A Good Friday Reflection: The Narrative of Redemption

Andrew Perriman, a thoughtful and creative theologian offers a “Good Friday” reflection on the Death of Jesus in Narrative-Historical Context. Here’s his closing section. You can read his complete reflection here. 

“The argument appears to be, therefore, that Jesus’ death was effective for the salvation of God’s people because, as the one empowered by the Spirit of God to lead a movement of eschatological renewal, Jesus pursued a path of faithful obedience to the point of death, trusting his Father to the uttermost that death would not be the end. Nothing in the argument, as far as I can see, suggests that only a God-man could do this. The outcome of this faithfulness was twofold. On the one hand, Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God to rule over the nations until the last enemy is destroyed; on the other, God gives abundant new life to those who believe in this story—who believe that Israel’s God was justifying himself in the eyes of the world through these events.

It seems to me, therefore, that there is much to be said for David Brondos’ argument—developed mainly with Paul’s teaching in mind—in Paul on the Cross: Reconstructing the Apostle’s Story of Redemption. He suggests that Jesus’ death is not redemptive in itself; rather, “it is salvific and redemptive only in that it forms part of a story” (italics removed):

‘This involves the claim that Paul understood Jesus’ death primarily as the consequence of his dedication and faithfulness to his mission of serving as God’s instrument to bring about the awaited redemption of Israel, which would also include Gentiles throughout the world. In this case, for Paul, Jesus’ death is salvific not because it satisfies some necessary condition for human salvation in the way that most doctrines of the atonement have traditionally maintained nor because it effects some change in the situation of human beings or the world in general; rather, it is salvific because God responded to Jesus’ faithfulness unto death in seeking the redemption of others by raising him so that all the divine promises of salvation might now be fulfilled through him. (Kindle loc. 55)’…”