| It is all ultimately mercy. Christ stands in for our sins, as a scapegoat in Levitical religion stood in for Israel. He is personally innocent, and therefore it is only because He assumes the burden of our guilt that it can be even hypothetically just to sacrifice Him for our sins. However, He assumes our guilt through His Divinity, even if the guilt attaches to His humanity. In other word, God takes our guilt away: He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He does that freely, not as a matter of justice, but of mercy. Thus, the Perfect Sacrifice suffers neither for his own guilt, nor is it just that He suffers for ours, but rather, He takes our guilt freely, in His mercy. |
