This week we are discussing Chapter 4 of On the Incarnation (§§ 19-25 – On the Death of Christ). Before beginning your reading, look at Matthew’s account of Jesus’s death in Matthew 27:45-54. Having set forth the reason for the Incarnation, Athanasius discusses “the very center of our faith” which is the death of Christ upon the Cross which accomplishes the “supreme object of his coming [which] was to bring about the resurrection of the body.” As you read through this chapter, think about why Athanasius says Christ had to die. Athanasius speaks of Christ’s death as a debt being repaid. Remembering the first several chapters, think through to whom the debt was owed and how the Passion satisfies that debt. In the remainder of this chapter, Athanasius then sets out the practical and spiritual reasons why Christ not only had to die but had to be murdered, in a public arena, at the very choosing of the powers of this world. For it is not simply Christ’s death which is important, but the manner itself. Please also make sure that as you read through the chapter, you also take the time to read the verses cited by Athanasius in his analysis.
Dinner is at 6. The menu this week is meatloaf. Hope to see you here and please bring a friend.
I will deliver them out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting?
Hosea 13:14 (LXX)