The Crucifixion and Salvation.
Humanity is saved through union with God. However, the
Incarnation alone does not accomplish salvation. Gregory stresses that the
Crucifixion is vital for redemption. The death on the cross is a manifestation
of the greatest good and the greatest gift of God, "the suffering of God, the
Lamb, who is slaughtered for our sins." The Crucifixion is a sacrifice, "the
purification not of a small part of the universe and not for a short time, but
of the whole world forever." Gregory emphasizes that the Savior's death is a
sacrifice, and he compares this sacrifice to the sacrifice in the Old Testament
through which it was foretold. The Crucifixion is a sacrificial offering and Christ is the true Lamb, the High Priest, and
the Conciliator. His death is a sacrifice and a ransom, λυτρον.
Christ takes upon Himself all the sins of humanity, and it is
for this reason that He suffers. "He has made Himself one of us," and "He is the
Head of our body." He is not merely a substitute
for us. Gregory tries to express the intimacy of the Savior's assumption of our
sins through such neologisms as αυτοαμαρτια, the “very principle of sin."
He who is without sin is not defiled by assuming sin. The God-man ascends the
cross of His own will. He carries our sins with Him so that they are crucified
too. Gregory glorifies "the cross and nails, by which I am released from
sin."
Gregory and the Notion of "Ransom."
For Gregory the full significance of the Crucifixion is not
expressed by the concepts of sacrifice and retribution alone. "There is one more
question and dogma, neglected by many other people, but in my opinion worth
examining," he declares in his oration on Easter. "To whom has this blood which
is shed for us been offered, and why? I mean the blood of our great and glorious
God, the High Priest and Sacrifice. We were in the power of the evil one, sold
under sin, and buying ourselves injury with our wickedness. Since a ransom is
paid only to him who holds in bondage, I ask to whom this ransom was offered and
for what cause? If it is to the evil one, then this is an outrage! If the robber
receives a ransom not only from God, but a ransom that is God Himself, then he
has such an immense payment for his tormenting that it would have been right for
him to have left us alone. But if it is paid to the Father, then in the first
place I ask how? And next, why was the blood of His Only-Begotten Son pleasing
to the Father, who would not accept even Isaac when he was offered by his
father, but changed the sacrifice and put a ram in the place of the human
victim? Is it therefore not evident that the Father accepts this sacrifice not
because He asks for it or demands it, but because man must be sanctified by the
humanity of God, and so that He might deliver us Himself, and overcome the
tormentor, and draw us to Himself through the mediation of the son, who arranges
this to honor His Father, whom He obeys in all things." It may seem that Gregory
gives no direct answer to this question, but he does in fact respond, although
only briefly: "Let the rest be respected in silence."
The Cross as Rebirth and Purification.
The Cross is victorious over Satan and hell but it is not a
ransom. The Cross is a gracious sacrifice and it is not a payment to God. The
Cross is made necessary by human nature, not by the Divinity. The root of this
necessity is man's sin and the degeneration of the body. Through Adam's fall the
flesh was weighted down and became a corpse which burdened the soul, but the
flesh is purified and relieved of its burden through the blood shed on the
Cross. In one passage Gregory refers to the Crucifixion as a baptism "by blood
and suffering." Elsewhere he speaks about the two kinds of purification which
are Christ's gift to us: "We are purified by the eternal Spirit who purges the
earlier damage in us which we received from the flesh, and we are also purified
by our blood (for I call the blood which Christ my God has shed our own), which
expiates our original weaknesses and redeems the world." The Crucifixion is a
rebirth, and therefore baptism has a part in it. We die with Christ and are
buried with Him, and we arise from the grave and through the grave. "It is
necessary for me to suffer this redeeming change, so that just as good can lead
to grief, so from grief our good arises."
At the Crucifixion the original purity of human nature was
restored. "We needed God to become flesh and die in order to give us life. There
were many miracles at that time. God was crucified and the sun darkened and
again shone forth, for it was fitting for creatures to suffer with their
Creator. The veil was torn, and blood and water were shed from His side: one
because He was a man; the other because He was above man. The earth trembled and
rocks were sundered for the sake of the Rock. The dead arose as a pledge of the
final resurrection of all men, and there were miracles at the sepulcher. But not
one of these is equal to the miracle of my salvation. A few drops of blood
renewed the whole world and did for all men what rennet does for milk by drawing
us together and binding us into a unity."
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