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We recently commented upon another article from this series written by John MacArthur.
We recently commented upon another article from this series written by John MacArthur.
Dr. MacArthur's doctrine regarding Jesus' sacrifice is largely based on the misunderstanding of a single word, "for," which is found in several of his cited verses, like 2 Corinthians 5:14:
One died for all.
The Greek word is huper, which means on behalf of, for the sake of. It does not mean instead of.
Jesus died for our benefit, not in our place. In fact, the whole idea of Jesus substituting Himself in our place for punishment is preposterous. No courtroom would accept the idea of an innocent party volunteering to be punished in the place of a guilty party.
The following blog post was originally published in September, 2013. —ed.
What was the point of Christ's death?
Depending on whom you ask, you could receive a variety of confused and conflicting answers. Even within the church, many people are inclined to look at the life and death of Jesus through their own skewed perspective of what it means to them.
But in order to understand the full weight and meaning of Christ's death, it's important to understand what it means from heaven's perspective. What did the Lord's death on the cross accomplish in terms of God's eternal plan?
So far in this short series, we've seen that Christ's death was a sacrifice and a submission. Today we'll see that it was also a substitute.
The New Testament is rich with substitution language when it comes to Jesus' death. Hebrews 9:28 says He was "offered once to bear the sins of many." The apostle Peter described Christ's substitutionary death in his first epistle with these words: "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24). In 2 Corinthians 5:14, Paul puts it bluntly, saying "One died for all." (If we divorce ourselves from the idea that Jesus died as our substitute we can easily see that each of these verses speak of the benefit we received by Jesus' death.
We should also note the use of the word "bear/bore" [He Himself bore our sins...] The Greek word is anapheró, (a) I carry up, lead up, (b) I offer up (on a high altar) as a sacrifice, offer up to God on high. It does not mean "bear up under punishment," it clearly indicates an action to carry, lift up, or bring. Jesus lifted up our sins as a burden to be carried.)
Of course, all those passages borrow language from perhaps the most definitive text on the death of Christ—Isaiah 53. Often called the first gospel, Isaiah 53 goes into explicit detail about the Lord's substitutionary sacrifice, centuries before He was even born.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)
(Here we also find the word "bore." This Hebrew word is sabal, to bear (a heavy load). This is the same concept that we explained regarding the previously cited verses: Jesus bore our sins as a heavy load, carrying them to the cross for our benefit.)
In fact, verse 6 of Isaiah 53 couldn't be plainer about the substitutionary aspect of Jesus' death: "The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." (Having now determined that Jesus carried the burden of our sins like one would take out the garbage, we can see the error of Dr. MacArthur's conclusion.)
Theologians refer to Christ's death as a "penal substitute," an unfamiliar concept in our therapy-oriented society. Today legal punishment is rarely about making restitution for a crime. Most often, punishments are focused on vengeance for the victims or rehabilitation for the criminals—and about making us feel better in the aftermath. We've clouded the idea of fixed standards and penalties for breaking those standards.
But that's exactly how God's law works. His standards are fixed as a perfect expression of His holiness, and any violation of those standards demands a specific penalty—death. Paul referred to death as "the wages of sin" (Romans 6:23), and it's a telling way to describe it. Death isn't the result of a divine vendetta. Sin earns death. And all sin must be punished. (Well, no. Sin is either punished or forgiven.)
In fact, all sin will be punished. No sin goes unpunished—it can't. God's law demands a penalty. Without that penalty, His perfect law ceases to be perfect. Christ didn't erase or ameliorate the penalties of our sins. He paid them in full. (Wow. None of this is correct. Nothing. And of course, no Bible verses are quoted at this point, because no Bible verse tells us any of this.
Jesus did not pay for our sins. He paid for us:
1Ti. 2:5-6 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men — the testimony given in its proper time.
1Co. 6:20 ...you were bought at a price.
Jesus did in fact erase our sins:
Col. 2:13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
He cancelled the charges of the Law that condemned us by carrying it to the cross. They are no more.
Further, He turned away the Father's wrath by propitiation:
Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
"Propitiation" is hilaskomai, ...showing mercy by satisfying (literally, propitiating) the wrath of God on sin...
He. 10:17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” [Jer. 31:34]
If the Father no longer remembers our sins, then He did not punish Jesus for those sins.
Forgiven sin is sin that goes away.)
What's more, He paid those penalties in an astoundingly short time. (Jesus did not pay anyone's penalties, He offered Himself as a sacrifice - the Lamb of God.)
In just three hours, Christ exhausted the wrath of God (He did not exhaust the wrath of God:
Col. 3:6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
Jesus turned away the wrath of God from those who repent and believe, but the wrath remains against the unrighteous.
Dr. MacArthur keeps making these undocumented and false claims. We now must deem this as bad Bible teaching.)
—wrath that would have been poured on us, individually, throughout eternity if not for His substitutionary death. He suffered an almost infinite punishment to satisfy God's law and purchase our forgiveness. (The Father never punished Jesus. He accepted Jesus' sacrifice and forgives all who call upon His name and repent.
He did not purchase our forgiveness. As mentioned, He purchased us.)
The penalty for our sins wasn't waived— (He repeats his false assertion. Notice that no Bible verse has been cited for this.)
it was poured out on Christ as He willingly took our place. (It was not poured out Him, and He did not take our place.)
His body was broken and His blood was shed on our behalf—"the just for the unjust" (1 Peter 3:18) (Yes! Dr. MacArthur swerves into the truth, but only for a brief moment.)
—as a perfect substitute. (Sigh... He was not our substitute, He was our sacrificial lamb.)
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