Substitutionary Atonement and Sacrifice in the Hebrew Scriptures

It is clear in many passages that Jesus’ death is associated with the OT (Hebrew Scriptures) sacrifices, especially the Passover sacrifice. John 1 and Revelation 5 both call Jesus a Lamb, the sacrificial animal of the Passover. In all four gospels a point is made that Jesus’ death was at the time of the Passover meal, and Jesus’ last supper and the establishment of the Eucharist is at the Passover meal. And sacrificial language is used in connection with Jesus’ death by Paul, the writer of Hebrews, as well as the prophecy in Isaiah 53. Clearly, sacrifice is an important theme to understand Jesus’ death.

This is the most significant theme of Substitutionary Atonement, but is it enough to establish it as the premier theory? The problem with this is determining that sacrifice in the OT was considered Substitutionary in nature, but there is little evidence for this. In fact, the clearest example of substitution in the OT is in the scapegoat sacrifice. On the day of Atonement the High Priest sacrifices a bull for the sins of the people, and two goats are presented. One goat is sacrificed, but the High Priest lays hands on the second goat, putting on that goat all the sins of the people, and that goat is released, alive, into the wilderness. It is interesting that the goat that is sacrificed does not contain the sins of the people, but the goat in the wilderness.

It is also interesting that Jesus’ death doesn’t follow the pattern of the day of atonement, but rather the Passover. Jesus’ death is likened to the death of the innocent lamb who dies so that the people might make an indication to the angel of death that they belong to God’s people and so Death might not visit the house. And this was the means by which the people might leave the oppressive slavery of Egypt.

But even a sin offering was not considered substitutionary. Rather, in Malachi 1:8, a sacrifice for sin to God is compared to a gift to a governor. It is a gift to curry favor, not a means to transfer sin off of one. The only sacrifice that was considered that is the release of the scapegoat, which Jesus’ death is never compared to.

Nevertheless, Jesus’ death is considered a sacrifice. It is an offering to God which gives one release from death and oppression. Again, this theme must be recognized in any atonement theory.