Contrasting images of God in

the Old and New Testaments

The characteristic mark of the Gospel of Christ
both in the Old Testament and in the New is that...
it evokes contradiction. (Karl Barth, The Epistle
to the Romans, p. 349)
Old Testament New Testament
God Almighty A r!"i#ied God
$n the %eginning GO& "reated the 'e ()es!s* was with God in the
hea+ens and the earth. (Gen. ,-,) %eginning. Thro!gh him all
things were made. ()ohn ,-./3)

And they stripped him ()es!s* and
p!t a s"arlet ro%e !pon him, and m
plaiting a "rown o# thorns they p!t
it on his head, and p!t a reed in
his right hand. And 0neeling
%e#ore him they mo"0ed him,
saying, 1'ail, King o# the )ews23
And they spat !pon him, and too0
the reed and str!"0 him on the
head. And when they had mo"0ed
him, they stripped him o# the ro%e,
and p!t his own "lothes on him,
and led him away to "r!"i#y him.
(4att. .5-.6/3,)
1'e (God the 7ather* "r!"i#ied
'im (God the 8on*.3 (. 8. 9ewis)
The eternal God is yo!r re#!ge, and And at the nineth ho!r )es!s
!nderneath are the e+erlasting arms. "ried with a lo!d +oi"e, Eloi, Eloi,
(&e!t. 33-.5) lama sabachthani :hi"h means
14y God, my God, why hast tho!
The 9O;& is my ro"0, and my #ortress, #orsa0en me<3 (4ar0 ,=-33,34)
and my deli+erer> my God, my strength,
God is o!r re#!ge and strength, a +ery 1:hen the world shoo0 and the
present help in tro!%le. (?salm 4@-,) s!n was wiped o!t o# hea+en, it
was ... at the "ry #rom the "ross-
the "ry whi"h "on#essed that God
was #orsa0en o# God. And now let
the re+ol!tionists "hoose a "reed
#rom all the "reeds and a god #rom
all the gods o# the world, "are#!lly
weighing all the gods o# ine+ita%le
re"!rren"e and o# !naltera%le
power. They will not #ind another
god who has himsel# %een in
re+olt. Nay, (the matter grows too
di##i"!lt #or h!man spee"h,) %!t let
the atheists themsel+es "hoose a
god. They will #ind only one
di+inity who e+er !ttered their
isolation> only one religion in
whi"h God seemed #or an instant
to %e an atheist.3
(G. K. hesterton, Orthodo!")
Ah, 9O;& GO&2 Behold, Ao! ha+e 'e sa+ed others> himsel# he
made the hea+ens and the earth %y "annot sa+e. $# he %e the King
Ao!r great power and o!tstret"hed ... let him now "ome down #rom
arm. There is nothing too hard #or the "ross and we will %elie+e him.
Ao!. ()er. 3.-,5) (The mo"0ers at the "ross, 4att.
.5-4.)
1$ am mee0 and lowly.3 ()es!s,
4att. ,,-.9)
... )ews demand signs and
Gree0s see0 wisdom, %!t we
prea"h hrist "r!"i#ied, a
st!m%ling %lo"0 to )ews and
#olly to Gentiles, %!t to those
who are "alled, %oth )ews and
Gree0s, hrist the power o# God
and the wisdom o# God. 7or the
#oolishness o# God is wiser than
men, and the wea0ness o# God
is stronger than men. (8t ?a!l,
, or. ../.=)