At The Cross: Meditations On People Who Were There

Written by Richard Bauckham and Trevor Hart Reviewed By David Gibson

As an undergraduate I always enjoyed the unfortunately rare glimpses into the devotional lives of well-known Christian scholars: somehow this always seemed to teach and model as much as their writings or lectures. This book provides such a glimpse, although not by way of describing the authors’ personal spiritual pilgrimages. Rather, having developed out of church services led in St. Andrews, Scotland, At the Cross is an example of theologians who are able to approach the biblical texts with imagination and inspiration for use in the life of the church, not just as fodder for historical study.

As the subtitle suggests, this is not an academic work on the cross but an exploration of the passion and crucifixion through the eyes of eleven different characters in the gospels: Mary of Bethany, Judas Iscariot, Peter, Caiaphas, Pilate, Barabbas, Simon of Cyrene, Mary Magdalene, The Centurion at the Foot of the Cross, Nicodemus and The Disciple Jesus Loved. The authors’ hope is that ‘by reflecting on the ways in which Jesus and his cross touch the lives of these eleven people, readers will find that Jesus and his cross touch their own lives in new ways or with new depth’. A key part of this reflection is imagination: Bauckham and Hart point to the nature of narrative to restrict itself to only essential information, thereby inviting the reader to participate in the narration in a way which engages with even slightly obscure characters and so brings them to life. The style and tone are reminiscent of Tom Wright’s popular devotional writings and each chapter is very well written, offering thoughtful and evocative handling of the gospel narratives, the reader is drawn into the strange world of a man going willingly to his death, while all the time being challenged to see themselves in the complexities of the different characters’ responses to the suffering Christ.

Many of the chapters provoke contemplation. Mary of Bethany’s anointing of the Lord is to be told wherever the gospel is preached because it goes to the heart of the gospel: ‘Alone among the disciples, Mary recognises that the cross is Jesus’ necessary, God-given destiny’. Judas’ great act of treachery is viewed in the broader theological context of God’s action in delivering his Son up to death and the Son’s own handing of himself over to death for our sakes. Peter’s failure as a disciple is seen as actually the qualification for discipleship because his embarrassment in denying a supposedly failed Messiah was the means to his discovering who Jesus really was: ‘in failure we find God to be the gracious God and ourselves to be in need of God’s grace’.

There are two ways in which the book might be used. First, each chapter is accompanied with a prayer or a meditation in different forms, as well as a woodcut illustration, also intended for reflection. This may mean that the book will find its greatest use among those familiar with liturgical spirituality but regardless, it would make a good supplement to the devotional Bible reading of any first/second year theological student. Modelled here is theological devotion. Secondly, this book will provide a creative resource for preaching on the passion narratives. With the stress on imagination in approaching the narrative, the authors lay themselves open to the possibility of somewhat submerging the narrative’s essential information in the imaginative enterprise. This means the didactic value of some chapters relies too heavily on imagining what might have happened to a character or what they could have sensed as they were caught up in the crucifixion drama. But this minor cavil should not obscure the fact that Bauckham and Hart model an engagement with narrative that is fundamentally theological and a fine example of how to draw an audience into the story-world of the text. Some preachers will want to locate these insights more forcefully in the clear purpose and movement of the narrative with less focus on individual characters but there is much here to add fresh touches to any preaching and all reading of the gospels. Above all, there is much here to point young theologians in the direction of good theology: ‘The book is designed for more than just reading’.


David Gibson

David Gibson is the Minister of Trinity Church, Aberdeen, Scotland. He is author of Reading the Decree (T&T Clark, 2009) and co-editor of From Heaven
He Came and Sought Her
(Crossway, 2013).