Monday, March 28, 2022

Atonement and Jesus, the Suffering Servant

 


Jesus saw himself as the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who “makes himself an offering for sin” (Is 53.10).

Jesus said of himself, “the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10.45).

William Lane Craig writes:

"The Son of Man is a divine–human figure from Daniel’s prophecy whom “all peoples, nations, and languages should serve” (Dan 7.14). In his paradoxical statement, Jesus stands things on their head, declaring that the Son of Man has come in the role of a servant and, like the Servant of Isaiah 53, gives his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus evidently saw his death as a redemptive sacrifice, like the Passover sacrifice, and himself as a sin bearer, inaugurating, like the Mosaic sacrifice, a fresh covenant between God and the people."

Craig, William Lane. The Atonement (Elements in the Philosophy of Religion) (p. 9). Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.

Craig Keener says this big word "redemption" refers to the liberation of slaves, as in the exodus. (See Keener, Romans, p. 67)