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| The atonement in scripture |
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Rev'd Dr David Peterson
This paper was delivered at the Fourth Annual Oak Hill College School of Theology in May 2000. An expanded version of this paper appears as the first two chapters of 'Where Wrath and Mercy Meet: Proclaiming the Atonement Today' (Carlisle: Paternoster, 2001).
Please click the links below to read the different sections of the paper.
> Introduction
> Sacrifice and Atonement in the Pentateuch
> Sacrifice and Forgiveness in the Prophets and the Psalms
> Jesus and his Sacrifice
> Pauline perspectives on the atoning work of Christ
> Conclusions
> Notes – see below
Notes
1. Anglican Messenger, July and November 1991.
2. S. Travis, 'Christ as Bearer of Divine Judgement in Paul's Thought about the Atonement', in J. Goldingay (ed.) Atonement Today (London: SPCK, 1995), 24.
3. Travis, 'Christ as Bearer of Divine Judgement', 37.
4. J.T. Carroll & J.B. Green with others The Death of Jesus in Early Christianity (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1995), 263.
5. Cf. Carroll & Green, Death of Jesus, 259-60; M.G. Houts, 'Classical Atonement Imagery: Feminist and Evangelical Challenges', Catalyst 19 no. 3 (1993), 1, 5-6; R.N. Brock, 'And a Little Child Will Lead Us: Christology and Child Abuse', in Christianity, Patriarchy, and Abuse: A Feminist Critique, (ed.) J.C. Brown & C.R. Bohn (New York: Pilgrim, 1989), 42-61
6. F.I. Andersen, 'Biblical Theology', in The Encyclopedia of Christianity, (ed.) G.G. Cohen (Marshalltown, Delaware: National Foundation for Christian Education, 1968), Vol. 2, 65-6.
7. For an assessment of various theories about the origin and meaning of the Israelite sacrificial system, cf. R.E. Averbeck, 'Offerings and Sacrifices', NIDOTTE 4:996-1022.
8. For an assessment of relevant biblical texts and theories about the origin and development of the Passover, cf. T.D. Alexander, 'The Passover Sacrifice', in R.T. Beckwith & M.J. Selman (ed.), Sacrifice in the Bible (Carlisle: Paternoster; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 1-24.
9. A.M. Harman, 'Passover', NIDOTTE 4:1045. Alexander, 'Passover Sacrifice', 17, argues that atonement, redemption, and the sanctification of Israel as God's holy people are all implied by the narrative in Exodus.
10. Cf. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 4: 1003. Blood is also smeared on a person in the guilt offering ritual prescribed for the cleansing of a leper (Leviticus 14), reconsecrating the leper into the people of God. Blood is smeared on certain objects in the ritual of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), reconsecrating them to the Lord after their defilement by the sin and uncleanness of Israel.
11. G.J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, NICOT (Grand Rapids, 1979), 57. He observes that the idea of the burnt offering appeasing God's anger is expressed in many other passages (e.g. Num. 15:24; 2 Sam. 24:25; Job 1:5; 42:8; 2 Chron. 29:7-8). Cf. P.P. Jenson, 'The Levitical Sacrificial System', in R.T. Beckwith & M.J. Selman (ed.), Sacrifice in the Bible, 28-9, for different ways of viewing the burnt offering..
12. Cf. A.F. Rainey, 'The Order of the Sacrifices in OT Ritual Texts', Biblica 51 (1970), 498.
13. Cf. Rainey, 'Order of the Sacrifices', 498. Cf. Lev. 5:7; 9:7: 14:18-20.
14. The verb kpr is used with reference to atonement 52 times in Leviticus, 14 of which are in chapter 16; the abstract term kippurim, 'atonement', is found in Lev. 23:27, 28; 25:9; kapporet, 'place of atonement, mercy seat, or cover (over the ark)' is found in Lev. 16:2 (twice), 13, 14 (twice), 15.
