The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross

320 Pages·1965·11.92 MB·English

by  Morris

THIRD, REVISED EDITIO.
11ce®m 0
Rfil®rrrrn~
"We can scarcely commend too highly this able vindication
· of the gospel for its scholarly work and its evangelical
conclusions."
Wm. Childs Robinson
"A fresh, competent linguistic and exegetical study."
George Eldon Ladd
The Apostolic Preaching
ol the Cross
a study of the significance
of some New Testament terms
by Leon Morris
Here is an attempt to understand what was in the apostles'
minds when they used such words as "redeem," "covenant,"
"propi tiate," "reconcile," and "justify." Morris studies these
themes against the background of the relevant Old Testa
ment passages, takes into account the light shed on the
meanings of these words in the everyday language of New
Testament times by the manuscript discoveries of recent
years, and compares apostolic terminology to that used by
the rabbinic wri tings.
The result of Morris's careful background research is a
lucent and rewarding study of one of the major themes of
Christian theology- the death of Christ and the interpreta
tion of its significance by the early church.
LEON MORRIS is Principal ofRidley College, Melboume, and
the author of numerous books and commentaries. He is also
the honored recipient of a volume of essays edited by Robert
Banks under the title Reconciliation and Hope.
I~
- 1 WM. B. EERDMANS
\~ eo.
PUBLISHING
ISBN 0-8028-1512-X
255 JEFFERSON AVE. S.E .. GRAND RAPIOS. MICH. 49502
THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING OF THE CROSS

