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In upcoming chapters, I will address the genesis of the images of sacrificial atonement and ransom. For now, I can mention that our earliest source for the sacrificial and purchase metaphors for the death of Jesus is the Apostle Paul, who was writing in the 50s AD. Paul is also the source of that extremely unfortunate slogan: “you were bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23). Paul’s successors took his metaphors quite literally, blending the notion of sacrifice with the image of ransom and coming up with the idea of the death of Jesus as a ransom payment for the sins of humanity, the idea called “atonement” in theological circles.

In this chapter, I want to respond to the idea of atonement that is popular today, by contrasting it with the teachings of Jesus. My argument is less with Paul than with his more literal-minded successors, and with the crude atonement ideas that developed over time. It is the purchase concept that is most problematic.

The main problem with teaching that Jesus’ death paid for human sin is that it slanders the character of God the Father! If God was either unable or unwilling to forgive without a payment in blood, then God was either weak or cruel. Both are false. God was not compelled to demand that a payment for sin be made, nor was God defending God’s honor. Such ideas emerge when people apply human laws and attitudes to God.

“Somebody had to pay” is based on a series of mistaken assumptions. One is that God is stern and demanding, while Jesus is merciful and kind. This goes against Jesus’ own teachings about his similarity to the Father: “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life . . . Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 5:21; 14:9). There is no spiritual contrast between the Father and the Son; they have the same love. This is the good news: there is a circuit of love that flows from the Father, through the Son, to the Spirit, into us, and then among us.

Of course, no Christian wants to say that God is either cruel or weak. Yet Christians commonly fall into that trap unawares, accepting formulas that Christian authorities have told them they must believe, usually accompanied with a fierce and angry energy. Most believers follow their leaders. Instead, we should reflect upon what we have been taught, and see if it needs to be questioned, in the light of Jesus’ own focus on love and forgiveness. What did Jesus himself teach about salvation?

Salvation Now

Jesus made it clear, in his preaching and his ministry to people, that the kingdom of God has come; it is here. Jesus built people up spiritually and told them they were already saved by their exercise of faith. There are seven times in the Gospels where he tells people “your faith has saved you,” even when he has performed a miraculous healing for them. I am counting the times the NRSV renders it “faith has made you well,” as well as the times they translate the same verb as “has saved” (Matt 9:22; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 7:50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42). The verb is σώζω (sōzō), which has the primary meaning of “saved.” In all seven passages, the verb occurs in the perfect tense (sesōken), so it actually means “has saved.” The choices “made well” or “made whole” make sense in their context, but so does “saved,” and I prefer to stay closer to the verb’s primary meaning.

By no means am I arguing that people are self-saving. That would be too rigid a reading of “your faith has saved you.” Rather, Jesus is generously giving them credit for their faith, and their role in receiving salvation. Actually, salvation results from both the divine downreach and the human upreach: the coming together of God’s love (embodied by Jesus) and a person’s sincere and faithful plea. Jesus does do miracles of healing, but he likes to lift people up and include them. He acknowledges their receptivity to the act when he says “your faith has saved you.” Jesus certainly is the Savior and the Healer, but he likes to emphasize the human end of the divine-human connection.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus saves people, and tells them they are saved. Without any reference to his coming death, without any substitutionary (taking the place of others) doctrine, he makes it clear that people’s faith has already saved them. Again, the way to salvation and eternal life is wide open. Salvation is made available here and now, whenever people “hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance” (Luke 8:15; see also 8:21; 11:28). Notice how crucial is the “honest and good heart”—the sincerity of the person. Anyone who honestly recognizes the need for salvation can receive it.

Jesus is the Savior, not because of his death, but because of his divine identity, his power as Creator. He is the one who gave us life in the first place: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:3–4 NIV); “in him all things in heaven and on earth were created” (Col 1:16). Jesus is the Savior in exactly the same way that he is the Creator (“he also created the worlds,” Heb 1:2). He was the life-giver in the beginning, and he is the eternal life-giver now.

Jesus extends salvation just as he extended healing. In fact, the main images for salvation in the Gospels are healing and restoration. His healings were a gift of life, or a restoration of healthy life, and salvation is the gift of eternal life. Jesus was the life giver before he ever came to earth in human form. There is no magic in the crucifixion; he did not become the Savior only after he was murdered. He was the Savior from the start. In fact: “In a sense, we were saved by Christ before he was born.”1

Salvation and forgiveness truly are the free gifts of God, not something purchased with blood. The problem with the blood-purchase concept is not what it says about Jesus, but what it says about God. It pictures God as harshly judgmental, and also corrupt: needing a victim, but willing to be satisfied with an innocent victim. What good is it to see Jesus as kind and good, if we see God as sadistic, corrupt, or weak?

