He came to pay a debt he didn't owe. Because we owed a debt we couldn't pay.

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He came to pay a debt he didn't owe. Because we owed a debt we couldn't pay.

We have seen these kinds of statements many times, and it's simple enough to refute them. But this time we would simply say, "show me." Where in the Bible do we find that Jesus paid a debt? Where in the Bible do we find that we owe a debt? Who did Jesus pay? 

Chapter and verse, please.

The mistake is that Jesus engaged in some sort of transaction, akin to a financial deal, or maybe even a legal proceeding. But there is no biblical statement of a transaction, or a courtroom scene where Jesus takes the place of the condemned man. We just don't find these in the Bible. Nowhere. Nothing.

Jesus' death was a sacrificial act. Why is this so hard to understand? We find the concept of blood sacrifice typified in the OT animals. The OT sacrificial animals were never considered payment to anyone. They were never punished. They were never regarded as substitutes.

The OT sacrifices point to Jesus, and as such we ought to regard Jesus' death similarly to the animal  sacrifices. So Jesus is the Lamb of God, slain on the cross to wash away our sins by his blood:

Ro. 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!

Col. 1:19-20 For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross...

Ep. 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins...

Forgiveness is achieved by washing, not payment. And the blood is enough.