15. R.E. Averbeck, 'Leviticus: Theology of', NIDOTTE 4: 909.
16. Cf. D. Peterson, Possessed by God A New Testament Theology of Sanctification and Holiness (Leicester: Apollos; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 19-23.
17. Wenham, Leviticus, 5. There is an important link between the inauguration of the tabernacle in Leviticus 9 and the annual renewal of the tabernacle system in Leviticus 16. In both cases the focus is clearly on the tabernacle itself, and there are separate sin offerings and burnt offerings for both priests and people (cf. 9:7-17 with 16:5-19, 24).
18. The Hebrew in Lev. 16:2 could imply a total prohibition against entry, but the context indicates that the high priest may enter the inner sanctum once every year, if the proper preparation is made.
19. L. Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (3rd ed., Leicester: IVP, 1965), 148. Morris (147-154) has a very helpful section on the wrath of God in the Old Testament, as part of an argument for understanding atonement as propitiation.
20. J. Goldingay, 'Old Testament Sacrifice and the Death of Christ', in Atonement Today, (ed.) J. Goldingay (London: SPCK, 1995), 10.
21. Cf. D. Peterson, Engaging with God A Biblical Theology of Worship (Leicester: Apollos; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 55-79.
22. The abstract noun kippurçm 'atonement' (cf. Ex. 30:16; Lev. 23:27) and kapporet 'place of atonement' or 'atonement seat' (cf. Lev. 16:2, NRSV 'mercy seat') are clearly derived from this root.
23. The passive in such texts could be rendered 'that (he) may be forgiven' and suggest that God's forgiveness is not the automatic consequence of the priestly rite. Cf. J. Milgrom, 'Atonement in the OT', The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Supplementary Volume (Nashville: Abingdon, 1976), 79.
24. Morris, Apostolic Preaching, 167-8.
25. Cf. R.E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:692-3; B.A Levine, In the Presence of the Lord, SJLA 5 (Leiden: Brill, 1974), 56-63.
26. Cf. J. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB 3A (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1991), 1079-80; Levine, Presence, 57-77.
27. Cf. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:693-5; Levine, Presence, 67-77; Morris, Apostolic Preaching, 160-174.
28. Wenham, Leviticus, 59. He helpfully observes that in the Old Testament the payment of a ransom was a very humane act, allowing a guilty person to be punished with a lesser penalty than he deserved (60).
29. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:696. 'kpr has a direct effect on sancta-it "wipes" sancta "clean".'
30. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:698. N. Kiuchi, The Purification Offering in the Priestly Literature, JSOTS 36 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1987), 87-109, concludes that 'make atonement' is a broad idea, involving several subsidiary ones, such as sanctify, cleanse, forgive and bear guilt.
31. Milgrom, 'Atonement in the OT', 80.
32. The Hebrew kapporet, which is probably derived from kipper, is best translated 'place of atonement', rather than 'cover, lid' (cf. Wenham, Leviticus, 229, note 2). NRSV 'mercy-seat' reflects the notion of Ps. 99:1 that the Lord 'sits enthroned upon the cherubim'. These cherubim made the top of the ark appear like a throne (cf. Ex. 25:17-22).
33. Incense may be used to prevent the high priest from gazing upon the holy presence represented by the mercy-seat. But it may also be used to avert God's wrath, as in Ps. 141:2; Num. 16:46-8. Cf. Wenham, Leviticus, 231.
34. Wenham, Leviticus, 235, citing D. Hoffmann, Das Buch Leviticus I (Berlin: Poppelauer, 1905), 444.
35. The laying-on of hands has been variously interpreted. E.R. Leach, Culture and Communication (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1976), 89, concludes that the most probable explanation is that the victim is thus identified as 'a vicarious substitution for the donor himself'.
