Arthur King
Active Member
We are not going to preach the cross better than the Apostles did. But if we use the template for preaching that they used, we find a very clear pattern that is remarkably different than the dominant way the cross is preached today.
How did the Apostles preach the cross? Let’s look at two summaries from prominent scholars on the topic, and then we will take a look at the passages themselves from Acts. John Stott correctly summarizes the Apostolic witness as the following:
“To Jews Paul spoke of the God of the covenant, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but to Gentiles of the God of creation, who made the heavens the earth and the sea and everything in them. Nevertheless, there was a core to the proclamation of both apostles, which might be reconstructed as follows:
Jesus was a man who was accredited by God through miracles and anointed by the Spirit to do good and to heal. Despite this, he was crucified through the agency of wicked men, though also by God’s purpose according to the Scriptures that the Messiah must suffer. Then God reversed the human verdict on Jesus by raising him from the dead, also according to the Scriptures, and as attested by the apostolic eyewitnesses. Next God exalted him to the place of supreme honor as Lord and Savior. He now possesses full authority both to save those who repent, believe and are baptized in his name, bestowing on them the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit, and to judge those who reject him.
At its simplest their message was ‘you killed him, God raised him, and we are witnesses.’ In other words, the resurrection was the divine reversal of the human verdict.”
It is interesting that John Stott, a fierce penal substitution defender, when forced to stick to a close summary of the Apostolic preaching, gives a meaning of the cross profoundly different than penalty substitution. Thomas McCall, professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, states,
“The apostolic proclamation of the gospel places the fault and blame on the sinners who are responsible for the death of Jesus. You were ignorant (Acts 13:27). You conspired against him.” You betrayed him. You resisted the word of God. You crucified him; you hung him on the tree. You killed Jesus. The omniscient God, however, planned for your redemption, and he executed that plan of redemption even as you were executing his own precious Son. You killed him, but God raised him from the dead. The pattern of gospel proclamation is straightforward and unmistakably clear:
You killed him.
But God raised him.
We are witnesses.
Repent and believe for the forgiveness of sins (Forsaken. P.122).”
The authors of Scripture outline God’s actions in direct and sharp contrast to the actions of sinful people - you killed him, but God raised him from the dead. “You killed him, but God raised him for your salvation.”
Let’s see for ourselves how this plays out in the following nine passages from Acts:
Acts 2:23, Peter says, “this Man (Jesus), delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death, but God raised Him up again, putting an end to the birth pains of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
The logic is: you lawless men nailed Jesus to a cross, but God raised him from the dead. The fact that Jesus was delivered over by the predetermined plan of God is not sufficient reason to think, “God was satisfying wrath on Jesus.” Suffering that happens according to the plan and foreknowledge of God need not be the penal suffering of the guilty.
2:36, Peter says again, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Again: You (sinners) crucified Jesus, but God raised him from the dead and made him Lord and Messiah.
3:14-15, Peter says, “But you disowned the Holy And Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are all witnesses.”
Again: you (sinners) disowned and put to death the Holy and Righteous Prince of Life, but God raised him from the dead.
4:10, Peter says, “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.”
Again: You sinners crucified Jesus, but God raised him from the dead.
4:26, Peter and John say, “’The Kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ (Ps 2:2)’ For truly in this city were gathered together against Your holy Son Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. And now, Lord, take note of their threats. And grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders to take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
Again: Kings, rulers, Herod, Pilate, Gentiles, and Israelites put the holy Son, Jesus, to death. But God extends His hand to heal sinners through Jesus.
5:30, Peter and the Apostles say, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.”
Again: You sinners hung Jesus on a cross, but God raised him up.
7:51-53, Stephen says, “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and did not keep it.”
Again: Betrayers and murderers killed the Righteous One, just as betrayers murdered the prophets before Him. Right after Stephen delivers these words, he sees the risen Christ.
10:39, Peter says, “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised him up on the third day and granted that He become visible.”
Again: Sinners crucified Jesus, but God raised him from the dead.
13:28, Paul says, “And though [those in Jerusalem] found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be destroyed . . . But God raised Him from the dead.”
Again: Sinners put Jesus to death, though they had no grounds for putting him to death, but God raised Him from the dead.
On penalty substitution, humanity’s problem is that they deserve punishment, and the positive reversal of fortune is that Jesus intercedes to die in our place to exhaust this punishment. In Acts however, the problem is that humans are destroying themselves in sin and have even destroyed God’s incarnate Son, but the positive reversal of fortune is that God raises His Son from the dead as the catalyst for restoring the world and granting forgiveness of sin. The transition in the sequence of logic, the “but God,” is not “but God punished his own Son to satisfy His wrath so He would not have to satisfy it on us.” The transition is, “but God raised Jesus from the death which we inflicted upon him, and through this resurrection He grants us forgiveness of sins if we confess and repent.” The reversal of fortune that gives us hope for salvation is the resurrection. The fact that Jesus died is only good news because He rose from the dead.
