Lamb of God: Atonement
- James Collazo
- Jun 22, 2022
- 9 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Introduction
Atonement means making right what was wrong—repairing the offense that separated God and humankind. In Christian belief, it refers to the reconciliation made possible through Jesus' sacrificial death. The English word atonement was coined from the phrase "at one," emphasizing reconciliation between formerly separated parties. Yet this unity does not mean we share in God's divine nature. Only Jesus possesses true oneness with the Father in that way (John 3:16–18; 10:30). While Christian theology has developed several complementary ways of describing the atonement, this article will focus primarily on two overarching biblical themes: Christ as our substitute and Christ as the victorious King. The remaining historical models overlap these themes in various ways and illuminate additional dimensions of Christ's saving work but need not be treated separately here.
The New Testament doctrine of atonement builds upon the Old Testament sacrificial system while expanding its meaning. Propitiation, one theological purpose of Israel's sacrificial system, addressed God's righteous judgment against sin and restored covenant fellowship with him. In Leviticus, the Law of Moses instructs the priests to offer sacrifices for the people's sins: "[He will] and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way, the priest will make atonement for the community, and they will be forgiven. Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community" (Lev. 4:20–21).
Jews observe the Day of Atonement (Hebrew: Yom Kippur; H3117 / H3725) through fasting, prayer, and solemn synagogue worship. It is the holiest day on the Hebrew calendar, when the people mourn their sins together and repent before God (Lev. 16:1–34; 23:26–32; Num. 29:7–11). However, God does not require us Christians to observe the Day of Atonement, because he fulfilled its purpose in Jesus. The author of Hebrews writes:
The Law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. . . . And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb. 10:1–4, 10).
Jesus himself declared that his blood established the promised New Covenant, fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy that God would forgive sins and write his law upon the hearts of his people (Jer. 31:31–34; Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:6–13). Through Christ's sacrifice, believers receive not only forgiveness but a restored covenant relationship with God.
Atonement Themes
Christian theologians have described Christ's saving work through several complementary models. None alone exhausts the biblical witness. Each highlights a different aspect of the Bible's message of redemption, and together they present a fuller picture of how God reconciles the world to himself through Jesus Christ. The chart below summarizes the principal historical approaches. The discussion that follows focuses especially on substitution and Christus Victor because these themes provide the broadest framework for understanding Christ's death and resurrection.
The Cross as Substitution
The idea of atonement begins with God's perfect justice, which holds every person accountable for sin (Greek: hamartia, G266, "sin, forfeiture because missing the mark"). In studying this doctrine, we must avoid thinking of God in merely human terms. He is the eternal Logos (G3056; cf. John 1:1)—the source of all truth and the standard of divine law. This legal framework is not symbolic but grounded in the Law of Moses (Rom. 3:19–20). Because humanity is fallen, we are deeply sinful—violators, rebels, and offenders against God's holiness (Rom. 3:10–12; cf. Ps. 14:1–3; 53:1–3; Eccles. 7:20).
In our guilt, we are like Judas—betrayers deserving judgment. Yet, in his mercy, God provides a way for atonement. The apostle Paul writes, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). Under the Law of Moses, God allowed the Jews to offer substitutionary sacrifices, where an innocent animal died in the place of the guilty. Jesus became the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, offering himself as the ultimate and final sacrifice (John 1:29). Christ also fulfills the Passover, for just as the blood of the Passover lamb spared Israel from judgment and marked the beginning of the Exodus, "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (Exod. 12:1–13; 1 Cor. 5:7c). His blood delivers believers from the bondage of sin, death, and judgment, just as the Passover marked Israel's redemption from slavery in Egypt.
In this act, God did not punish someone else but gave himself. Some commentators today dismiss substitutionary atonement as "cosmic child abuse" because they misunderstand the relationship within the Trinity and confuse Jesus' messianic title, "Son of God," with literal human sonship (see "Trinity: Jewish & Gentile Views"). However, Scripture teaches that Jesus, the incarnate Logos, came as fully human and fully divine, possessing the very nature of God (see "Confessions of Faith"). In doing so, God fulfilled his own justice and showed his mercy. Because sin requires payment, God did not suspend justice—Jesus chose to bear the full cost himself. This fulfills Isaiah's prophecy of the Suffering Servant, who "was pierced for our transgressions" and upon whom "the LORD has laid the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:4–6, 10–12).
The Hebrew verb kafar (H3722), usually translated "make atonement," is closely associated with the Day of Atonement and the mercy seat (Hebrew: kapporet, H3727), which covered the Ark of the Covenant where God met with his people (Exod. 25:17–22; 37:1–9). On the Day of Atonement, the high priest sprinkled sacrificial blood upon the mercy seat to make atonement for Israel (Lev. 16:14–16). Also on the Day of Atonement, a second goat symbolically carried Israel's sins into the wilderness (Lev. 16:20–22), foreshadowing Christ, who bore our sins and removed them from us forever. These sacrifices foreshadowed Jesus Christ, whom Paul says God presented as an atoning sacrifice through the shedding of his blood (Rom. 3:25).
Through the shedding of his blood, Jesus accomplished the atonement once for all, so that God no longer counts our sins against us. His innocence and obedience provide the basis for our acquittal (2 Cor. 5:21). As the Lamb of God, Jesus took upon himself the guilt and wrath that divine justice required, drinking the cup of judgment during his crucifixion (Matt. 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; cf. Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15–16; Rev. 14:10; 16:19). Through his once-for-all sacrifice, God's justice is satisfied, sin is forgiven, and humanity is reconciled to him forever.
