When it comes to communicating the meaning of Christ’s death as a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners, the biblical authors use different approaches. Some declare this truth with wonderful clarity and directness. As the apostle Peter states it, Christ “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). Similarly, the apostle Paul declares that “God put [Jesus] forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Rom. 3:25). In his narrative account of Jesus’s suffering and death, Luke presents the same truth by showing it to his readers. In doing so, the truth is communicated less directly, but in an equally powerful and compelling way. As he leads us through the key historical scenes of Christ’s passion, the details of the narrative consistently point us to this theological understanding of Christ’s death. This interpretation becomes especially potent when one considers the Old Testament themes that Luke’s narrative evokes. This is what I hope to unpack in this article: the Old Testament themes that course through Luke’s passion and lead Luke’s reader to see Christ’s death as a substitutionary sacrifice.
The Passover Lamb
At Jesus’s final meal with his disciples before his death, Jesus declares to his disciples that his “body” is being given “for you,” and his “blood” is being “poured out for you” to establish the new covenant (Luke 22:19-20). The meal is a Passover meal (Luke 22:8), and the parallels between the original Passover (Exodus 12) and Jesus’s reinterpretation of the elements of the meal point Luke’s readers to the Old Testament idea of substitution. Just as God’s people celebrated the Passover the night before their deliverance in which a sacrificial lamb took the place of Israel’s firstborn sons and averted God’s judgment against them, so Jesus celebrates the Last Supper with his disciples on the night before pouring out his own blood for them.
The Suffering Servant
At the close of the meal, Jesus utilizes another key Old Testament figure that points to a substitutionary understanding of his death. Having declared that his disciples need to be prepared to face hostility, Jesus provides the reason for this. He states that the prophecy from Isaiah 53:12 regarding God’s suffering servant, a quote unique to Luke’s Gospel, was about to be fulfilled in him: “And he was numbered with transgressors” (Luke 22:37). The language from the quotation is crucial. Jesus would be “numbered” (or “counted”) with transgressors. And yet, the following narrative will go on to show what Isaiah 53 so clearly declares, namely, this servant was innocent of wrongdoing. He was not suffering for his own sins, but rather for the sins of others.
The Cup of God’s Wrath
Immediately after the last supper, Jesus goes with his disciples to the Mount of Olives to pray. Here he pleads with the Father to remove the “cup” that he is about to drink (Luke 22:42). What is this cup Jesus dreads? Throughout the Old Testament, the “cup” is a widespread metaphor for God’s wrath being poured out on the one who drinks it (Ps. 11:6; Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15, 17, 28; Ezek. 23:29-33; cf. Job. 21:17-20; Isa. 63:6; Jer. 51:55-57; Obad. 16-17). In each case, God’s punishment against human sin and wickedness is in view. However, in the case of Jesus, he is submitting himself to endure the cup of God’s wrath in obedience to God’s own will, and not because of his own sin.
The Guilty Go Free
Through the subsequent arrest and trial scenes, Jesus’s innocence is repeatedly emphasized and declared (Luke 22:52-53; 23:4, 13-15, 22). However, the Jewish crowds prevail upon Pilate to release the criminal Barabbas and condemn Jesus instead. The text brings Jesus’s innocence into sharp contrast with the repeated emphasis on Barabbas’s guilt (Luke 23:19, 25). Indeed, Luke’s narrative indicates that Jesus has been charged with one of the very same crimes as Barabbas—political insurrection (23:2, 5, 14). As the story unfolds, Barabbas’s fate is dramatically intertwined with whether Pilate will agree to condemn the innocent Jesus. In the end, Jesus is “handed over” unto death (Luke 23:25; cf. Isa. 53:12 LXX), and Barabbas goes free at the expense of Jesus’s condemnation—just like the sinners that Jesus will die for.
Salvation
Jesus is now crucified, and as he hangs on the cross, he is mocked by the Jewish rulers (Luke 23:35), the Roman soldiers (Luke 23:36-37), and finally a criminal being crucified alongside him (Luke 23:39). In each case, they mock him regarding his inability to “save” himself or others—thereby fulfilling Psalm 22:7–8 (21:8–9 LXX). The irony in the narrative is thick. It was precisely through remaining on the cross, in submission to the Father’s will, that Jesus would save others.
Luke then moves from this ironic mocking to a positive demonstration that Jesus does in fact bring salvation through death. In a scene unique to Luke’s Gospel, a second criminal being crucified next to Jesus acknowledges that he is facing the just judgment of God for his deeds (Luke 23:40-41a). However, he confesses that Jesus, although “under the same sentence of condemnation” (Luke 23:40), has done nothing wrong (Luke 23:41b). The criminal appeals to Jesus for mercy (Luke 23:42), and as he hangs on the cross, Jesus promises the criminal eschatological life after death (Luke 23:43).
Darkness and a Torn Temple Curtain
Finally, in conjunction with Jesus’s death, Luke brings together two additional signs that indicate Jesus was dying as a substitutionary sacrifice. The first sign is the darkness over the whole land from noon to 3 p.m. (Luke 23:44-45a). Whenever the Old Testament authors speak of darkness occurring at “noon,” “midday,” or while it is still “day,” times when the sun should be shining brightly, the purpose is always to communicate a time of God’s judgment (Deut. 28:29; Job 5:14; Isa. 59:10; Jer. 15:9; Ezek. 30:19; Amos 8:9). In this case, divine judgment is falling upon Jesus at the cross. The second sign is the tearing of the temple curtain in two (Luke 23:45b). Aside from the Gospel accounts of this event, the only other New Testament uses of this term occur in Hebrews (Heb. 6:19, 9:3, 10:20), where Jesus is described as high priest of the new covenant who has provided forgiveness and access to God through the sacrifice of himself (Heb. 9:26). The implication is clear: Jesus’s death has opened up a new way of access to God.
Conclusion
As you follow Luke’s passion narrative scene by scene, do you “see” the meaning of Christ’s death? Careful readers who know the Old Testament will discern a compelling picture of Christ’s death as a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. Jesus dies to bear God’s wrath upon himself so that sinners might be forgiven, reconciled to God, and receive the promise of eternal life.
