Angry God Need Blood!
by Brian Forbes © 2019

Penal substitutionary atonement theory is popular. It is roughly the view that God needed to execute justice against the sins of man; someone had to die for the sins of humanity, so God sent Jesus so He could kill his spotless son. The weak Christian will hear this and not understand it. They will ask why God had to have blood to satisfy himself. Why can’t he just forgive, as the weightier matters of the law are both justice and mercy. (Mt. 23:23) As their doubt increases, they ask why any father would kill his own son so that evil people, people who often continue in their sin, could be forgiven. They move to atheism and use the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac to claim that if God did exist, he would be the Most High Monster.

“Dear Mob Boss in Heaven, please don’t torch me because I didn’t live up to your impossible standard. If you don’t mind, could you punch a pillow instead of mowing us down in your anger?”

“Dear punk kid, I’m sending my Son. If you kill him and get his blood splatter on you, you can say you’re sorry, and I won’t slam your body against the rocks.”

“Dear Boss, is there anything else I have to do?”

“Dear punk kid, no. In fact, if you try to do anything to try to please me, I will withdraw my offer.”

Did God kill Jesus? Is God, the Maker of heaven and earth, dependent somehow on blood? Does it impress Him. Does it sooth Him? Is God somehow diminished without the blood we provide for him? Dare I ask it? Is God thirsty for blood? Let’s take a few minutes and examine the nature of blood sacrifice and see if God is indeed bloodthirsty.

The problem expounded

In Against the Heathen, book 7, Arnobius comes down hard against the pagan view of animal sacrifice. He mocks them for many pages because they think that somehow the gods are hungry and need us to feed them, or that they enjoy the sensual pleasures of BBQ beast. He asks the question of why the sacrifice should change the god’s temper at all? What does it do? I quite enjoyed reading that book. It is funny.

“For if the old rustic [Jupiter], not being quick in l entering upon anything, delayed in doing what was commanded, being kept back by stronger motives, of what had his unhappy children been guilty, that Jupiter's anger and indignation should he turned upon them, and that they should pay for another's offenses by being robbed of their lives? And can any man believe that he is a god who is so unjust, so impious, and who does not observe even the laws of men, among whom it would be held a great crime to punish one for another, and to avenge one man's offenses upon others? But, I am told, he caused the man himself to be seized by the cruel pestilence. Would it not then have been better, nay rather, juster, if it seemed that this should be done, that dread of punishment should be first excited by the father, who had been the cause of such passion by his disobedient delay, than to do violence to the children, and to consume and destroy innocent persons to make him sorrowful? What, pray, was the meaning of this fierceness, this cruelty, which was so great that, his offspring being dead, it afterwards terrified the father by his own danger! But if he had chosen to do this long before, that is, in the first place, not only would not the innocent brothers have been cut off, but the indignant purpose of the deity also would have been known.” (Arnobius, book 7)

In the Epistle of Barnabas 19:5, we read, “Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion, nor again shalt thou kill it when it is born.” Didache 2:2 says the same. Most of the Christians who care what the Bible says on this topic will agree with this sentiment, citing Ps. 139:13 “you knit me together in my mother’s womb” and Luke 1:41 “the baby leaped in her womb”. They will point to the worship of Molech and Baal. Jer. 32:35 “They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded--nor did it enter my mind--that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.” The natural question that comes out of it is, “Why did God do it then?”

Ps. 94:20 “Can a corrupt throne be allied with you— a throne that brings on misery by its decrees? The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.” This passage makes it seem like condemning the innocent to death is a bad thing. See also Deut. 19:10, 1 Sam. 19:5, 1 Kings 2:31, 2 Kings 21:16, Prov. 6:17, Ps. 106:38, Isaiah 59:7, Jer. 22:17, Lam. 4:13, Joel 3:19, Jonah 1:14, and Matt. 27:4. Needless to say, God doesn’t like the innocent being slain.