How did the Apostles preach the cross? Let’s look at two summaries from prominent scholars on the topic, and then we will take a look at the passages themselves from Acts. John Stott correctly summarizes the Apostolic witness as the following:
“To Jews Paul spoke of the God of the covenant, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but to Gentiles of the God of creation, who made the heavens the earth and the sea and everything in them. Nevertheless, there was a core to the proclamation of both apostles, which might be reconstructed as follows:
Jesus was a man who was accredited by God through miracles and anointed by the Spirit to do good and to heal. Despite this, he was crucified through the agency of wicked men, though also by God’s purpose according to the Scriptures that the Messiah must suffer. Then God reversed the human verdict on Jesus by raising him from the dead, also according to the Scriptures, and as attested by the apostolic eyewitnesses. Next God exalted him to the place of supreme honor as Lord and Savior. He now possesses full authority both to save those who repent, believe and are baptized in his name, bestowing on them the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit, and to judge those who reject him.
At its simplest their message was ‘you killed him, God raised him, and we are witnesses.’ In other words, the resurrection was the divine reversal of the human verdict.”
It is interesting that John Stott, a fierce penal substitution defender, when forced to stick to a close summary of the Apostolic preaching, gives a meaning of the cross profoundly different than penalty substitution. Thomas McCall, professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, states,
“The apostolic proclamation of the gospel places the fault and blame on the sinners who are responsible for the death of Jesus. You were ignorant (Acts 13:27). You conspired against him.” You betrayed him. You resisted the word of God. You crucified him; you hung him on the tree. You killed Jesus. The omniscient God, however, planned for your redemption, and he executed that plan of redemption even as you were executing his own precious Son. You killed him, but God raised him from the dead. The pattern of gospel proclamation is straightforward and unmistakably clear:
You killed him.
But God raised him.
We are witnesses.
Repent and believe for the forgiveness of sins (Forsaken. P.122).”
The authors of Scripture outline God’s actions in direct and sharp contrast to the actions of sinful people - you killed him, but God raised him from the dead. “You killed him, but God raised him for your salvation.”
Let’s see for ourselves how this plays out in the following nine passages from Acts:
Acts 2:23, Peter says, “this Man (Jesus), delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death, but God raised Him up again, putting an end to the birth pains of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
The logic is: you lawless men nailed Jesus to a cross, but God raised him from the dead. The fact that Jesus was delivered over by the predetermined plan of God is not sufficient reason to think, “God was satisfying wrath on Jesus.” Suffering that happens according to the plan and foreknowledge of God need not be the penal suffering of the guilty.
2:36, Peter says again, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Again: You (sinners) crucified Jesus, but God raised him from the dead and made him Lord and Messiah.
3:14-15, Peter says, “But you disowned the Holy And Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are all witnesses.”
Again: you (sinners) disowned and put to death the Holy and Righteous Prince of Life, but God raised him from the dead.
4:10, Peter says, “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.”
Again: You sinners crucified Jesus, but God raised him from the dead.
4:26, Peter and John say, “’The Kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ (Ps 2:2)’ For truly in this city were gathered together against Your holy Son Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. And now, Lord, take note of their threats. And grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders to take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
Again: Kings, rulers, Herod, Pilate, Gentiles, and Israelites put the holy Son, Jesus, to death. But God extends His hand to heal sinners through Jesus.
5:30, Peter and the Apostles say, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.”
Again: You sinners hung Jesus on a cross, but God raised him up.
7:51-53, Stephen says, “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and did not keep it.”
Again: Betrayers and murderers killed the Righteous One, just as betrayers murdered the prophets before Him. Right after Stephen delivers these words, he sees the risen Christ.
10:39, Peter says, “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised him up on the third day and granted that He become visible.”
Again: Sinners crucified Jesus, but God raised him from the dead.
13:28, Paul says, “And though [those in Jerusalem] found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be destroyed . . . But God raised Him from the dead.”
Again: Sinners put Jesus to death, though they had no grounds for putting him to death, but God raised Him from the dead.
On penalty substitution, humanity’s problem is that they deserve punishment, and the positive reversal of fortune is that Jesus intercedes to die in our place to exhaust this punishment. In Acts however, the problem is that humans are destroying themselves in sin and have even destroyed God’s incarnate Son, but the positive reversal of fortune is that God raises His Son from the dead as the catalyst for restoring the world and granting forgiveness of sin. The transition in the sequence of logic, the “but God,” is not “but God punished his own Son to satisfy His wrath so He would not have to satisfy it on us.” The transition is, “but God raised Jesus from the death which we inflicted upon him, and through this resurrection He grants us forgiveness of sins if we confess and repent.” The reversal of fortune that gives us hope for salvation is the resurrection. The fact that Jesus died is only good news because He rose from the dead.
