This index lists every major Scripture reference discussed in the book, organized by biblical book from Genesis through Revelation. Each entry includes the chapter(s) where the passage is treated and a brief note on the passage's significance for the book's argument. The chapter listed first in bold is the primary home for in-depth exegesis of that passage; additional chapter numbers indicate secondary references or cross-references.
Genesis 1:26–27 — Chapters 3, 28
Humanity created in the image of God; establishes the dignity and worth of those for whom Christ died, and grounds the concept of corporate solidarity and federal headship.
Genesis 2:17 — Chapters 3, 26
"In the day you eat of it you shall surely die." The first announcement of the death penalty for sin, establishing the connection between sin and death that the atonement addresses.
Genesis 3:1–24 — Chapters 3, 21, 28
The fall of humanity; introduces sin, the curse, enmity between the serpent and the woman's offspring, and the need for atonement. Foundation for both Christus Victor (crushing the serpent) and substitutionary themes.
Genesis 3:15 — Chapters 6, 21, 38
The protoevangelium — the first promise of redemption. The offspring of the woman will crush the serpent's head. A foundational Christus Victor text that also implies the suffering of the Redeemer ("he shall bruise your heel").
Genesis 3:21 — Chapters 4, 6
God clothes Adam and Eve with garments of animal skins — the first animal death in Scripture, widely understood as a foreshadowing of substitutionary sacrifice.
Genesis 4:1–7 — Chapter 4
Cain and Abel's offerings; the first recorded sacrificial offerings, raising the question of what makes a sacrifice acceptable to God.
Genesis 22:1–19 — Chapters 4, 6, 7, 19
The binding of Isaac (Aqedah). Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac and God's provision of a ram as a substitute. One of the most powerful Old Testament foreshadowings of substitutionary atonement — "God will provide for himself the lamb" (v. 8).
Exodus 12:1–28 — Chapters 4, 5, 7, 10
The Passover. The lamb is slain, its blood applied to the doorposts, and the firstborn are spared. A foundational substitutionary image: the lamb dies so the household lives. Directly connected to Christ as "our Passover lamb" (1 Cor. 5:7).
Exodus 12:13 — Chapters 4, 8
"When I see the blood, I will pass over you." The blood of the lamb averts judgment — a key text for understanding propitiation and substitution.
Exodus 24:3–8 — Chapters 4, 7
The covenant ratification at Sinai with blood. Moses sprinkles the "blood of the covenant" on the people, establishing the connection between covenant, blood, and atonement that Jesus echoes at the Last Supper.
Exodus 25:17–22 — Chapters 5, 8
The mercy seat (kapporet) atop the ark of the covenant. The place where atonement is made on the Day of Atonement. Paul's use of hilastērion in Romans 3:25 may allude to this mercy seat.
Exodus 29:10–14 — Chapter 4
The consecration offering with the laying on of hands (semikah) on the bull's head before it is slaughtered — ritual transfer symbolizing identification between offerer and victim.
Exodus 32:30–34 — Chapters 4, 19
Moses offers himself as a substitute for Israel's sin after the golden calf: "If you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book." An early expression of the impulse toward vicarious suffering.
Leviticus 1:1–17 — Chapter 4
The burnt offering (olah). The offerer lays hands on the animal, it is slaughtered, and it is wholly consumed. The offering is accepted "to make atonement for him" (v. 4).
Leviticus 1:4 — Chapters 4, 5, 19
"He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him." The hand-laying ritual (semikah) is central to the substitutionary interpretation of the sacrificial system.
Leviticus 4:1–5:13 — Chapter 4
The sin offering (chattath). Prescribed for unintentional sins. The blood manipulation rituals vary by the status of the offerer, demonstrating the seriousness with which God treats sin.
Leviticus 5:14–6:7 — Chapters 4, 6
The guilt offering (asham). Prescribed for offenses requiring restitution. Isaiah 53:10 identifies the Servant's life as an asham, directly connecting the Servant's suffering to the Levitical guilt offering.