God has given us directives on how to assuage our own wrath. He didn’t tell us to hit a pillow so that we won’t have to hit the offender’s face. In fact, I have found that taking my aggression out on things that did not commit the crime does nothing to help me feel better about it. This is what He says. Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Simple as that. Put it aside. Pr. 19:11 “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.” Romans 12:17-21 “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” If we are expected to forgive others instead of vengeance, why doesn’t God?

Some will answer that justice needs to be satisfied. They will cite the passages that show God pouring out his wrath on sinners. Nahum 1:2 “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.” See also Deut. 19:13, 2 Kings 17:18, Ps. 7:11, 75:8, Isa. 51:17, Jer. 25:15, Hosea 7:2, Mt. 3:7, John 18:11, Ro. 1:18, 2:5, 4:15, 5:8-9, Eph. 5:6, Col. 3:6, 2 Pe. 2:9, 3:7, and Rev. 6:12-17, 14:10, 19:15. If you go through those verses, you’ll be hard pressed to find one that isn’t wrath against the person who sinned. With three exceptions, I didn’t find any scriptures in the Bible that had God condemning the innocent. Exception 1 was the sons of Korah. The whole tent went down into the ground, so of course the children were among them. Exception 2 was when the Gibeonites asked for vengeance for blood guilt and were granted it by David. (click) Exception 3 explains the other two. Ex. 34:6-7 “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” It says that he doesn’t leave the guilty unpunished. I think it’s safe to assume that the children of the parent being punished actually did wrong after the example of his father. If they hadn’t, Ez. 18 would apply. The father of the line can be the termination of that line, and nations are sometimes condemned as a unit. Not because everyone is equally guilty, but because as the leader is so goes the nation. We don’t die because of Adam. We die for our own sin in emulation of Adam. God commanded that we not punish someone for the crimes of their father (Deut. 24:16). Moses asked to die for the sins of Israel. Exodus 32:30-35 God answered, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.”

And why does justice have to be served by the shedding of blood? Ps. 50:13-15 “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of male goats? ‘Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High; Call on Me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you shall honor and glorify Me.’” The next chapter, Ps. 51:16-17 “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” And Isaiah 1:11-13 “'The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?' says the Lord. ‘I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings!'” And if it isn’t perfectly clear already, Ezekiel 18 and 33 both say that turning away from evil is the point. Punishment is not for God’s pleasure or satisfaction, but rather it is to keep people from continually turning to sin. John the Baptist preached this message to the Pharisees in Mt. 3:7-8 “…when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.’”

Clearly God knew what was about to happen, that Jesus was going to die. Jesus said that it was for this purpose that He came. John 12:23-28 “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [...] “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” If God could just forgive for repentance, why did He need to send Jesus? What did that accomplish? Why did Jesus have to die? That is the question I hope to answer.

History of Animal Sacrifice from Genesis

The first mention of animal sacrifice was in Genesis 3:21 “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” It was by the hand of God with the purpose of covering their shame (nakedness / sin). In Genesis 4:4, Abel brought the fat of a sacrifice and it pleased God. In Genesis 8:20-21, Noah sacrifices some of all of the clean animals that came off of the ark, and it said that it was a pleasing aroma to God. In Genesis 9:4-6, God says that we are not to eat meat that hasn’t been drained of blood and that our lifeblood comes at a cost of the life of the person or animal who spilled it. In Genesis 12, Abram built an altar, but it didn’t say he sacrificed anything on it. In Genesis 15, we have a strange ritual.

“He said, ‘Bring me a three-year-old female calf, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.’ He took all of these animals, split them in half, and laid the halves facing each other, but he didn’t split the birds. When vultures swooped down on the carcasses, Abram waved them off. After the sun set, Abram slept deeply. A terrifying and deep darkness settled over him.”

The ritual and mystery of animal sacrifice is there, but there are other features. He was asked to bring a calf, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a pigeon. Why the variety? Why were the bigger animals split in half, but the birds were not? Why were they facing each other? And then it said that the vultures tried to eat the carcasses. There may be some hidden meaning there. He waited. In the darkness, the terrible darkness, “a smoking vessel with a fiery flame passed between the split-open animals.” There are secrets here that are not evident with a surface reading of the text. There are symbols.

