Theology Response (Jacob Gulka)

1.The New Testament gives us many ways to understand the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Choose one model of the atonement that you have not used before. Summarize how you could share the gospel on campus using that model.

Among the theories I have not often used, I would pick the recapitulation mode. This mode is seen through scripture concerning the First and Last Adam, Jesus being the Last Adam who contrasts the first through obedience to death on the cross. In sharing the gospel in this mode I would start on the fact of why human beings are the way they are. Why is there selfishness and malice in our hearts? Were human beings designed this way?

I would motion in on the fact that God designed man perfect in His image, but because of the disobedience of Adam our human nature was subject and evil disobedient nature. Humans were stuck with a rebellious and hateful state towards God until the Second Adam. Jesus contrasted our ancestor’s disobedience with His obedience, even to the point of death on a cross. And through His obedience as a representative of humanity He was raised to life and seated with God in heaven.
Through Him we can live life as we were meant to live it! God gives us a new nature in Jesus Christ if we receive and believe in Him as Lord and Savior.

2. Describe the necessity of the resurrection for salvation.

As Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God that implied the beginning of the resurrection life. It was a significant part of His ministry concerning the idea of making all things new and proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of God. However, once arriving in Jerusalem and being rejected by the people and crucified it appears the Kingdom would’ve been defeated, its King killed. Jesus however rose from the dead defeating death itself. He was vindicated and able to mediate the new covenant between us and the Father and give the Holy Spirit to us. He paid for our sins through the crucifixion and mediates for us that relationship with God because of His resurrection. His resurrection is absolutely necessary for salvation since we would not know the Father without His mediation dependent on His rising.
I also believe if Jesus were just crucified and it stayed there then it would be a worse case than a simple martyrdom. Jesus would be either a liar or lunatic! Since He said He would rise from the dead after His death, if that didn’t happen, even in the time span of a three day period (Mt 20:19) as He said, He would be wrong and likely not God. So the fact that He resurrected is the vindication for His words.

You present a good and simple case for the resurrection’s importance. I have also latched onto the idea that there’s no two ways about it: either Jesus was who He said He was, or He was a crazy person! He could not have been merely just “a good man”. Him proclaiming to be one with the Father, as well as being set to rise after three days were both pretty radical claims, along with the countless other things He said. The resurrection surely was validation and vindication for everything Jesus said. I think that’s a great way to put it.