If Hell Isn't Real, What's the Point of the Resurrection?
After writing a few weeks ago on If Hell Isn’t Real, Why Do I Need Jesus? The most common follow-up question I received was some form of, “If I don’t need to worry about hell, why did Jesus need to come back from the dead?
At the root of this question about the resurrection are implications around Jesus’ atonement. In Jewish and Christian contexts, atonement refers to the reparations or correction of wrongdoing to bring two parties back into a reconciled relationship. Though Christians have used the word atonement to refer to the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus for humanity’s sins since the 16th Century, it finds its roots in Judaism.
Jewish Roots of Atonement
Atonement is first used in the Old Testament. Specifically when describing the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement is referenced and described in detail in Leviticus 16:29, 23, and Numbers 29. At the heart of Yom Kippur is the idea of cleansing. Leviticus 16:30 (NRSV) says,
“For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord.”
The purpose of atonement during Yom Kippur is to be made clean and reconciled back into harmony with God. This cleansing isn’t about appeasing the wrath of God or avoiding some cosmic punishment. It is about reorienting the hearts, minds, and daily rhythms of God’s people to align their lives with the heart of God.
A Diversity of Christian Views on Jesus’ Atonement
As mentioned above, since the 16th century, the most popular Christian view of atonement in the Western world has come from reformed/baptist circles. The atonement view most associated with Jesus’ atonement is known as Penal Substitutionary Atonement.
Penal Substitutionary Atonement teaches that Jesus had to die and resurrect because he had to pay for our sins. Jesus needs to pay for our sins to appease the wrath of God the Father, thus bringing those who believe in Jesus into a reconciled relationship with God, while those who don’t are doomed to an eternity of conscious torture in hell.
Just because a view is popular doesn’t mean it’s the right or exclusive. For example, the popular view of the Earth for centuries was that the planets revolved around the Earth. Regardless of being the most popular understanding of our solar system for centuries, it didn’t change the fact that the Earth revolves around the sun. Shout out to Galilleo for modeling sticking by your conviction regardless of it being a minority view.
Interestingly, for most of Christian history, the church did not hold to Penal Substitutionary atonement as the dominant view in understanding Jesus’ atonement. As a matter of fact, there are at least six orthodox views of Jesus’ atonement. They are:
1. Penal Substitutionary Atonement
When I say “orthodox views,” I mean Christians who hold to any one or a combination (I hold to a combination of views) of these views hold to truths that have been taught and believed throughout the church’s history. It’s arrogant at best and self-deceiving at worst when any group of Christians believes they have a monopoly on truth and their view is the only one person should believe.
The Point of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
Based on the above-mentioned theories, I hold to a mix of the Christus Victor and Moral Influence Theories. On the Christus Victor side, I believe Christ’s death and resurrection were needed because the Bible clearly shows that our greatest enemies are sin and death. Before Christ, death was undefeated; however, through the resurrection, Jesus demonstrated His power over death. I also believe that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are the perfect model for overcoming sin, which the Bible describes as the “inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually”(Genesis 6:5, NRSV). The point of Jesus’s death and resurrection is that the ultimate demonstration of God’s love and compassion leads us to fight and overcome every manifestation of sin and guarantees our victory over our greatest enemy, death.