The next mystery comes with the testing of Abraham. Gen. 15:4 “Then the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’” His heir, Isaac, was born, and God asked him to make his son a burnt offering. God gives circumcision in Gen. 17.

It is important to keep in mind that Abraham wasn’t asked to slay his son because God wanted his son dead. He was asked to slay his son (Gen. 22) because God wanted to see/show how much faith Abraham had. Likewise, Jesus wasn’t sent to the cross to show how much faith God had in Jesus, but rather to show how much faith Jesus had in God. Abraham passed the test and got the mark of circumcision. Jesus passed the test and got marks on his hands and feet. Abraham believed that God had resurrection power, because that was the very son of promise. (Gen. 17:17-19) Jesus showed that He did have resurrection power. If we trust God even unto death, we have the answer ready. Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

Models

What did Jesus mean when he said, “It is finished?” (John 19:30) A debt was paid. It's true that God was somewhat involved in this. He didn't send a legion of angels (Mt. 26:53), and Jesus didn't let Peter continue to swing his sword (Mt. 26:51). But how it works is not established for me. There have been several models of atonement through the centuries. Many of them overlap, and the summary versions I’ve looked at all have gaps. I’ll use this list to summarize them. The most popular theory in my experience is penal substitution. A defense of that view by William Lane Craig is here. Decide for yourself if it answers all of the objections. It was a view that was promoted by Calvin (so I’m told). It comes out of the Satisfaction Theory of Anselm. It said that Jesus satisfied God’s justice by dying. That was in reaction to the Ransom Theory, which is very beautifully depicted in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. It says that God needed to pay our fine, and blood is the currency. This is also in the Ray Comfort evangelistic script. Ransom was probably historically the first view that led to Penal Substitution. As we study these options, we need to keep two things in mind. 1. Even if God was to blame, we couldn’t do anything about it. As Job shows us, we shut our mouth and let God defend us. 2. My feelings about atonement don’t necessarily reflect the reality. If I change my feelings or my opinions, does it ever change the essence of something? I used to hate Vietnamese food. Then I got sick and changed my diet. Now, eating a bowl of phở is one of my favorite things to do. Did the essence of the soup change? I don’t think so. My experience and my opinion did. We evaluate these things to find the truth, not to create it. There are Christian members in good standing of all these positions, and I don’t think we should be calling anyone’s salvation into question over them. (Ro. 14:4)

Another strain of theories deals with the parable aspect of God’s teaching methods. Ezekiel eats cakes baked over feces! (Ezekiel 4) The Government Theory is notable here, because it’s, more or less, Penal Substitution minus God’s wrath. The death of Jesus, in this view, was a demonstration of God’s hatred of sin. The Scapegoat theory parallels Jesus with the scapegoat of Lev. 16. Mankind is sinful, so we killed a sinless victim, thereby showing that we’re guilty. The Moral Influence theory says that we should expect to die as Jesus did if we live as Jesus lived. Christus Victor is the theory that, by his death, death was defeated. You can’t have a resurrection without a death. Eastern Orthodox theology has the concept of theosis to help explain some of this. (click) Most of these parable views can be true at the same time. They are not in conflict. But, in my estimation, they don’t really give a sufficient reason why Jesus had to die; there are problems with any of them in isolation.

If you want to know more, read the article I linked to and buy some books. I listed them as pointers for those inclined to do more research.

