Note: the following is part 5 of an ongoing series reprising posts from my former blog, Sibboleth.
The Structure of the Universe (Part 5: Cur Homo?)
Ever get the sense that Christians are apologetic about the fact that Jesus was a human? We so often act as though the cardinal element of the Christian confession is “Jesus is God” rather than “Jesus is Lord.” We read the Gospels as though the point of each story is to show how Jesus is God: Look! He cast out demons, must be God! Look! He forgives sins–must be God! Look! He walked on water–must be God! Look! He died! Must be God in life, man in death–that’s how, all too often, we parse the significance of the God-man in our reading of the Gospels.
This is not a problem created by the Reformed Tradition, but the vision of the universe as structured on Law and Law-keeping reinforces this truncated view of Jesus’ humanity–one that needs God wrapped up in flesh so that the flesh could eventually die.
But what if God’s commitment to the cosmos he created is more foundational than God’s desire to see the Law maintained? What if there is a more basic fabric of creation being unraveled and God doesn’t simply want to punish the person who pulled the thread that caused it to come apart but wants to see that fabric remade? And what if the remaking itself is as much the mission of Jesus as the punishment of the offender?
This is the ancient idea of “recapitulation”, though it needs to be reworked through a better understanding of “image of God” than Irenaeus had at his disposal. The point is that God creates humanity for one magnificent purpose: that people should rule the world on God’s behalf (Gen 1)–and Jesus comes to reestablish that rule, God’s primal purpose for people.
Why “human”? Because humanity was created to rule the world on God’s behalf; because humanity ceded that calling and lives in rebellion against God; because the dominion of humanity has gone the way of its ruler–and because God has determined that he is not going to give up on this creation but, instead, restore it. God will be victorious over this rebellion.
In order for that to happen, though, a man must rule, a man must restore, a man must be the faithful mediator of the word, presence, and power of God. In the Synoptic tradition, it is not as God but as man that Jesus casts out demons: the Messiah is ruling the world of the Spirits by the power of God.
It is not as God but as man that Jesus cleanses lepers: the Messiah is ruling the world and reversing the contagion of unclean by his touch which makes clean.
It is not as God but as man that Jesus heals bodies: the Messiah is ruling the world of flesh and restoring the broken bodies that are tied to the curse of the the fall.
It is not as God but as man that Jesus forgives sins: the Messiah is ruling the world in the name of God, speaking for God and restoring people to right standing before God.
So yes, there is a crucial place for law and law-breaking and sin and transgression to be dealt with in the death of the Messiah. But if the ultimate structure of the universe is Law, then we miss out on the richness of what Jesus came to do, and the kind of victory that God is intent to bring about through the advent of God’s Messiah.
Why “human”? Because God is not about rescuing us out of this world but reconciling this rebellious world to himself–something that can only happen when the rightful representative of this world faithfully represents God’s rule to the world and the humanity’s subjection to God.
Excellent – thank you. My sense of Scripture’s take on the atonement and the bigger picture of what God was/is doing in Jesus Christ has never been the same since encountering recapitulation + the second Adam. Well done on linking “why human” up with God’s mission to reconcile this rebellious world to himself.
Evocative!
Are we being charged with a kind of Christian docetism?
Yes: right up until the point where Jesus has to die…
We so often act as though the cardinal element of the Christian confession is “Jesus is God” rather than “Jesus is Lord.”
When I read this line, my mind immediately flashed to those irritating bumper stickers that read “Jesus is God, Read the Bible”.
I like your comments about the “truncated view of Jesus” and “God wrapped in human flesh.” You are absolutely right. I think many see Jesus (as one person of the Trinity) that way, but the effect is to truncate our human experience. Well done!