This is the first Sunday Worship service we are holding in a more permanent rented premises. This is our Church even though it seems to be in the world of Suzie Wong – the Wanchai District of Singapore. We have traveled some distance in a short time and we are still journeying on and we will be sojourning here for a while. Earlier, I was scheduled to preach and given an inauspicious theme. This was arranged before anyone of us knew that we are moving here. I am continuing the Foundations of Faith sermon series. The topic is Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was Crucified, Dead, and Buried from The Apostles’ Creed. I suppose we have to nail down the death of Jesus in order to have a new beginning in the life with Christ. The four words are strong emotive words and one wonders about the necessity to make that emphasis on the stages of Jesus Suffering ending in burial. .

Mel Gibson in his movie on The Passion of Christ was heavily criticized for his portrayal of sadistic brutality and projecting the gory details of the crucifixion act so in order to evoke a response from the audience. Mel Gibson himself admitted that the graphic depiction was meant to make viewers realize the extent of Christ's suffering.

He said: "I think it pushes one over the edge so that they see the enormity, the enormity of that sacrifice," he said during an interview with Diane Sawyer. It was his attempt to shock in order to bring out the awe and reverence. In that process one gets an emotional response which frequently does not have a lasting impact when it is not grounded on the mission and ministry of Jesus which led to His death.

By this time it should be clear that Christian doctrine and this case the Apostles’ Creed arose from the Christian experience of the Apostles and the followers of the Jesus Movement. They reflected on their experience of Jesus Christ and then describe it and put it into words of the creed. Experience comes first or is prior to the creed. They wondered about the Crucifixion.

What then is the cause of the suffering and specifically suffering under the Pontius Pilate. Pilate is the governor appointed by Caesar the Roman Emperor. It not only points to a real historical time but specific historical events that resulted to Jesus receiving the sentence of death. It has been said that “Christianity is not a religion of the timeless eternal but of timely history” Jesus was a particular person at a particular moment in human history.

In following the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus also issued the call to repentance extended the invitation to live in the Kingdom of God. He opposed Jewish legalism and exclusion of people who seem to be different from the Chosen People. He saw the Jesus was more than just a preacher calling for repentance and offering salvation from sin and guiding us on the way to heaven. His religious faith as a Jews was faith in the God who is at work in the world in Jewish history. He knew the exodus from Egypt, the entering into the Promised Land, the domination by foreign powers, the expulsion of the exile, the restoration of the temple and the oppression of Rome. What he did was also related to the religious and political struggles of the people during his period of ministry.

Hans Kung, the Catholic scholar wrote: “To understand why Jesus of Nazareth had to die, we must understand how he lived. To understand why he had to die this death, we must have understood something of the time in which he lived. And to have some idea why he had to die so early, we must have intimation who he was, what he stood for and against whom he spoke and fought. It is hardly possible to understand Jesus rightly without the political, social and religious situation of his time.”

Jesus was not a prominent public figure. He was not part of the ruling establishment, religious or political. He was neither a priest nor a theologian. He was not a violent political revolutionary figure. He was just a plain and simple layman. He was not from the influential and wealthy class but the son of the carpenter – common people, the heartlanders contrasted with the cosmopolitans in his day.

His ministry was also seen to be in opposition to the religious authority as represented by the Jewish Temple hierarchy and the political powers as represented by Pontus Pilate. He as a member of the artisan class shared the misery of the peasants in an agricultural economy who were made poor through heavy taxation and many were disinherited from their land. Reputedly as a carpenter he does not own land and poorer than those farmers who were able to hold on to their land and property. They as a class were victims of the injustices as oppressed people under the Roman domination system of State and Temple. What Jesus offered was salvation from sin along with salvation in this life. He had to project hope to the people who were living in misery. This was seen to be subversive to the governing systems of His day.

Even though there were accusations of his teaching being blasphemous predicting the toppling of the Temple and forgiving sins he was not put to death because of religious crimes. The punishment for violation of religious laws was in the form of stoning evidenced by the stoning of Stephen. The religious hierarchy handed Him over to Pontius Pilate to deal with the more serious crime of disturbing the peace of the state during the time of the Passover feast and destabilizing the Roman Imperial system. Like all authoritarian governments such subversive acts had to be nipped in the bud. Without the sanction of lawful procedures Jesus was punished for attacking the system. That was why he had to receive the verdict from Pilate and sentenced to death by crucifixion which was the way in which such criminals had to die. This was the suffering that Jesus had to bear and the cup of suffering could not pass him by.

The cross is for crimes against the State. It is the arena of politics and not so much of religion that he ran afoul of the law. So Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate and was crucified on the cross. His charge was according to Luke 23:2

“We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king.”

Mark 15:2-5 and echoed in Matthew 27:11-14 recorded Pilate’s cross examination of Jesus with the question: “Are you King of the Jews. His crime was in stirring up the people against religious and political powers. He was executed as a rebel who opposed the law and authority of the empire. The inscription or placard placed upon the cross was “The King of the Jews.”