Isaiah 53

Since chapters were a more modern invention, we have to back up a few verses into chapter 52. “…his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness…” The expectation was that He was to be beaten beyond recognition. Verse 3 says that he would be rejected and despised by mankind. Then verse 4. “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering…” There are hints of substitution there. “we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions…” Why is there a new sentence before “but”? There are those who are against Penal Substitution who say that the but of that sentence is the key. We considered him punished by God, but our view was incorrect. “…he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Notice that “for” is used. There are a few notable translations that use “because of” (Brenton Septuagint, HRV), meaning we caused his suffering. It wasn’t that our sin necessitated his willing subjection (Heb. 12:2 “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross”); it was that our sinful nature killed him. It was because of our sin that Jesus died, not because we considered him stricken by God. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Contrast that with NASB. “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on [lit. encounter] Him.” God caused our sin to go onto Jesus. “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin…” This one really makes it seem like God crushed an innocent man. I would keep in mind that crushed doesn’t necessarily mean death. A little pain is not unjust. We get hungry, after all. “…he will bear their iniquities.” And then “…He poured out His soul to death…” Jesus said that. John 10:18 “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” It was Jesus willingly going and the Father sending him. “And interceded for the transgressors.” The word for interceded there means to meet, encounter, reach. He met with the transgressors? I don’t know Hebrew. We’ll add this analysis to the other passages in a different section.

"The question of who wants to meet and when is quite important to our understanding of the biblical story. What justifies the claim of these theologians and scholars that God is the one who is ever provoked to wrath, and humans are the ones who ever want to meet with God and gain His acceptance? The books of Genesis and Exodus contain more narrative material to show the very opposite. Consistently, God wants to meet, because meeting with us enables Him to heal us. We are the ones who do not want to meet, like Israel refusing to go up the mountain to meet with God and hear His voice (Ex.19:13; Dt.5:5) because we are afraid of truly being healed." (source)

Books of Moses

In Exodus 24, young bulls were sacrificed as a fellowship offering, and the blood of that offering was sprinkled on the congregation and the altar to confirm the ten commandments plus various laws covenant. What might the blood signify? Why did the bulls have to die? In Exodus 29, Moses consecrated Aaron the high priest and his sons, and the altar at the entrance of the tent of meeting. The blood of the sin offering went on the horns of the altar, the rest at the base. They took the fat around the internal organs, the liver, and the kidneys to burn on the altar. It says that God was pleased by the aroma. The smoke smelled nice. The ram was for the consecration of the priests. First, they laid hands on it. Why? The blood was put on their ears, their thumbs, and their big toes. Why? They ate the breast and burned the right thigh with the normal fat parts. Why the right thigh? Then they did daily sacrifices. All these things were done so that God would live among the Israelites. Why did He need bloody ears in order to live among the camp?

Leviticus has several chapters devoted to types of sacrifice. They are divided this way.

1 (burnt)	5 (guilt)	12 (childbirth)	17 (eating blood)
3 (fellowship)	6-7 (recap)	15 (discharge)	22 (animal is to be perfect)
4 (sin)	8 (priests)	16 (Day of Atonement)

Leviticus

Bull

Sheep/Goat

Bird

Laying on hands

Blood side altar

Blood horns of altar

Sprinkle

Blood on man

Cut into pieces

Burn fat

Burn head

Burn tail

Burn organs

Burn parts outside camp

Wash organs

Burn legs

Pleasing Aroma

Burnt

Fellowship

Sin (priest)

Sin (congregation)

Sin (leader)

Sin (member)

Guilt

Aaron (3 animals)

Childbirth/discharge

The offerings all had slightly different obligations. They were as follows:

It is also notable that a woman’s menstrual blood made things ceremonially unclean. Other kinds of discharges (presumably of blood) for man or woman had the same effect. (Lev. 15) Lev. 17:11 “This is because the life of the body is in the blood. I have told you that you must pour the blood on the altar to purify yourselves. It is the blood that makes a person pure.”

Since there is a lot of mysterious things that I don’t understand, I add this passage for your consideration. Lev. 22:28 “Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.”

The book of Numbers has the following:

6:11-20 (Nazirite vow)	18 (food portions)
8 (purifying Levites)	19:17 (sprinkle ash water)
9 (Passover)	28-29 (offering recap)
15 (unintentional sin)

The particulars of the sacrifice aren’t as detailed as you find in Leviticus.