There is something not quite healthy in the obsession with blood, as seen in Billy Graham, for instance: “Blood redeems . . . Blood cleanses . . . His blood pumps through your spiritual veins with eternal life . . . Blood justifies . . . Jesus paid for our sins with His blood.”2 William Placher wrote “Christ is our sacrifice. His blood transforms us into people who can once again come into the presence of the holy God.”3 This seems like blood-magic. Further, isn’t it an over-emphasis on Jesus’ death? Shouldn’t we be focusing upon his whole life, his experience of God, and what he actually taught?

The teachings of Jesus go right against the notion that there would be no salvation until he had spilled his blood. God does not need to be paid or persuaded. Rather, God already loves us: “The Father himself loves you” (John 16:27). God’s loving attitude is no different from Jesus’ loving attitude. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). If we recognize the character and the love of Jesus, we should recognize that these are also the character and love of God. No Christian who understands that will ever again think that the Father required the crucifixion of Jesus—or of anyone.

We should stop assuming that God needs any transaction, any payment. God’s arms are wide open to receive. God is loving, like any good father: “Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? . . . How much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:9, 11).

Not only does this affirm a positive and loving God, it strongly asserts the basic goodness of human fathers! Jesus appeals to fathers: don’t you love your children? You wouldn’t play a cruel trick on your child, would you? And your children trust you, don’t they? In these remarks Jesus backs up the basic goodness of fathers. Elsewhere he admires mothers, children, and even Gentiles. He is affirming people, and also family, using family imagery for both God and the community of believers. Jesus tells us the truth about God, and he offers the appealing prospect of cooperating with God.

He says very positive things about people. When a scribe agrees with Jesus’ articulation of the command to love God and others and then adds “this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices,” Jesus tells the fellow “you are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:33–34).

Some Christians are profoundly pessimistic about the human heart, but Jesus says anyone with an honest heart can receive the kingdom of God. Those who “receive the kingdom of God as a little child” will enter it (Luke 18:17). He taught that sincere faith really is possible, and is effective. Further, he says that people can actually do the will of God: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). This would make no sense if he thought that doing the will of God were impossible. He believes in the goodness of anyone who wants to do right: “the good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good” (Luke 6:45). He tells his disciples to love, “so that you may be children of your Father in heaven . . . Be perfect . . . as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:45, 48). By practicing love and mercy people are actually imitating God!

Of course, this goes against the old notion that people are evil and that God is burning with wrath against them. The gospel is meant to dispel such fearful and pessimistic views of God. “Fear not” (Luke 8:50; 12:7, 32 KJV).

If we follow Jesus, our entire life, our minds, and our ethics, will be forever changed.

God’s Attitude, Our Attitude

Jesus’ ethics are based on the assumption of family-relatedness between all people (“brothers”) who have a common divine Parent (“Father”). His ethic was based on service rather than on patronage and self-interest. Leadership is servant-leadership, rather than the selfish exchange of favors between clients and “benefactors” (Luke 22:25). Jesus is reacting against the selfish practice of patronage in ancient society, where one only did favors in order to obligate others. People gave banquets in order to “be repaid” (Luke 14:12), but Jesus said we should hold banquets and be sure to invite “the poor . . . the lame, and the blind . . . because they cannot repay you” (14:13–14). And, really, “there is no pulling rank in this family. All allegiance is directed toward God,”4 because “you have one teacher . . . you have one father” (Matt 23:8–9).

We are called to practice the ethics that Jesus taught. He taught that God sets out to save, to forgive, and to transform human beings. God is not being a hypocrite when God demands that we forgive. How unfair it would be if God demanded that we humans be more spiritual and forgiving than God is! But that is not the case. Jesus demonstrated the way of forgiveness (Luke 23:34; John 12:47).

God wants what is good for the children, as any good parent would want. Jesus shows the same attitude when he heals people and lifts them up. He healed a woman with a bent spine, saying “Ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16). The religious people of her day were undoubtedly ashamed of this woman, and avoided her, but Jesus lifted her up, calling her a daughter of Abraham.

God cares about each person. Further, God would give spiritual blessings to us right up to the limit of our ability to receive: “God gives to all generously” (Jas 1:5). Each person will tend to develop a hunger for a particular quality of truth or goodness, and God wants to give us those qualities. This is the real meaning of the saying “Ask and you will receive” (John 16:24). It is not a promise of indulging every wish, but a promise that we can get some of the Godly qualities that we crave. “God . . . gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:7).

