new-creation place in connection
with Himself, last Adam (v. 21; comp. Gen. ii. 7, 1 Cor. xv. 45), and of their
qualification therefore to "receive the Holy Ghost." All this is the testimony
of perfect acceptance in the value of His completed work.
The Acts,
while speaking throughout of the fruits of atonement, give little of the
doctrine of the work itself. We may therefore pass it over. I am aware of no
new aspect in which it is presented to us in it.
Go To Chapter Eighteen
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