“He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26 NIV).
The following quote raises an important question related to Hebrews 9:26 and Jesus’ sacrificial death…
“John’s Gospel famously declares, ‘God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son.’ How then, have we come to believe that at the cross this God of love suddenly decides to vent his anger and wrath on his own Son?” (1)
In considering this question, we should note the use of the word “suddenly.” In this context, “suddenly” conveys the image of a seemingly hasty and capricious Deity who subjects His Son to an agonizing death. However, the idea that God abruptly decided to vent His anger and wrath upon Jesus does not align with the message of 1 Peter 1:18-20…
“…you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (see also Revelation 13:8).
A better approach to this question is one that acknowledges Jesus’ death as an act of penal substitution. The word penal is associated with the word “penalty” and carries the following definition: “of, relating to, or involving punishment, as for crimes or offenses.“ (2) When we combine this definition with the word “substitution,” we emerge with the following doctrine: God accepts Jesus’ sacrificial death in place of the death penalty incurred by those who have violated His laws.
As the author of Hebrews reiterated earlier in Hebrews 9:22, “…without the shedding of blood there is neither release from sin and its guilt nor the remission of the due and merited punishment for sins” (AMPC). Jesus thus serves as our judicial substitute. The Biblical book of 1 Peter summarizes this idea when it tells us, “…Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18).
We also have Jesus’ personal testimony in this regard: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep…” (John 10:11). Therefore, as one source concludes…
“Justification -being declared righteous or ‘not guilty’ before God- reflects the language of the courtroom (Rom. 3:24). It is the opposite of condemnation (Rom. 8:33-34). Jesus’ death was a matter of penal substitution, the just taking the punishment of the unjust upon himself.” (3)
(1) Steve Chalke and Alan Mann, The Lost Message of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), p. 182.
(2) “Penal” Dictionary.com, Retrieved 19 September 2022 from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/penal
(3) Copan, Paul. True For You, But Not For Me : Deflating The Slogans That Leave Christians Speechless Bethany House Publishers pg 158