In Deuteronomy, we have a chapter on where the sacrifices were to be done (ch. 12), that they were always to be without defect is in 15:21 and 17:1. That the blood was not to be consumed is 15:23. In 18:3, we read, “This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head.”

New Testament

This is where things get interesting. We’re putting together all we know about God’s ritual and forgiveness and letting the disciples of Jesus inform us. Let’s start with this important thought. Heb. 8:5 “[Priests] serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.” And it is the blood of Jesus that caused the brothers and sisters to overcome; Rev. 12:10-11 “And they have conquered [the accuser] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Something about the blood of Jesus parallels the sacrifices of the priesthood, and it is what brings us to overcoming accusations. What about it?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is a salvation verse, but it doesn’t speak of death or blood. It seems belief is essential, but belief in what? Looking back to Numbers 21:8, Moses made a snake on a pole to save people who looked at it after being bitten. Deut. 21:23 “…you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse.” What a couple of strange things to add to laws of God. And yet, it was that very curse that caused Christ to be cursed. Gal. 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’” Strange that Jesus would have to be cursed in becoming the propitiation. 1 John 4:10 “...but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” This seems a good summary, 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be [a sin offering] who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” It seems that God intentionally caused the sinless man to become sin (a sin offering) for us so that we could get his nature in return. Propitiation vs. expiation is described here. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” He is our mediator. He bridged some kind of gap with his blood. He was our ransom.

It is interesting that many of the sacrifices included laying hands on the victim before it was slain. The symbols are mysterious, but this one seems pretty obvious. Something is transferred. After some of the sacrifices, the eating of the flesh was required. There are parallels there with Passover/Communion.

If he was a ransom, there was a trade of something for something. What was traded? 1 Pe 1:17-19 “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” Ransomed from futile ways. Galatians 1:4 “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father…” Delivered from the world. More on the will of God later. Rev 1:5 “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…” Freed from sins. (See also Eph. 1:7, Romans 4:25) 1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” And if it’s not perfectly clear that we have been freed from sin so that we can live for righteousness, 1 Jo 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Clearly, we are supposed to give up sin as part of this contract. If you’re in any doubt, here are some passages that say that explicitly. Romans 5:9 “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” If you stop there, you might get the impression that God just needed Jesus to die. The next verse clarifies how it works. “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Saved through his life? That seems out of order. Unless, of course, his life means Jesus living in us. Our life. And boy, did we need it. 1 Timothy 1:15-16 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” We are tied to this body of sin. Romans 6:5-11 “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Dying to flesh means we can be metaphorically resurrected to a life without slavery to sin. Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” In the commands from Peter to believers who are enslaved, Peter said this, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness…” (1 Peter 2:21-24) He was an example, laying down his life in obedience, so that we could live as Jesus did, even when persecuted. He carried our sins so that we could die to sin.

I hope it isn’t out of order to interpret some slavery scriptures. American slavery was such a blight in the world, and if the Bible condones slavery, it is evil. Well, that’s one way to look at it. There is a better way to look at it. We start as children under the command of their parents. We start out, more or less, slaves to begin with. I hope your parents were as kind as mine, even if they made mistakes as mine did. As we grow, we become slaves to sin. That message is throughout scripture. What kind of slavery are we talking about? Israelite slaves would be released after 7 years of service. All slaves were to be treated with compassion and were reminded that they were slaves in Egypt. Additionally, if someone sold themselves into slavery (which indicates how evil the practice was - it wasn't American slavery), you were to treat them as an employee. (Lev. 25:39) And when you set them free, you were to give them lots of gifts. (Deut. 15) If a woman was captured as a sex slave (a wife), she was allowed to leave if they didn't like each other. (Deut. 21:10-14) Ex. 21:16 “A kidnapper, whether he sells the person or the person is found in his possession, shall be put to death.” This one is important – you didn’t have to remain a slave if you didn’t want to. Deut. 23:15-16 “If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them.” What kind of slavery is it when you can run away at any point without consequence? We are all slaves, according to the BIble. We are slaves to our sin nature. (Ro. 6:16-17) When we live by the spirit, we become slaves to God, who renewed us in our spirit. In short, the slavery of the OT required compassion such that people volunteered to be slaves. If a slave ran away, they were not to be returned to their master. We are all slaves anyway, scripturally, so would you rather serve your porn addiction or your self-sacrificial all-loving God? Slavery in the OT is useful for understanding our lot in the universe, so denying it is denying universal truth. Hell wasn't made for you. (Matthew 25:41) You go to hell with your master as his property. (Ro. 16:6 again) Who wants to serve the lusts of the flesh? I would rather be a slave to Christ who brings freedom and be free from slavery to sin.

