The Sweet Exchange: Early Church Reflections of the Crucifixion
Holy Week is a time for me to slow down. It is a time where I try not to get caught up in too much work, and instead reflect on the Passion of the Savior. For many churches, this season along with Christmas is the most stressful. So many people come to church during this time. The pressure for a church to “go big” is heavy.
Personally, I’m not interested in churches putting on a production for the Lord. Holy Week is a sacred time, yes. But to me, that sacredness is not experienced through more, but less.
For this blog, I thought it’d be nice to simply read over and reflect on the beautiful way The Epistle of Diognetus explains the sacrifice Jesus made for humanity. The author is writing to a pagan who is interested in learning Christianity, and this is how it is described:
“But when our wickedness had reached its height, and it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death, was impending over us; and when the time had come which God had before appointed for manifesting His own kindness and power, how the one love of God, through exceeding regard for men, did not regard us with hatred, nor thrust us away, nor remember our iniquity against us, but showed great long-suffering, and bore with us, He Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities, He gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for those who are mortal.
For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God?
Oh sweet exchange! Oh unsearchable operation! Oh benefits surpassing all expectation!
That the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!”
The writer of the epistle evangelizes poetically, capturing the mystery of the perfect Creator dying in our place. This passage alone is worth meditating over.
Following this description of Christ’s atoning death, the epistle shares the transformation the Gospel brings to those who believe in Christ:
“If you also desire to possess this faith, you likewise shall receive first of all the knowledge of the Father.
For God has loved mankind, on whose account He made the world, to whom He rendered subject all the things that are in it, to whom He gave reason and understanding, to whom alone He imparted the privilege of looking upwards to Himself, whom He formed after His own image, to whom He sent His only-begotten Son, to whom He has promised the kingdom in heaven, and will give it to those who have loved Him.”
The epistle says that a convert must first have a proper understanding of the Christian faith. The author summarizes God creating humans in His image to rule over all creation, followed by the supremacy of Christ. Under Christ’s rule and by God’s love for us, we become citizens of Christ’s Kingdom.
After properly understanding this, the Epistle then describes the response a convert to Christianity naturally gives:
“And when you have attained this knowledge, with what joy do you think you will be filled? Or, how will you love Him who has first so loved you? And if you love Him, you will be an imitator of His kindness.
And do not wonder that a man may become an imitator of God. He can, if he is willing. For it is not by ruling over neighbors, or by seeking to hold the supremacy over those that are weaker, or by being rich, and showing violence towards those that are inferior, that happiness is found; nor can any one by these things become an imitator of God. But these things do not all constitute His Majesty.
On the contrary he who takes upon himself the burden of his neighbor; he who, in whatsoever respect he may be superior, is ready to benefit another who is deficient; he who, whatsoever things he has received from God, by distributing these to the needy, becomes a god to those who receive his benefits: he is an imitator of God.”
Like the words of Jesus and the Apostles, The Epistle of Diognetus not only beautifully describes what Christ has done for us, but how Christ then transforms us here and now. Not only do we grow to love God, recognizing how He loved us first, but we then love our neighbors.
Not only do we love our neighbors, we sacrificially love them in a personal imitation of Christ’s sacrificial love for us. We lay aside all power, and we use any privileges to assist the underprivileged. We imitate God’s love, and in turn evangelize God’s love.
May we slow down and behold the wondrous sweet exchange our Savior made for our sake.
Bibliography
Schaff, P. (2016). The Complete Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Collection of Early Church Fathers. Toronto, Canada.