The Sacrifice of Jesus: Understanding Atonement Biblically

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Thus, the author of First Timothy solicits all imaginable forms of prayer. They are to be spoken “for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions” (2:1-2). Why are the latter specifically mentioned here? The immediate reason might be the hope that Christians “may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” In the first century CE as today, much of that was determined by religious tolerance and political stability guaranteed by those in leadership positions. Yet there was certainly one more reason why the author of our letter mentioned rulers in this context. Without adding anything to Scripture, this could very well read, “we have peace with God through the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The atonement is most definitely implied in this verse.

Some proponents of “propitiation” will say that the concept of “expiation” should not be opposed to propitiation because they actually can both work together. They claim that God’s wrath can be appeased at the same time as our sins are cleansed. While this is technically true for of the theological concepts, we must not import theological concepts into words. Instead, we need to ask, which concept is mostly likely being used through this word by this author in this text. The evidence leans more toward expiation/cleansing than propitiation/appeasement. Our lives: Remind the quorum of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel? And it is especially true when we stumble upon the Greek word hilasterion while reading Romans 3:25:

Dr. Eberhart is a seminar founder and convener for the Society of New Testament Studies. He has published various books in English and German, among them What a Difference a Meal Makes: The Last Supper in the Bible and in the Christian Church(2016). He edited the volume Ritual and Metaphor: Sacrifice in the Bible(2011) and co-edited the volume Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement in Early Judaism and Christianity: Constituents and Critique(2017). Of course there are questions that necessarily remain. Can an animal actually take the place of a man or woman? Can the blood of an animal actually atone for the sin of a nation? And if the sacrifices do indeed secure God’s favor and forgiveness, why must they be repeated? Remind the young men that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.

Each of these definitions will suffice as we understand it from a purely non-religious point of view, however, they fall short of revealing to us the true nature of the word as revealed to us in Scripture. What Is ‘the Atonement’? Christ’s sacrifice was accepted in heaven, the true temple (8:2, 5; 9:1, 9, 11-12, 23, 24; 10:1). That is to say, it was not prospective of anything. It did not symbolize or anticipate the accomplishing of atonement. Accepted by God himself, in the true temple, forgiveness is assured. The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, inside front cover (see also True to the Faith, 87–89) The precise purpose of Noah’s sacrifice (Gen. 8:20-21) is not explicitly stated, only that “the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma” and promised continued blessing. This notion of “pleasing aroma” surely does not indicate that the smoking meat “smelled good” but that God was pleased with what the sacrifice signified and so on that basis promised blessing. The idea of satisfaction is not far away, but we will need further revelation to confirm this. Our sin really has made a fraction between us and God. We have broken fellowship with God. We’ve also wreaked havoc upon God’s creation—which includes other people. Therefore, restitution must be made.

Our first parents heard the sound of the LORD God walking towards them. At first, they probably figured their fig leaf underpants would hold up under His scrutiny. But as the holy God came closer they knew it wouldn’t be enough. Deep down they knew it wasn’t enough so they decided to hide in a bush just for good measure. Self- atonement never works. Animals were sacrificed in the Old Testament, and in Genesis 3, to ultimately point to the Lamb of God. This is what Jesus meant in Mark 10:45 when he said his life was given as a ransom.

More often, the idea of atonement concerns cleansing a person who has sinned or become defiled in some way: for a woman after childbirth (Leviticus 12:8), a leper who had been healed (Leviticus 14:18–19), or a Nazirite who had broken his vows, even accidentally (Numbers 6:11). The most common uses of atonement have to do with sacrifices for an individual sinner (Numbers 5:7–9), a group such as the Levites before they perform temple services (Numbers 8:12), and even the nation as a whole. Leviticus 16 explains the Day of Atonement when the sins of the whole nation are dealt with by a sacrifice. The writer to the Hebrews highlights in several ways how the sacrifice of Christ excels the sacrifices of the old covenant.Invite the young men to read 2 Nephi 9:6–16 or watch one or more of the videos in this outline and listen for what they learn about the need for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Give time for several young men to share the verses they selected and what they teach. Encourage them to write a letter to someone who does not believe in God and use these verses to explain why the Atonement is important and why we need a Savior. Ask them to share their letters with each other. They hearken to the shema Israel, the ancient Jewish prayer “Hear, O Israel” (Deuteronomy 6:4) that also asks for undivided adherence and devotion to the one God. 2 Early Christians were thus asked to worship the God of Israel while rejecting the Roman Emperor Cult. Such challenging words are more than interesting historical insights. Still today, there is a tendency to somehow ‘divinize’ humans; those who are successful in public life, sports, or show business are often celebrated and “worshiped” as “stars.” They, too, need our prayers, as there is only one God who saves us all. Moral influence theories or exemplary theories comprise a fourth category used to explain the atonement. They emphasise God's love expressed through the life and death of Jesus.

Romans 3:21-26 could be summarized in this way, substituting all the Greek cognates for righteousness [ dikaiosynē] for “moral perfection”:This essay is part of the Concise Theology series. All views expressed in this essay are those of the author. This essay is freely available under Creative Commons License with Attribution-ShareAlike, allowing users to share it in other mediums/formats and adapt/translate the content as long as an attribution link, indication of changes, and the same Creative Commons License applies to that material. If you are interested in translating our content or are interested in joining our community of translators, please reach out to us. Looking through the eyes and understanding of the world, the true meaning of atonement becomes somewhat diluted. One of the most basic definitions of this word can be found in the Cambridge Dictionary, which states simply that atonement is, “something that you do to show that you are sorry for something you did.” Also in favor of this reading is that 1 John 1:7-9 & 2:2 uses the cognate of hilasterion in connection to cleansing: “and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin…If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness…He is the atoning sacrifice [ hilasmos] for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:7, 9; 2:2). These add up to something like, the moral-judicial righteousness of God is provoked to wrath by human sin. This moral-judicial wrath is appeased through sacrifice, and that sacrifice is the death of Jesus.