36. Jensen, 'Levitical Sacrificial System', 34.
37. Jensen, 'Levitical Sacrificial System', 35.
38. The other goat is slaughtered and it seems logical to presume that the goat in the wilderness would soon die. The phrase at the end of Lev. 16:22 is lit. 'a land of cutting off', which quite likely means 'a place where the goat is cut off', i.e. dies/is killed. Combined with the possible rendering of Azazel as either 'total destruction' or 'precipice', this strongly suggests the destruction of the goat. Cf. Wenham, Leviticus, 233-5. Thus the punishment-bearing of the goat seems obvious from the context.
39. N.B. Courtman, 'Sacrifice in the Psalms', in R.T. Beckwith & M.J. Selman (ed.), Sacrifice in the Bible, 41. Thanksgiving is the keynote in Pss. 27:6; 54:6; 56:12; 116:12, 17, and petition most obviously in Ps. 20:2-4. Worship is the general theme in contexts such as Pss. 4:5; 76:11; 96:8-9.
40. A. Weiser, The Psalms (London: SCM, 1962), 338. Contrast Courtman, 'Sacrifice in the Psalms', 50-2.
41. Cf. H. McKeating, 'Divine forgiveness in the Psalms', SJT 18 (1965), 78-81.
42. Courtman, 'Sacrifice in the Psalms', 56.
43. Cf. E.C. Lucas, 'Sacrifice in the Prophets', in R.T. Beckwith & M.J. Selman (ed.), Sacrifice in the Bible, 59-74, and Peterson, Engaging with God, 45-8.
44. W.J. Dumbrell, The End of the Beginning: Revelation 21-22 and the Old Testament (Homebush West: Lancer; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985), 57.
45. T.M. Raitt, A Theology of Exile Judgment/Deliverance in Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977), 191.
46. Against the sceptical position of Morna Hooker on this issue, note the discussion in W.H. Bellinger Jr & W.R. Farmer (ed.), Jesus and the Suffering Servant Isaiah 53 and Christian Origins (Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1998), 70-151.
47. E.g. R.N. Whybray, Thanksgiving for a Liberated Prophet: An Interpretation of Isaiah 53, JSOTS 4 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1978).
48. Cf. C.R. North, The Suffering Servant in Deutero-Isaiah (London: Oxford University, 1956), 216.
49. P.D. Hanson, 'The World of the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 40-55', in Bellinger & Farmer (ed.), Jesus and the Suffering Servant, 18.
50. Cf. H.M. Orlinsky, 'The so-called "Servant of the Lord" and "Suffering Servant" in Second Isaiah', in Orlinsky and N. Snaith, Studies in the Second Part of the Book of Isaiah, VTS 14 (Leiden: Brill, 1967), 1-133; Whybray, Thanksgiving for a Liberated Prophet.
51. Oswalt, Isaiah 40-66, 377, 385.
52. Cf, Oswalt, Isaiah 40-66, 393-4 (especially notes 25, 26) for a criticism of Whybray in this connection.
53. R.N. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66, NCB (London:Oliphants, 1975), 179.
54. Oswalt, Isaiah 40-66, 387.
55. Oswalt, Isaiah 40-66, 408.
56. For an assessment of what the Gospels say about the sacrificial nature of Jesus' death, cf. P.M. Head, 'The Self-Offering and Death of Christ as a Sacrifice in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles', in R.T. Beckwith & M.J. Selman (ed.), Sacrifice in the Bible (Carlisle: Paternoster; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 111-129.
57. Cf. W.L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 380-1, and A. Feuillet, 'La coupe et le baptÕme de la passion (Mc, x, 35-40; cf. Mt, xx, 20-23; Lc, xii, 50),' RB 74 (1967), 377-382.
58. asam can mean 'guilt offering', with or without sacrifice (cf. 1 Sa. 6:3-4, 8, 17), or simply 'payment' (cf. 2 Ki. 12:16 [MT 17]). lytron never translates asam in the LXX but is not far from equivalent to the latter meaning. Cf. R.T. France, Jesus and the Old Testament (London: Tyndale, 1971), 119-120, R.E. Watts, 'Jesus' Death, Isaiah 53, and Mark 10:45 A Crux Revisited', in Bellinger & Farmer (ed.), Jesus and the Suffering Servant, 125-151.