The
Apostolic Preaching
of the Cross
by
L.EON MORlUS H.Sc. M.Th. Ph.D.
WM. B. EERDMAN PUBLISHING CO.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Third Edition © Tyndale Press
First Edition September 1955
Second Edition October 196o
Third Edition September 1965
ISBN 0-8028-1512-X
Reprinted, N mlfrmhcr 1988
This American Edition is published
by special arrangement with the
British Publishers
THE TYNDALE PRESS - LONDON
PHOTOLITHOPRINTED BY EERDMANS PRINTING COMPANY
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 7
PREPACE TO THE THIRD EDITION 9
ABBREVIATIONS IO
1 RP.DEMPTTON II
Etymological Considerations (n) The Use of &.~o/..&rpwcrtc; (16) The
]ewish Background (18) Redemption in Rabbinic Writings (27) The
Mi:pov Word-group in the New Testament (29) The Use of &.yop&i:w
(53) The Use of e~cxyopiXi:w (55) The Use of ~e:pmotoüµoct (59)
Co11clusio11 (61) Additional Note on üm~p in Calatians 3 a3 (62)
II COVENANT
Introduction (65) The Idea of Covenant in the Old Testament (67) The
Idca of Covenant in }ttdaism (83) 8tcx01p<1J in the Septuagint (86)
8tcx01p<1J in Non-biblical Creek (87) 8tcx0~><1J in the New Testament (90)
Conclusion (107) Additional Note: Covenant ancl Mediatior1 (109)
m THE BLOOD II2
'Blood' in the Old Testament (n2) 'Blood' in the New Testament (121)
Additional Note on the Meaning of the Word 'Blood' (126)
IV THE LAMB OF GOD 129
V PROPITIATION (1) 144
Introduction (144) The tMcrxoµ.cxt Word-group in Non-biblical Creek
(145) Tl1e Wrath of Cod i11 the Old Testament (147) The tMcrxoµoct
Word-group in the Septuagint (155) Conclusion (174)
VI PROPITIA TION (2) 179
The Wrath of Cod in the New Testament (179) The !Mcrxoµcxt Word
group in the New Testament (184) Conclusion (208)
VII RECONCILIATION 214
Introduction (214) The xcxi:cxAÄiicrcrw Word-group in the Septuagint
(215) Reconciliation in Judaism (216) The Reconciliation Terminology
intheNew Testament(219) TheNew TestamentConceptofReconciliation
(244) Reconciliation and Substitution (249)
6 CONTENTS
vm JUSTIFICATION (1) 251
Introduction (251) Law and]udgment in the Old Testament (253) The
8(xocw<; Word-group in the Septuagint (259) The Place ofF aith (263)
Justification and Faith in Judaism (266)
IX JUSTIFICATION (2)
New Testament Teaching (269) The Significance of ]11sti.fication (290)
]ustification and Substitution (296)
X CONCLUSION 299
INDEX OF GR.l:!.l:!.K. WORDS 305
INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 307
GENERAL INDEX 315
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
WHEN THE PRESENT WRITER first began to read seriously on the
atonement he discovered that some of the great theological words
such as 'redemption', 'propitiation', and 'justification' are often
uscd in a way which sccms to iiidicate that they mean different
things to different people. If we may take redemption, the subject
of our opening chapter, as an example, some writers, as we tliere
point out, practically equate it with deliverance; others see in it a
reference to a substitutionary transaction; while others use it as a
comprehensive term for the whole Christian salvation. For some
it has a back wanl 1den:111.;t:, poi11tiJ.1g to the satisfactio11 for sh1
madc on thc cross, while for others it is essentially forward-looking
and gives expression to the liberation from sin's bondage which
enables the believer to live the Christ-like life. There is similar
uncertainty and ambiguity attaching to the use of some other
terms.
Now it ought tobe possible to discover what the characteristic
Christian expressions mean. One line of inquiry starts from the
fact that the New Testament writers were steeped in the language
and ideas of the Old Testament. An examination of the relevant
Old Testament passages will reveal to us one of the infl.uences
which moulded the thinking of our writers, and which must,
therefore, help us as we seek to understand their language.
Again, since the New Testament was writtcn in the ordinary
speech ofo rdinary men (and not the classical language oft he scholar
or literary man), the fl.ood oflight which has been thrown on th1s
type of speech by modern discoveries of papyri, ostraka and
inscriptions must illuminate many New Testament expressions.
This, then, is a further field for investigation.
A third source is ancient Jewish literature. While the Christians
vigorously repudiated many Rabbinic conclusions they yet dis
cussed many of the same problems, and made use of the same
terminology. Therefore it will usually repay us to examinc thc way
the Rabbis used any term we are investigating.
This book, then, is not a full-scale study of the atonement, but a
8 THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING OF THE CROSS
necessary preliminary. lt is an attempt to understand certain key
words, words which are crucial to the New Testament picture of
the atonement, by seeing them against the background of the
Greek Old Testament, the papyri, and the Rabbinic writings.
Armed with our discoveries, we then proceed to examine them in
their New Testament setting, always bearing in mind the possi
bility that the early Christians may modify or enrich any terrns
they may borrow.
In this volume I have incorporated the substance, and sometimes
the actual wording, of a number of articles written previously for
various journals. These are as follows: 'The Use of tt..occrxe:cr0oc~ etc.
inBiblical Greek' (TheExpository Times, LXII, No. 8); 'The Wrath
of God' (The Expository Times, LXIII, No. s); 'The Biblical Use
4
of the term ".Ulood" ' ('1 'hc _Journal 'l'hcological Studies, New
Series, III, Pt. 2); 'Justification by Faith: The Old Testament and
Rabbinic At1ticipatio11' (The Evangelical Quarterly, XXIV, No. 1);
'The Idea of Redemption in the Old Testament' (The Reformed
Theological Review, XI, No. 3); 'The Biblical Idea ofAtonement'
( The Australian Biblical Review, II, Nos. 3, 4).
To the editors of these journals I would express my indebtedness
for their ready permission to republish.
Many friends have assisted me at various points, and it is d.ifficult
to acknowle-dge all my indebtedness. But especially would I
mention the Rev. Dr. Newton Flew, who discussed many of these
chapters with me, the late Rev. H. W. Oldham, who advised me
constantly during the earlier part of my labours, and also my
colleague, Mr. F. I. Andersen, who has very kindly compiled the
Index. Finally, I would like to place on record my gratitude to the
publishers for all the help they have given during the various
stages of production.