Everything about Substitutionary Atonement totally explained
Substitutionary atonement is a
doctrine in
Christian theology which states that
Jesus of Nazareth died – intentionally and willingly – on the
cross as a substitute for
sinners. This doctrine presents Jesus' death as a supreme act of love for mankind, and a heroic act to save people from
hell. It stresses the vicarious nature of the
crucifixion as being "instead of us".
In the
Roman Catholic tradition this doctrine is balanced by the duty of Roman Catholics to perform
Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ which in the encyclical
Miserentissimus Redemptor of
Pope Pius XI were defined as "
some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury" with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.
Pope John Paul II referred to these
Acts of Reparation as the "
unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified".
Meaning of the Doctrine
The word
atonement is a theological term that's used to describe some act that pays for or erases one's sins and transgressions. The word often is used in the
Old Testament to translate the
Hebrew words
kipper and
kippurim, which mean “propitiation” or “expiation.” The word occurs in the
KJV in and has the basic meaning of
reconciliation. In the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible or
Tanakh), atonement was accomplished by the sacrifice of specified animals such as lambs to pay for one's sins.
The word
atonement encompasses Christ’s work of
redemption on behalf of his people. The center of Christ’s work,to which the whole
New Testament expounded, was Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. Christ’s death is the very heart of the Christian
faith. It is the central theme of Scripture.
A distinction is often made between substitutionary
atonement (Christ suffers for us), and
penal substitution (Christ punished instead of us) which is a subset of substitutionary atonement. Both affirm the substitutionary and vicarious nature of the atonement, but
penal substitution offers a specific explanation as to what the suffering is for: punishment.
A central component of substitutionary atonement is the element of Jesus' intentions to die on the cross to pay for the sins of mankind, as stated by Jesus in John 3:14-18
(External Link
) and John 12:27-33
(External Link), as compared with theories that Jesus' death was unanticipated by Jesus and/or purely the fault of the Romans and/or the Jews alone.
Belief in the Doctrine
Many modern branches of Christianity embrace substitutionary atonement as the central meaning of Jesus' death on the cross. These branches however have developed different theories of atonement. The
Eastern Orthodox and
Eastern Catholics incorporates substitutionary atonement as one (relatively minor) element of a single doctrine of the Cross and Resurrection, the
Roman Catholic church incorporates it into
Aquinas'
Satisfaction doctrine rooted in the idea of
penance, and
Evangelical Protestants interpret it largely in terms of
penal substitution. Thus, while the idea of substitutionary atonement is present in nearly all atonement theories, some argue that the specific idea of
satisfaction and
penal substitution are later developments in the Latin church and in
Calvinism.
Key Bible texts
Christian doctrine holds that Christ's coming was portended by the Hebrew Prophet
Isaiah approximately 700 years before
Jesus was born. These prophesies can be found in Isaiah 52:7
(External Link) through Isaiah 53:1-12
(External Link). Luke 4:16-22 reports Jesus saying that the prophesies in Isaiah were about him.
(External Link), and the New Testament explicitly quotes from Isaiah 53 in Matthew 8:16-18
(External Link) to indicate that Jesus is the fulfillment of these prophesies.
- Isaiah 53:3-12 (External Link) - 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he's borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we're healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we've turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that's led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he'd done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he's put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he'll see his offspring; he'll prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he'll see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he'll bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I'll divide him a portion with the many, and he'll divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (ESV)
2 Corinthians 5:21 - "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (RSV)
Galatians 3:10, 13 - "All who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it's written, 'Cursed be every one who doesn't abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.' [...] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us - for it's written, 'Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree'" (RSV)
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."(RSV)
1 Peter 3:18 - "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" (RSV)
John 12:27-33 (External Link) 27 " Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ' Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 "Father, glorify Your name " Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." 30 Jesus answered and said, "This voice hasn't come for My sake, but for your sakes. 31 "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 "And I, if I'm lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." 33 But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.
Luke 4:16-22 (External Link) 16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD." 20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Further Information
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