59. The link between Isaiah 43:3-4 and 53:10-12 is helpfully argued by S. Kim, 'The "Son of Man"' as the Son of God, WUNT 30 (TÞbingen: Mohr, 1983), 52-8.
60. France, Jesus and the Old Testament, 115. France rightly opposes those who question whether Jesus used this text to point to his death as vicarious and redemptive. Cf. P.M. Head, 'The Self-Offering and Death of Christ', 119.
61. S. Kim, 'The "Son of Man"' as the Son of God, 38. I am not convinced by Kim's argument (43-50) that the saying recorded in Mark 10:45 was originally spoken in the context of the Last Supper. However, it is reasonable to conclude that Mark 10:45 is an anticipation and alternative expression of the eucharistic words of Jesus.
62. I.H. Marshall (Last Supper and Lord's Supper [Exeter: Paternoster, 1980], 57-75) reviews the arguments for and against the conclusion that the meal was a Passover celebration, particularly noting the problem of the chronology of John's Gospel. He concludes that 'Jesus held a Passover meal earlier than the official Jewish date, and that he was able to do so as the result of calendar differences among the Jews.' (75) For another assessment of the differences between John and the Synoptics at this point cf. Lane, Mark, 498 (especially note 33).
63. Cf. J. Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words (London: SCM, 1966), 225-6.
64. Jeremias, Eucharistic Words 252, 256-62.
65. J. Jeremias, 'This is My Body...', ExpT 83 (1972), 203.
66. The argument that the Aramaic behind to soma mou is gupi, meaning 'my person' or 'myself', is proposed by J. Behm, TDNT 3: 736, Lane, Mark, 506, and others. Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 198-201, 221-2, strongly contests this.
67. Marshall, Last Supper and Lord's Supper, 87. Marshall (86-8) assesses the arguments of Jeremias in the light of significant challenges to his position.
68. J.B. Green, 'Death of Christ', in Dictionary of Paul and his Letters, (ed.) G.F. Hawthorne, R.P. Martin, D.G. Reid (Downers Grove/Leicester: IVP, 1993), 201. Cf. M. Hengel, The Atonement: The Origins of the Doctrine in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981), 34-9.
69. Green, 'Death of Christ', 204. Green, however, is quick to point out that contemporary interpreters need to be guided by the apostle in this task.
70. P. Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: Eerdmans, 1997), 300.
71. G.K. Beale, 'The OT Background of Reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5-7 and its Bearing on the Literary Problem of 2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1', NTS 35 (1989), 550-81, sees the theme of Israel's restoration to the land in terms of creation in Isaiah 40-55 as the primary source of Paul's words in 2 Cor. 5:17-21. But the precise vocabulary of reconciliation is not found in Isaiah and it is relatively undeveloped within Judaism by Paul's time. Cf. F. Bûchsel, TDNT 1:251-9.
72. C.K. Barrett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, BNTC (London: Black, 1973), 180.
73. Travis, 'Christ as Bearer of Divine Judgement', 27.
74. R.P. Martin, Word Biblical Commentary Volume 40 2 Corinthians (Dallas: Word, 1986), 145, 158, combines what he terms the cosmic and the personal meaning of 'righteousness' in Paul's writings, arguing that it means 'to be given the salvific status as men and women rightly related to God' here.
75. Cf. Martin, 2 Corinthians, 156-7.
76. Barnett, Second Corinthians, 303. Cf. I.H. Marshall, 'The Meaning of Reconciliation', in R.A. Guelich (ed.), Unity and Diversity in New Testament Theology: Essays in Honor of George E. Ladd (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978), 123 ('in dying Christ exhausted the effects of divine wrath against sin').
