Do we want justice or forgiveness? Do we want sin to be passed over, or do we want it to be decisively dealt with? Do we want God to just look away from it, or do we want him to act upon it?
In an earlier post, we talked about the 'lex talionis', which refers to the principle of justice as 'eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.' The cost of a misdeed is that it be visited upon the mis-doer. We also noted how this system is flawed because it is instituted in Torah under the conditions of flesh. The 'lex talionis' cannot put flesh to death, so it cannot bring full justice.
But it also does not suffice to say that the 'lex talionis' is only an 'Old Testament law' and that the New Testament brings a new law of love. As we saw in the most recent post, "Supreme Act of Injustice," the oppressed and impoverished of the world are a sign to us and a reminder that the hope is for God to bring full restorative justice, including punishment for wrongdoing. In other words, we don't have to choose between justice and forgiveness because even forgiveness always requires a cost to be paid. As Tim Keller once put it, if you take a light bulb from my lamp, I can choose not to replace it, but in doing so, I'm choosing to bear the cost of having less light. There's always a cost.
Jesus himself takes the 'lex talionis' upon himself. As God, he pays the cost that he demands. He takes on the punishment that Israel deserves and that the world deserves so that there is no more punishment.
Peter Leithart notes that Jesus is the penal substitute for his friends, for Israel, and for the world. For his friends, Jesus alone took the fall. It was common for Roman authorities to suppress Jewish rebellions by killing the leader and his followers. (Wright, quoted in Leithart, 160) But the Gospel of John shows Jesus saying, "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." (John 18:8) The disciples flee, with Jesus alone dying the death they probably would have died with him. He dies for Israel in that the verdict Israel places on Jesus is in fact the truth about Israel. A rebellious, blaspheming, Torah-breaking son of Israel is killed on the cross that day. Israel thought this is what Jesus was. But in killing Jesus, this is actually what Israel had become. In putting Jesus to death, they put themselves to death, for Jesus was condemned for the exact penalty that they were actually guilty of in killing God's Son.
Jesus' identification with Israel is the only way this can be redemptive. "The Last of the Mohicans," originally a novel by James Fenimore Cooper, became a movie in 1992 which starred Daniel Day-Lewis. Although I haven't read the book, the movie vividly captures the ways various Native American tribes responded to the colonial powers of Great Britain and France. The British-hating Mohawks capture the two daughters of the British colonel. As the Mohawks prepare to sacrifice one of the daughters, the Mohican tribe, who have assiduously avoided becoming involved with the conflict, arrive with a British major. The major offers himself in place of one of the daughters, and she goes free with the Mohicans while he is burned at the stake. His sacrifice truly sets her free. She proceeds into life, while he takes the penalty. Who goes free in Jesus' death? Jesus' death and resurrection liberates Israel because he represents Israel. As we said in the post on "Nucleus of a Just Human Society," the Davidic King was a "son" of God in the way that previously was reserved for the whole nation. As such, the character of the Davidic kings in the Old Testament determined the way of the nation. As the king went, so went the people. The king represented them. As Jesus is a true son of David, the same is true for him. His death is a penal substitution for his people because he represents them.
Finally, Jesus dies for the nations as well, because Israel served a priestly function as representative of the nations. The Israelites' Feast of Booths included an offering of seventy bulls for the seventy nations, offering up the world to God. (Leithart 103) In bearing Israel's punishment, Jesus also bears the punishment due to the nations. Furthermore, the Romans commit HIGH treason against God by killing Jesus for his treason against Caesar. The treasonous subject is put to death, with Jesus taking Rome's punishment with him.
We conclude by asking who administers this punishment. Does God punish Jesus on the cross? No. As Leithart writes, the Father never makes common cause with Jesus' accusers because Jesus is not guilty. He hands Jesus over to be charged so that he can then vindicate him in resurrection. The powers of darkness rise up against Jesus to put him to death. This is their hour. But God is in control of it all, and uses this rebellion to end the rebellion. In the death of Jesus, God puts death to death. As Lancelot Andrewes once put it, "An hour of that day was the hour of the 'power of darkness'; but the whole day itself, it is said here plainly, was the day of the wrath of God." The hour is the devil's as God himself is put to death. But the day belongs to God as Jesus is raised from the dead with the powers of sin broken. The hour of the devil's murderous, treasonous evil is a moment within the larger day of God's overarching plan. (Rutledge, 527) Jesus bears sin and punishment. But he is never for a moment held guilty by the Father.
We come back to the original question. Do we want God to look away from our sin, or to be just and condemn it? Do we want the 'lex talionis?' We do want justice. We want the 'lex talionis' because God himself pays the cost of sin. He takes the punishment. Because of Jesus, justice becomes a gift God gives, not a debt God exacts. Penal substitution becomes very good news for the whole world.
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