And we had a lot of sin to be freed from. Peter preached in acts that God determined and foreknew that the lawless hands would put him to death. (Acts 2:23) They (God and Jesus) knew it would happen, but they went through with it anyway. (Acts 4:28) John 10:17-18 “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” I wager that the Father is included in the statement that no one takes it from Him. Only Jesus was given the authority to lay down his life. And it’s clear that Jesus knew what was going to happen to him (John 13:1-3, 17:4, 18:4, Rev. 13:8), so he allowed the vinedressers (Matthew 21:33-46) to have their way. But recall what the Pharisees said God would do to them. “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” (v. 44) It was like the curse that Jesus spoke of Judas. Mark 14:21 “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.” Not only did He know what was coming, he did nothing to try to stop it. Matthew 26:53-54 “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” And it wasn’t fun. John 12 27-28 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” We are in a good place to get any good thing from God. But because we are saved unto righteousness, we should beware. Heb. 10:24-29 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

A second should be set aside for the reader to read Hebrews 8-10. Picking a position without doing that would be irresponsible. I will only mention that Heb. 10:11 says, “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” Implied here and expressly stated elsewhere, Jesus took away our sins. Does that mean that we don’t sin anymore after we meet Jesus? I don’t think so. But does Jesus work more effectively to break the power of sin than the sacrificial system of the Mosaic tabernacle or Solomon’s temple? I think He does. I sin much less after connecting with Jesus. A perfect connection, I imagine, would bring perfect sinlessness. The blood of bulls and goats would never do that. The sacrifices of Leviticus were for unwitting sin, accidental sin. Willful sin, as far as I know, is only ever addressed with repentance. That means you have to be set free from the bondage of sin (John 8:36) and intentionally quit committing it (1 John 3:9). It takes a decision to get in and a decision to get out. (Luke 3:7-15) Why would we want to keep sinning anyway?

I will also say a word about Calvinism. I’m not talking about Calvin’s actual teachings, because I confess I haven’t yet read them, but I am talking about the popular view that God molded some clay so that he could burn it in hell. That is not consistent with many scriptures or my understanding of the character of God. I read Romans 9:22 differently than this. The patience was in not destroying those who earned wrath immediately, but waiting. Most election scriptures have to do with those appointed to a work (i.e. prophets, Abraham, kings), and not to individuals. God could have appointed people to be destroyed so that those who were not destroyed would appreciate it. ("What if...") But He didn't. We know this because he said how many He wanted to save. (2 Peter 3:9) And He provides for anyone who chooses to come. (John 6:37) The fact is, you will not go to hell because God wanted to pour out wrath on someone. You will go there because you became the property of the principalities you served. (Romans 6:16)

Conclusion

When Peter summarized the gospel message, he didn’t say that God poured his wrath out on Jesus. Instead, he said this. Acts 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” He focused on the sins of the people (they, not God, killed an innocent man and were guilty for it!), the resurrection power of God, and the authority of Jesus as our only salvation. All the other theological issues he could have gotten stuck in, and he focused on our sin, God’s power, and Jesus’ position.