The Victory Won by the Cross
The victory of Christ Jesus began with the payment of a ransom. We often think of a ransom as money paid to kidnappers, but it referred to the price paid to secure a prisoner's release. Moses writes, "Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives" (Exod. 30:16). This passage shows that God told the people of Israel to offer a payment instead of their own lives. The ransom showed the cost of sin by taking the place of the life that would otherwise be forfeited, for "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (cf. Lev. 17:11). Jesus' atoning work is received through faith and repentance (Greek: metanoia, G3341), a change of mind and heart that results in turning from sin to God and embracing Christ in obedient faith (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 26:20).
However, Jesus made this payment when he died on the cross, shedding his blood for all who repent of their sins. The apostle Peter writes: "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Pet. 1:18–19). Like Israel's deliverance from Egypt, Christ's redemption inaugurates a new exodus, freeing believers from the slavery of sin, death, and the powers of evil into the kingdom of God (cf. Exod. 6:6; Luke 9:31; Col. 1:13–14).
Jesus' ransom was not a payment to the devil but the means by which God accomplished humanity's redemption (Rom. 6:22–23). Contrary to interpretations found among some theologians of late antiquity, such as Origen, Jesus owed the devil nothing. Instead, the Father placed all things under Christ's authority, as Paul declares, "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (1 Cor. 15:25; cf. Ps. 110:1) and, "God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church" (Eph. 1:22).
The New Testament describes this victory in unmistakably triumphant terms. Paul declares that through the cross God "disarmed the powers and authorities" and "made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Col. 2:13–15). Rather than merely canceling humanity's debt, Christ stripped the spiritual powers opposed to God's kingdom of their authority to accuse and enslave those who belong to him. Likewise, the author of Hebrews explains that Jesus shared in our humanity "so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Heb. 2:14–15).
The resurrection publicly confirms Christ's victory. Paul triumphantly proclaims, "'Death has been swallowed up in victory' [Isa. 25:8]. 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' [Hos. 13:14]" (1 Cor. 15:54–55). Death's sting was sin, and sin's power came through the law, "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:56–57). John's vision in Revelation likewise portrays Satan, "the accuser of our brothers and sisters," cast down from heaven because believers "triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony" (Rev. 12:10–11). Through his death and resurrection, he conquers every enemy—sin, death, Satan, and the powers of evil—and shares that victory with all who belong to him.
Sharing in Jesus' Death and Resurrection
The author of Hebrews writes: "But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (Heb. 10:12–14). This passage teaches that Jesus offered himself once for all, and his atonement covers every sin throughout history. Yet his final victory as Christus Victor will come at the end of the world. Until then, we must crucify our sinful nature daily, just as Jesus gave up his life on the cross (Gal. 5:24; cf. Matt. 16:24–26). We must also receive baptism, as Paul explains:
We were, therefore, buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin (Rom. 6:4–6).
Fulfillment of Atonement
Atonement means restoring the proper relationship between God and people. In the Old Testament, the Israelites offered animal sacrifices to seek forgiveness and regain God's favor, but these sacrifices could not entirely remove sin (Heb. 10:1–4). In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfills and replaces these sacrifices through his death and resurrection. His sacrifice is sufficient—it fully reconciles humanity to God (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 10:12)—and efficient, accomplishing redemption for all who believe without repeated offerings or rituals (Rom. 6:10; Heb. 10:14). On the cross, Jesus bore the penalty for sin, fulfilled God's justice, demonstrated his mercy and love, and through his death and resurrection defeated sin, death, and the powers of evil. While the Day of Atonement remains vital in Jewish tradition, Christians believe that Jesus' once-for-all sacrifice brings true reconciliation with God. Christ's sacrifice was offered once for all, yet its benefits extend to every generation of believers. Because he has reconciled humanity to God (2 Cor. 5:18–21), defeated the powers of evil (Col. 2:15), and now reigns as our great High Priest (Heb. 10:12–14), believers live in the assurance that his atoning work is both complete and victorious.
Bibliography
Commentaries
Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012.
Monographs
Aulén, Gustaf. Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of the Atonement. Translated by A. G. Hebert. London: SPCK, 1931.
Beale, G. K. A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.
Green, Joel B., and Mark D. Baker. Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament and Contemporary Contexts. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2015.
Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965.
Nadler, Sam. Messiah in the Feasts of Israel. Charlotte: Word of Messiah, 2010.
Pate, C. Marvin. From Plato to Jesus: What Does Philosophy Have to Do with Theology? Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2011.
Schreiner, Thomas R. The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.
Stott, John R. W. The Cross of Christ. 20th Anniversary ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006.
Wright, N. T. The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus's Crucifixion. New York: HarperOne, 2016.
Edited Works
Hill, Charles E., and Frank A. James III, eds. The Glory of the Atonement: Biblical, Historical & Practical Perspectives. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2004.
Online Resources
Eden, Ami, ed. "Yom Kippur 101."↗ My Jewish Learning.
Pugh, Ben. "Ransom, Substitute, Scapegoat, God: Is There One Doctrine of the Atonement?"↗ Church Times. March 29, 2018.
Media Sources
Kimber, Brandon, dir. American Gospel: Christ Crucified.↗ Transition, 2019. Video.