To further emphasize the historical situation of the event, the words dead and buried made sure of the crucifixion and that Jesus was put to death and the body was buried in the tomb. It was the real body in contrast with the heretical teaching that it is only an apparition or a phantom and not the real divine Jesus Christ. But the real Jesus Christ whom they believe is divine is all powerful and cannot suffer death on the cross. Crucified dead and buried was what actually happened in real life at that time.

No wonder then the disciples were at a loss and confused. The followers of the Jesus movement were in deep despair and full disarray and only the faithful and fearless women were there when Jesus was buried in the tomb. The men stayed afar off. The disciples themselves even dispersed and left Jerusalem, returning to Galilee as recorded by Mathew. Luke narrated how Simon Peter and some disciples went back to fishing in the Sea of Tiberias. To some of them yet another leader of a movement like those before Jesus was decimated by the power of Rome and the religious authority. It was another futile attempt and a total defeat of the forces of good over evil. It was only after they experienced the continued presence of Christ in their lives that they summoned enough strength and courage to return to Jerusalem to lead the Jesus Movement. That was the experience of Pentecost supposedly fifty days afterwards.

The suffering and the crucifixion of Jesus had to be interpreted for the disciples then and for us now. When the Christian movement was established they had to convey some meaning and significance of this Jesus. The crucifixion was hard to explain and they had to make some kind of interpretation. They have to get some understanding about the death of Jesus.

Even today we have different images of the death of Jesus. There are brief succinct statements that we make very freely and sometimes without giving too much thought to what they really mean. We respond to the death of Christ by saying: “Christ died for my sins” or “The sacrifice of Christ redeems me” or “We are washed in the blood of the Lamb”or “We are saved by the Cross of Christ.” These are statements stemming from certain Biblical passages. The early Christian Church Fathers began to formulate what has now come to us as theories of atonement. The word atonement itself is simple, “At one ment” – the three words are put together form the word atonement. The fragmentation of our lives, the alienation from God and separation from each other, is restored and “made one” again and reunified. God restores our relationships with forgiveness and with love. How does God accomplish that broken relationship with us sinners? The question that they address was: “How does the death of Christ save us, forgive our sins, and grant us eternal life?

The Church Father, Origin, in the third century C.E. developed the theory known as the Ransom Theory. Simply stated the death of Christ is the ransom that God paid to the devil. The basis that he used was Mark 10:45 or Matthew 20:28 “For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He believed that man by his sin had sold his soul to Satan and God had to buy back by paying the ransom. This is how God redeems us. What happened to Christ became an issue. Origin’s followers explained by stating Christ’s flesh is the bait, His divinity is the hook on which he was caught. Satan was deceived by God. This does not place God in a good light in the transaction. This led to the critics of his day to say that this view was both unscriptural and unworthy of the character of God. It also showed the weakness of God who could not overpower the evil one. The positive note is that human sin is very costly and one has to pay a great price for our sins. It is like paying a handsome ransom.

Another classic theory was advanced by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm, who died in 1109 C.E. It is called the Satisfaction Theory. He reflected the social organization of the Middle Ages when the image of God is that of a feudal Lord. Humankind by sinning has dishonoured God and cannot render complete satisfaction to God. In the perfect person of Christ humankind can render full satisfaction for his disloyalty to God. In that way, humankind escapes punishment. In this dealing, the devil is absent. You know too well when you defame an important political leader even in our time how much you have to pay and you if do not have enough to satisfy you will end up as a bankrupt or in jail. The difficulty here is that God is not the loving Father and the stress is on God’s honour that has to be satisfied. The note to consider is that of the importance of loyalty.

Then we have the Protestant Reformers formulating the Penal Theory with emphasis on Law and punishment. God is just and the law of punishment cannot be ignored. Sin cannot go unpunished. But God send His Son to bear the punishment for the gravity of human sin. This reflects Paul’s teaching in II Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Objections were raised by the critics of the day to say that God is not just because God allows the innocent to suffer for the guilty. Even now we cannot go to jail for someone else’s crime. And the more serious criticism is that God made the sinless Christ to be a sinner himself. It has to be recognized that there is punishment for sin.

How do we reconcile this image of God as a Loving Father of the Prodigal Son with God the Judge who punishes and the Lord whose honour has to be satisfied. For many of us we feel rather uncomfortable with these three classical theories. The understanding of God as a Loving Father who loves and forgives us when we are truly repentant is being compromised and we have also compromised with the nature and power of God.

These are classed as substitutionary theories. Christ is our substitute as a ransom, to satisfy God’s honour and as a fine for our violation of God’s law. When you stop to think about it, God does everything and all we need to do is to believe. It is just too easy.

