From the tract '10 Reasons Jesus Came to Die' by John Piper
#8) To absorb the wrath of God
God is perfect. As such, imperfection must be separated from God. Therefore, in order to be with God, you have to be perfect. We aren't perfect, but God has made a way for our rightful punishment to be transferred to another worthy entity. Long ago in the first few Books God published, He implemented something of a stopgap solution. A specially ordained priest would follow the appropriate procedures to transfer the punishment for imperfections to certified livestock, birds or harvested produce that were deemed of the highest quality. The inherent problem with this whole scenario is that perfection can not come from imperfection. Both the person preparing the sacrifice and the animal being sacrificed are imperfect. The whole thing also required a lot of upkeep. If we were still bound with this solution we'd probably all have to be farmers to keep up the amount of barnyard animals and crops to fulfill the redemption requirements just for ourselves. And thus, God sent the ultimate solution, Jesus. The perfect man / God hybrid. 100% man + 100% God = 200% awesome. He fulfilled our need for a perfect high priest and a perfect sacrifice at the same time. The best part is that His sacrifice is one and done and good forever. (Well, in truth the “Sell-by Date” is the apocalypse so you have to get your fresh sin atonement by then.)
The translations of this verse most commonly use the verb propitiation to describe the act of Jesus atoning for our sins. According to Dictionary.com, propitiate is “to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.” John Piper describes it as absorbing the wrath of God. I was trying to think of a picture example of absorbing, but at time I was having trouble thinking about anything but sports references. As God would have it, there was some kind of event yesterday that I think a few people watched. In the game of American Football (Sorry every other non-U.S. country in the Americas. Not only do we claim exclusive rights to the name of all the continents in this hemisphere, but we use it to redefine the most popular sport in the rest of the world), when a quarterback is throwing the ball (why is it called football again?), sometimes he doesn't have enough time to throw it and avoid getting hit by the other team. He can either curl up in the fetal position for protection or he can throw the ball and leave himself completely vulnerable to get obliterated. The first option is better for his personal health, but will be sending the team backwards. The second option takes no regard for himself so that the team as a whole has a chance to prosper. Jesus is the kind of quarterback that takes one for the team. But if you look closely at the picture, not only is he getting destroyed, he's throwing the ball to the most unlikely of receivers. Who is that fat guy? Holy crap! Did He just throw the ball to a lineman? There's no way that guy can catch the ball! Is he even an eligible receiver? (see NFL rules on the forward pass) When you think about a perfect individual making the ultimate sacrifice for an imperfect person it doesn't make any earthly sense (just like a Hail Mary to a lineman), but Jesus loved you that much. And you know what? Fat guys have the best touchdown dances.
If you get Jesus a flak jacket:
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