The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 3rd rev. ed.
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
This modern classic of biblical scholarship explains what the apostles meant when they used such words as “redeem,” “covenant,” “propitiate,” “reconcile,” and “justify.” Leon Morris carefully explores these themes against the backgrounds of both Old Testament Judaism and New Testament Christianity—a rewarding task that results in a more complete understanding of these key Christian terms.
- Examines the apostolic use of crucial salvation themes
- Provides a preliminary study to the subject of atonement
- Explores salvation themes against the backgrounds of both Old Testament Judaism and New Testament Christianity
- Redemption
- Covenant
- The Blood
- The Lamb of God
- Propitiation (1)
- Propitiation (2)
- Reconciliation
- Justification (1)
- Justification (2)
- Conclusion
Top Highlights
“The general picture which the Old Testament gives us of God is of One who is by nature merciful, and who cannot be swayed by man’s puny efforts. In the last resort forgiveness is always due to God’s being what He is, and not to anything that man may do. Because God is God, He must react in the strongest manner to man’s sin, and thus we reach the concept of the divine wrath. But because God is God, wrath cannot be the last word. ‘The Lord is good; his mercy endureth for ever’ (Ps. 100:5).” (Page 154)
“Those who object to the conception of the wrath of God should realize that what is meant is not some irrational passion bursting forth uncontrollably, but a burning zeal for the right coupled with a perfect hatred for everything that is evil.” (Page 209)
“The basic word in the word-group is λύτρον, ‘ransom’. This word is derived from λύω, a verb with the general meaning of ‘to loose’. It was used of all kinds of loosing, for example, for the loosening of one’s clothing, the loosening of armour, of tied animals, and so on. And sometimes it was used of men to indicate that they had been loosed from captivity or the like. Particularly did this apply to the loosing of prisoners of war when a ransom price had been paid.” (Pages 11–12)
“The general picture then is quite clear. The lxx usage is such as to leave us in no doubt but that λύτρον and its cognates are properly applied to redemption by payment of price, and though the idea of price may fade when God is the subject, it never disappears. Particularly clear is the connection of λύτρον itself with price, for there is no occurrence of the word in the lxx without a price being expressed or clearly implied. We can confidently say that, in as far as the New Testament writers were imbued with the lxx outlook, they must have had in their minds some idea of deliverance by payment of price when they used the words of this word-group.” (Page 27)
- Title: The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross
- Author: Leon Morris
- Edition: 3rd Edition
- Publisher: IVP UK
- Publication Date: 1955
- Pages: 318
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Theology
Leon Morris (1914–2006) was a leading evangelical New Testament scholar. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in England. He was principal of Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, retiring in 1979. He then served as visiting professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Reviews
2 ratings
Matt DeVore
7/17/2022
Glenn Crouch
8/5/2020
I first read this book over 30 years ago, so it was good to revisit it and also to be reminded how much I enjoy Morris’ writing. Whilst a knowledge of NT Greek is a major advantage for the analysis done in this fine book, it is not essential. I first read this book before I studied NT Greek (and I would say books like this help motivate that study), and now my NT Greek is sadly pretty poor - yet I got a lot out of it, both times. This is a good coverage of the Atonement, and the language and theology behind it. Two excellent chapters on Propitiation, which include an examination on Expiation, were perhaps the highlight for me - though the two chapters on Justification were also very good. I appreciated that the Author examined language usage in the Septuagint as well as in the Hebrew of the Old Testament, but with more emphasis on the former due to the use of Greek. There is also appropriate examination of contemporaries such as Josephus and Philo. The Author also gives a fair covering of those with alternate views - though of course the book is 55 years old, and thus doesn’t address more recent arguments. I find that Morris is very gracious in dealing with those he disagrees with - and thus I find his scholarly approach very appealing. An excellent book if you want to dig deeper into the Atonement, and especially if you want to see some good arguments for the Substitutionary nature of it!