In Isaiah 53, we see that the suffering was planned. Given the parable of the vinedressers, it seems to me that the sinful Pharisees and pitchfork mob brought pain, suffering, and death. God the Father allowed it to happen, but it made him very angry. God, it seems to me, was not the direct cause of the pain and suffering, but it was allowed as part of the broader plan. We (sinful men) were the direct cause of his suffering, and Jesus willingly allowed it. And the death of verse 53:9 led to an allotment with the great (53:12). That looks to me like a foreshadowing of the resurrection.

So why would God send his innocent Son to die at the hands of wicked men? Several reasons. One is that you can’t have a resurrection without a death. Another is the mystery of the blood sacrifice. There is symbolism here, but we will not plumb those depths in a single paper. (I bet you were hoping for more. How about you write that paper and I’ll read it!) I will say this. God teaches in parables. Why did God introduce death? It demonstrates the consequences of sin. Why did God make animals attack each other? It shows us the consequences of our own rebellion. The lesson isn’t straight forward because Pr. 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” The symbols don’t work when Moses strikes the rock instead of speaking to it. (Numbers 20) I think that the main purpose of the sacrifice at the time of Adam was to show man what death looked like - what sin leads to. The main point of the death of Jesus, in my view, was not to show what pain God feels obligated to dole out, but to act again as a symbol of what it looks like to die to your flesh. It means resurrection from the dead. Third, who wants to continually pay for their sin. You get drunk and have a hangover; you don’t get drunk next time. You go to a prostitute and get a disease; that will keep you from doing that again. If you break God’s law, you sacrifice a goat. That can get expensive, but we all have to sacrifice something. Fourth, Jesus said that he and the Father are one. He told Philip, “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) And Zech. 12:10 makes God the one who was pierced. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.” Jesus was sent from the Father because they were of one essence. Exactly what the shared essence is will be a topic for another paper.

Looking back at the covenant of Abraham, all those dead animals signified something. May it happen to me as it is with these animals. That’s the common understanding. And when God broke (?), changed (?), renewed (that’s it) the covenant, it would make sense that He would become as one of those animals.

Why would he do that for us? We’re miserable! David’s heart was after God’s own heart. This is what we saw in him. 2 Sam. 18:33 “The king was deeply moved and went to the upper room over the gate and wept [in sorrow]. And this is what he said as he walked: ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! How I wish that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’” This was the son of David who took his Kingdom away from him, publicly raped his father’s concubines, and tried to kill him! It sounds a lot like us, doesn’t it, and God weeps for us. God doesn’t need blood. God doesn’t need death. He didn’t kill an innocent man. We need to see blood for the metaphor to work. We need the animals to die. We needed Jesus to die. We killed Jesus. God has every good quality I have times infinity. If I'm a patient father, He is more so. If I'm forgiving, He forgives infinitely more. To imagine that I could forgive more readily, more passionately than God is blasphemy.

And what did God send Jesus to save us from? He saved us from our sinful flesh so that we could live unto righteousness. Without the death of the flesh, there is no release from the flesh. (Romans 8) He paid at the cost of his life. We, as we follow his example, should return the favor. 2 Sam. 24:24 “But the king replied to Araunah, ‘No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.’ So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.”

So what if you had to pay for your own sins? What if every time you reverted to your flesh, it costed you a bull? Or even a goat? Or a couple of doves? You might think twice about reverting to your sin. The symbol is clear in this way. Our sin leads to death. Lev. 18:5. “Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them.” I want to live. I’m sure you want to live too.

So which view of atonement is correct then? I will let you decide for yourself. I favor certain ones (plural) and don’t really like other ones. Our salvation depends on the atonement, but I’m not sure it depends on our understanding of it. It is mysterious. I do, however, think it’s dangerous to blame God for the death of Jesus. There’s a distinction between training a soldier up for war and putting a gun to his head. That is the distinction I see here with God for Jesus. Yahweh didn’t kill his own son. He set his son up as a living example of who we should aim to be. He is our example. He is our way, our truth, our life. He paid our debt with his death so that we can live his resurrection life. We do not slay our innocent children. We live out the example of dying to ourselves as willing and obedient slaves of the Master of Heaven – our loving Father. He’s got our back.