Our own giving should be modeled on God’s generosity: “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matt 10:8 NIV). Ethics grows out of an understanding of God: “It is precisely the fact that the community knows and calls upon God as ‘our Father in heaven’ that obligates them in turn to treat each other with familial love and care.”5 To the extent that we are able, we should seek to emulate God: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Of course, we must believe in the mercy and goodness of the Father if we would reflect it. What good could we reflect if we thought of God as angry and judgmental? But if we know God is forgiving, then we can be forgiving, too. In our prayer life, if we pray for our own forgiveness we should also forgive those who have sinned against us (Luke 11:4).

Forgiveness is not isolated from other life requirements. When forgiveness functions properly, it is part of what happens when people become educated and sensitive to each other, learn to develop mutual understanding, and set about to restore damaged relationships. Of course, the process doesn’t work fully if all parties are not willing participants. Forgiveness works best within a religious community with a healthy level of spirituality, where people are considerate of others and are seeking to do the will of God.

As a pastor, I have observed that there is a link between what people believe about God, and how they treat each other. Problems follow when God is thought to be vindictive. That belief does damage to our ethics, stifles our spirituality, and leaves people emotionally wounded and theologically confused. Even when God is said to be a just but punishing judge, distortion occurs, since that idea generates fear. The next time someone tries to convince you of the payment-in-blood theology, take notice of how much fear and pressure that person is using to try to convince you. There is an ugly psychology that underlies atonement, and it is often communicated in a mean-spirited and bullying way.

The Neglected Teaching

The most neglected of all of Jesus’ teachings is this one: “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37). He came to earth to teach truth, to reveal God, to live out goodness, and to demonstrate spiritual beauty by implanting and nurturing love.

His revelation of truth goes beyond just his teachings. It is very much revealed in his way of living, since that is where he really shows the intimate trust he had in God, whom he called “Father.” Whenever he says “my Father,” we can sense a background of years of prayer, trusting, and communing with God. And when he speaks of “my Father and your Father” (John 20:17), he is letting us know that we can have that intimate experience, too. That is his greatest revelation: his life of trusting, and the faith and good will that he always practiced. By speaking of “my Father and your Father” he is showing that the Father is not out of reach. God’s infinity is out of reach, God’s divine power is out of reach, but a childlike relationship to our spiritual Father is not out of our reach.

The spiritual life that Jesus encourages will lead us to become spiritually liberated because we will actually know truth: “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free . . . Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin . . . [but] if the Son makes you free, you will be indeed” (John 8:32, 34, 36). Truth is not only spiritually liberating, but it can be mentally and socially liberating, as well. Many people have been freed from bad ideologies, oppressive groups, and false teaching when they have discovered the gospel of Jesus.

He came to live the life of truth, and then to bestow the “Spirit of Truth” after he left (John 14:17; 15:26), the Spirit that “will guide you into all the truth” (16:13). He came to bring beauty, goodness, and living truth to the earth. He prayed “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10)—to make earth less estranged from heaven!

It should be clear, then, that Jesus came to show forth God, not to pay off God. He did not come to suffer violence or to inflict it. “I do not judge anyone,” he said, “for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47).

Then how did he bring salvation? If his death is all that mattered, that would make all his teachings, his encounters, and his healings—in fact most of the gospel narrative—unimportant. But all these encounters and teachings did matter. Many people’s lives were forever changed by their encounters with the living Jesus. We need to notice what Jesus says in these encounters. He finds saving significance in people’s faith—either in God, or in him, or both. I have already mentioned the seven times in the Gospels where he tells people “your faith has saved you.” And he never adds “dependent upon your believing in my coming death as a sacrifice.” Rather, Jesus links salvation to people’s spiritual choices and loyalties. He uses a woman’s gratitude and love to proclaim that gratitude and love are connected with saving faith: “‘her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love’ . . . Then he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven . . . Your faith has saved you’” (Luke 7:47–50). In this woman’s encounter with Jesus, her gratitude leads to faith, and faith leads to salvation.

It is about such people as this faithful woman that he is speaking when he says “blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt 5:8). He affirms that the believer can “make the tree good,” and that “the good person brings good things out of a good treasure” (Matt 12:33, 35).

Of course, we are not saving ourselves. It is God who saves. God first reached out to us, before we could ever reach out for divine truth and goodness. But we have to respond to this divine outreach, and Jesus, in these sayings, shows how important people’s own faith experiences are. He values their reaching out in faith and hope.

1. Forsyth, The Person and Place of Jesus Christ, 348.

2. Graham, Where I Am, 18, 22.

3. Placher, Jesus the Savior, 137.

4. Thompson, The Promise of the Father, 108.

5. Ibid., 110.