The Cross of Jesus

The Cross of Jesus
Leon Morris
Paternoster Press 1988

In the run up to Easter this year, I've read several books that focus on the cross of Christ, which seems a very suitable area of study and reflection in this season of Lent and the preparation for Easter that comes to a climax this weekend with Good Friday tomorrow and then Easter Day on Sunday. Of the various books I've read, this little gem by the great Australian New Testament scholar, Leon Morris, is one of the best.

It was fascinating to read Morris's book just after Holmes's recent book The Wondrous Cross. I could hardly believe how closely the thoughts of Morris shadow those of Holmes. Perhaps it is because Leon Morris has impeccable evangelical credentials that the thoughts are somehow easier to accept from him, but essentially he says the same thing as Holmes does. He argues that all the main theories of the atonement are aspects of the truth and appeal at different times to more or less people. He argues that no one theory (i.e. neither Christus Victor or Penal Substitution) contains all the truth about the atonement or what Christ's death achieved in terms of salvation.

In fact, in a passage that could have come from Holmes's book, Morris writes:

Despite the centrality of the cross from the earliest days of the church, there has never been agreement on the way the cross saves us. The New Testament has a great deal to say on the subject of salvation through the death of Christ, but it never explains precisely how that death works. [emphasis added]

He goes on to say that there are three basic views of the atonement and all three are true. In simple terms, Morris describes them as:

• The Bearing of penalty
• The Demonstration of God's love
• The Victory over evil

Morris then goes on to describe a number of other achievements that he sees in the cross. He points out that in the cross is the answer to such modern problems as the apparent futility of life, ignorance, loneliness, sickness and death. These chapters form the main section of the book.

Along with Morris's two other classic books on the cross and the atonement, namely The Cross in the New Testament and The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, this little book of only 118 pages is well worth acquiring and reading for any Christian. It is not a difficult read, though it is a very thought-provoking one.