On the road to Emmaus, two somber disciples were trying to leave behind the atrocious outcome of their short experience following Jesus. They were striving to cope with the brutal images in their memories of the death of whom they believed to be a powerful messenger from God. They followed him because they had hoped that he was the Messiah, the redeemer of Israel. They thought He would rescue their people from their humiliation, poverty, oppression, and pain. Yet, he agonized on a cross, like thousands of other victims, taking with him to the tomb their only hope of liberation (Luke 24:13-16). 

Not only these two, but all the disciples were confused, scared, and disillusioned. The mean plans of false religious leaders and the relentless ambition of the Empire were once again overwhelming. The disciples were filled with a sense of powerlessness and total defeat. They had no clue what was really happening on that cross when their beloved teacher died. Three days later, things started to become clear. Fifty days later, it was obvious. The event of the cross was an astonishing miracle.

Two thousand years have passed since these amazing events happened. The story has been told over and over again. Great thinkers have pondered about its significance. But the church today can still miss the power of the cross. We often try to explain what happened on the cross in legal, personal, and individualistic terms. Our story is something like this. In Calvary, Christ suffered the punishment that we deserved. If we believe that and go to church, God will count God's suffering on our behalf. We will not be punished. On the other hand, if we do not do that, we will be tormented in hell forever.  However, the story that the first Christians told was somewhat different.

The apostle Paul captured the essence of that faith in Colossians 1:19-20. It reads, ”For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." These words were not an exercise on rational metaphysics. They were part of a hymn to praise Jesus, a poetic expression of the faith. Bible scholars are not sure whether Paul composed this hymn or if it was already part of the Christian repertoire of praising songs when the letter was written. Most likely, many churches had already been singing it, and the readers of Colossians could express their faith with these lyrics.

On the cross, Jesus was reconciling unto himself all things, "whether on earth or in heaven." The word ἀποκαταλλάσσω often refers to the restoration of interpersonal relationships. It points to the reconciliation of people who had become enemies. Yet, in this hymn, it includes much more than that. It describes the unification of the spiritual and the material cosmos in Christ. The Greek word “strictly [refers to the ] transfer of one state to another quite different state.”(1) In this case, it points to the transition for a state of chaos to a state of harmony. In Ephesians 1:10, the apostle also says that God's ultimate plan is "to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

The word he uses here is ἀνακεφαλαιόω. it means to unify, to bring everything under the control of one person. To sum up everything under the same generating principle.(2) Both words ἀνακεφαλαιόω and ἀποκαταλλάσσω serve as a context to understand “atonement.” Primarily Atonement means unification. But in the light of the cross, it is not merely the personal reunification of a sinner with his or her Creator. It does not only address the forensic liability of a person who has broken the law. It is not restricted to the necessity of punishment to satisfy the sense of legal justice. Atonement is needed in a violently crashed cosmos. It points to the state in which creation can share the infinite peace of its Creator. In the words of the prophet Isiah, it fulfills the hope and the promise that, 

"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:6-9, ESV).

What Jesus accomplished on the cross was a miracle of extraordinary proportions. It is parallel to what happened at the beginning of time when God transformed nothing into a life-generating and supporting cosmos. It is not strange that the Colossians' "hymn to Christ has two uneven stanzas, but their themes are consistent. The first relates Jesus to creation; the second, to redemption."(3) Jesus is "the image of the invisible God." He is the Son par excellence in all creation. Every detail in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him, all things hold together."(4)

However, the first creation has not reached the "telos" God intended. There are still chaotic thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. Consequently, Jesus is now the head of the church. This does not only mean that he is the authority over church matters. Instead, it points out that He is the source of life in the church. He is the beginning (ἀρχή) of the new creation, as he was the initiating source of the first. He is the firstborn of the dead, just like he is the firstborn of the first creation.

The cross was more than an instrument of punishment or satisfaction of divine justice. It was actually the powerful beginning of a new and different cosmos. Through the cross, Jesus came into the center of a chaotic universe to release the forces that can pull it together, in heaven and earth, toward him (εἰς αὐτόν). Mighty forces continuously threaten the peace of creation. There is darkness, death, falsehood, hatred, uncontrollable selfishness, guilt, remorse, intense pain, and incredible violence. Satan has opened deadly wounds all over creation. History is worst than an enraged sea. Anytime, the entire universe can shake fiercely. But in the most astonishing way, Jesus’ cross has the power to restore, transform, and liberate.

Nothing other than the cross could have withstood the violence of the chaotic powers of the universe. Nothing else can be the center of attraction to pull heaven and earth together. Violence does not remedy violence. It can only add force to its deadly cycle. The cross is the generating beginning (ἀρχή) of a peaceful new world. And the resurrection is the source of eternal life. In the cross, the one who enjoyed the "fullness of God" faced death, embraced it, and created again from nothing a new life. No one could have done it, only the Son of God.

Our souls reflect the chaos of the universe, or maybe the universe reflects the chaos in our souls. Maybe we released the chaotic forces of creation with our lies and our selfishness. That seems to be what Genesis tries to tell us. We were the ones who contemplated the idea of creating our own world separate and distinct from God's. Far from getting the power and the wisdom we desired, we brought a horrendous turmoil to our hearts and we damaged what God was doing.

Guilt is a destructive psychological force that can only be appeased by forgiveness. But forgiveness is not enough. In the depth of our heart, we feel that there needs to be restitution. When we hurt someone, we need to make restitution to show our repentance, and the other needs to see our acts of restoration to be at peace. These are not just legal provisions. They are deep dynamic forces that shape our lives. Sincere repentance, sincere forgiveness, and appropriate restitution are essential to experience the possibilities of a new at-one-ment. There can be no new creation without these three elements.

The same can be said about resentment and remorse. On an individual basis, we cannot participate in God's cosmic plan, unless we personally feel that we have been really forgiven and that we have made appropriate restitution. There is no reconciliation without opening our souls to the sacrificial atonement of God's Son, who guarantees our forgiveness. Believing the message of the cross is bringing healing to our wounded hearts and our badly damaged relationships. However, suppose we just want quick selfish relief for our tormented conscience. In that case, we may only find another coping mechanism in the doctrine of the cross, and we will continue living our chaotic lives.

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(1) Friberg, T., Friberg, B., & Miller, N. F. (2000). Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (Vol. 4, p. 67). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

(2)  See Friberg, T., Friberg, B., & Miller, N. F. (2000). Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (Vol. 4, p. 50).

(3) Melick, R. R. (1991). Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 32, p. 214). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

(4) Colossians 1:15-16