The more appealing theory is known as The Moral Theory and associated with the Church Father, Abelard, who died in 1142 C.E. Abelard holds the view that the Cross demonstrates God’s love. The suffering love of Jesus on the Cross makes us ashamed of our selfishness and moves us to repentance. Jesus death is the most powerful moral influence bringing men and women to repentance and to receive forgiveness from God.

Christ's death does not have an objective impact on God so much as the capacity to make a subjective, psychological impact on us. It does not change God but changes us. The suffering of Christ is exemplary, to move us to pity, to a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving and love.

A scholar concluded that The Moral Theory of the atonement has considerable support from the believers who are inspired to alleviate poverty, relieve suffering, and work for "liberty and justice for all" people including women as well as racial, religious, and sexual minorities.

All these and others are theories. We have to decide which one is more acceptable and able to answer those difficult questions of faith relating to the death of Jesus. No one theory can comprehend its whole meaning. Each creative age has to make its own statement of faith and discern which aspect of the unchangeable biblical truth is emphasized. The different theories must be put into their proper places as fragments of the full confession of faith.

Nevertheless, we have to take into account the guilt of our disloyalty to God and our lack of obedience. We have to recognize the necessity to pay the penalty ourselves to satisfy the concept of the justice of God. We have to accept the punishment for our sinfulness. We do not look for substitutes but for examples of faithfulness to God. True repentance must necessarily precede forgiveness from God. All these truths are clearly taught in Scripture.

The Christian teaching of the Crucifixion of Jesus comes out of the Jewish tradition of sacrifice. The symbol of Jesus is that of the sacrificial lamb that is unblemished but we have difficulty to determine to whom was the sacrifice made, to God or to Satan. Is the sacrifice made to appease or to placate God. Does it change God’s attitude towards us?

We recall the story Abraham going to the mountaintop to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Is that the correct reading of God’s call to him to make his son a human sacrifice in worship? Would the sacrificing of his son be pleasing to God? The scripture tells us that when God saw that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, God told him not to harm the child and God substituted an animal for the intended sacrifice. Since then Abraham’s descendents would have nothing to do with human sacrifice. They sacrificed instead animals and food and oil. Do we need to make those burnt offering and meal offering in worshipping God?

The Scripture is clear and specific that God is not happy with this traditional sacrificial system. "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." says God in Hosea 6:6. Psalm 51:17 says, "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart; O God, Thou wilt not despise"

But it's not only in our daily and our weekly worship that we come face to face with sacrifice in the life and the death of Jesus Christ. It is, according to the scriptures, also, to be in the way we live our lives. Sacrifice is not just something God does for us. It is something that God calls us to do for ourselves.

Paul's letter to the Romans chapter 12 reads: "I appeal to you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Present your bodies to God in response to Christ's sacrifice and be living sacrifices to God. Is this your way of life? A sacrificial way of life? Jesus is the one who was crucified and who calls us to follow in his path. And not only is this taught by the Apostle, it is taught by Jesus himself. Remember his words, "Carry your cross daily," he says. "Lose your life for my sake," he says, "that you may find it."

Let me close with this story. A respectable theologian was on the same lecture platform with a famous television evangelist from California who is noted for accenting the positive and upbeat in the Christian message. According to this evangelist, it is as with Coca-Cola: Everything goes better with Jesus. He had built a huge new church and he explained that during the course of the building there was a debate about whether the cathedral should feature a cross. It was thought that the cross might prompt negative thoughts, maybe even thoughts about suffering and death. The cross for many does not communicate a success story for it spells defeat and projects failure. "Finally, I said that of course there will be a cross," the famous evangelist said. "After all, the cross is the symbol of Christianity and we are a Christian church. But I can guarantee you," he declared with a triumphant smile, "there is nothing downbeat or defeatist about the cross in my Cathedral!"

The questions that each one of us has to ask, “Is there a cross in my life?” “Is my cross one of suffering and living a sacrificial life?”

When Christ calls us to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow Him each one of us has to take up his or her own cross due to one’s sinfulness and pay the price in repentance and seek forgiveness. No one can be a substitute for the punishment or penalty for what we have done or left undone. This is the cross we bear because we sin.

There is yet another Cross of suffering which one has to bear because he or she has been sinned against by those who rejected you because of who you are. This is peculiar to most of you when you have been condemned for your sexual orientation. This is the cross that is borne by those who are sinned against.

Yet we must be able to accept God’s love and acceptance of us in spite of the crosses of suffering that we bear to the point that we are able to pray the following prayer.

Lord, remember not only the men of good will who have helped us to the Cross of suffering due to our own shortcomings and pay the price for the wrong we have done, but also those of ill will who have rejected us and place another cross on our shoulders. . But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted upon us. Remember rather the fruits we have brought, thanks to this suffering: our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown out of this. And when they come to judgment, let all the fruits we have borne be their forgiveness too.

Amen.