77. Barnett, Second Corinthians, 312.
78. R.P. Martin, 'Reconciliation: Romans 5:1-11', in S.K. Soderlund & N.T. Wright (ed.), Romans and the People of God Essays in Honor of Gordon D. Fee on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: 1999), 47.
79. Against R.N. Longenecker, 'The Focus of Romans: The Central Role of 5:1 – 8:39 in the Argument of the Letter', in Soderland & Wright, Romans and the People of God, 49-61, Romans 1-4 cannot simply be written off as material that Paul believed he had in common with his addressees and wrote merely as a preparation for Romans 5-8. The polemical nature of the argument in these early chapters and the consistent development of the theme of God's righteousness speak otherwise.
80. Cf. S.K. Williams, 'The "Righteousness of God" in Romans', JBL 99 (1980), 241-90 (265-80).
81. Morris, Apostolic Preaching, 27.
82. Cf. J.D.G. Dunn, Word Biblical Commentary Volume 38A Romans 1-8 (Dallas: Word, 1988), 169, 179-80; D. Moo, The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary Romans 1-8 (Chicago:Moody, 1991), 229-30.
83. It is possible to read the Greek proetheto, 'whom God purposed to be' Cf. C.E.B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, ICC Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: Clark, 1975), 208-10. (NEB, 'God designed him to be'). This is consistent with the emphasis of the three purpose clauses that follow in vv. 25b-26.
84. This position is argued, for example, by J.M. Gundry-Volf, 'Expiation, Propitiation, Mercy Seat', in G. F. Hawthorne, R. P. Martin, D. G. Reid (ed.), Dictionary of Paul and his Letters (Downers Grove/Leicester: IVP, 1993), 282-3. However, even if Christ is portrayed as 'a place of sprinkling' by this language, the theological significance of the metaphor must surely be conveyed in translation.
85. Morris, Apostolic Preaching, 198. The word hilasterion is used of the 'mercy seat' in 21/27 contexts in the LXX and in Hebrews 8:5, however, in each of these cases it is used with the definite article. Cf. Cranfield, Romans 1-8, 214-8; Dunn, Romans 1-8, 170-1.
86. Moo, Romans 1-8, 232-8, notes the work of Deissmann, who shows that hilasterion in ordinary Greek means 'means of propitiation', and argues that the Roman Christians would have been more familiar with this usage than the ritual of the Jewish Day of Atonement.
87. Contra Travis, 'Christ as Bearer of Divine Judgement', 31-2. It is totally inadequate to understand God's wrath as in a non-retributive sense (29) in view of Romans 2:5-9
88. Moo, Romans 1-8, 236.
89. Dunn, Romans 1-8, 171.
90. Gundry-Volf, 'Expiation, Propitiation, Mercy Seat', 282. J.B. Green, 'Death of Christ', 206, similarly writes that, 'for Paul divine wrath is not a divine property, or essential attribute, but the active presence of God's judgment toward "all ungodliness and wickedness" (Rom. 1:18)'. In this connection, he acknowledges his debt to Travis and also to A.J. Tambasco, A Theology of Atonement and Paul's Vision of Christianity (Collegeville: Liturgical, 1991).
91. Cf. R.Y.K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 148.
92. N.T. Wright, The Climax of the Covenant. Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology (Edinburgh: Clark, 1991), 141-2.
93. Travis, 'Christ as Bearer of Divine Judgement', 24.
94. J.D.G. Dunn, The Epistle to the Galatians, BNTC (London: Black, 1993), 171-2.
95. Dunn, Galatians, 179. Cf. Fung, Galatians, 148-50.
96. This is part of a defence of the biblical doctrine of penal substitution in answer to challenges by Dr. Peter Carnley, Archbishop of Perth and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, as found by clicking here.
© David Peterson 2000. This material is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied without due acknowledgement of its authorship and source. |
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