Leviticus 16:1–34 — Chapter 5, 4, 8, 10, 19
The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The most important single Old Testament passage for atonement theology. The high priest enters the Most Holy Place with blood, makes atonement for the sanctuary and the people, and sends the scapegoat (azazel) into the wilderness bearing the people's sins. The primary home for in-depth exegesis of this ritual.
Leviticus 16:15–16 — Chapters 5, 8, 10
The blood of the goat sprinkled on the mercy seat to make atonement "because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel." The blood ritual is central to the Day of Atonement and to the argument that hilastērion in Romans 3:25 carries propitiatory significance.
Leviticus 16:20–22 — Chapters 5, 6, 9, 19
The scapegoat ritual. Aaron lays both hands on the live goat, confesses all the people's sins over it, and sends it into the wilderness "bearing all their iniquities." A vivid picture of sin-bearing and removal that anticipates the Servant of Isaiah 53.
Leviticus 17:11 — Chapters 4, 5, 10, 19
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life." The theological rationale for blood sacrifice — life is given in place of life.
Numbers 21:4–9 — Chapters 7, 12
The bronze serpent. Jesus refers to this incident in John 3:14–15 as a type of His own crucifixion: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up."
Deuteronomy 21:22–23 — Chapters 9, 19
"Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree." Paul quotes this in Galatians 3:13 to argue that Christ became a curse for us — one of the most explicitly penal and substitutionary texts in the New Testament.
Psalm 22:1 — Chapter 11, 7, 20
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus' cry of dereliction from the cross (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34). A critical text for understanding the nature of Christ's suffering and the relationship between the Father and Son at Calvary.
Psalm 22:1–31 — Chapters 6, 11, 19
The broader psalm of the righteous sufferer, widely understood as messianic. Describes piercing of hands and feet (v. 16), casting lots for garments (v. 18), and concludes with vindication and universal praise (vv. 27–31).
Psalm 32:1–2 — Chapters 9, 36
"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." Paul quotes this in Romans 4:7–8 as evidence that justification involves the non-imputation of sin.
Psalm 40:6–8 — Chapters 4, 10
"Sacrifice and offering you have not desired... I delight to do your will, O my God." Quoted in Hebrews 10:5–7 as Christ's words upon entering the world, replacing animal sacrifices with His own obedient self-offering.
Psalm 49:7–9 — Chapters 4, 22
"Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life." The impossibility of human self-redemption, establishing the need for a divine Redeemer.
Psalm 69:1–36 — Chapters 6, 11
Another psalm of the righteous sufferer, with messianic overtones. Verse 9 is quoted in John 2:17; verse 21 anticipates the vinegar offered to Jesus on the cross.
Psalm 103:8–12 — Chapter 3
"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love... as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." The character of God as both just and compassionate.
Psalm 110:1, 4 — Chapters 7, 10
"The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand'... 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.'" Central to Hebrews' argument that Christ is a superior priest whose sacrifice is eternally effective.
Psalm 130:3–4, 7–8 — Chapters 3, 36
"If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness... He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities." The tension between God's justice and mercy that the atonement resolves.
Isaiah 1:11–18 — Chapters 4, 3
God's critique of empty ritual sacrifice and His invitation: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Sacrifice without repentance is meaningless; genuine atonement involves inner transformation.
Isaiah 6:1–7 — Chapter 3
Isaiah's vision of the holy God. The seraphim's cry "Holy, holy, holy" and the prophet's awareness of his own sinfulness reveal the tension between divine holiness and human uncleanness that the atonement resolves.
Isaiah 42:1–9 — Chapter 6
The first Servant Song. The Servant is chosen and empowered by the Spirit to bring justice to the nations — introduction of the Servant figure whose suffering is detailed in Isaiah 53.
Isaiah 49:1–7 — Chapter 6
The second Servant Song. The Servant's mission extends beyond Israel to be "a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (v. 6) — supporting the universal scope of the atonement.
Isaiah 50:4–9 — Chapter 6
The third Servant Song. The Servant willingly endures suffering — "I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard" (v. 6). The voluntariness of the Servant's suffering.
Isaiah 52:13–53:12 — Chapter 6, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 19, 24, 32
The fourth Servant Song — the single most important Old Testament passage for substitutionary atonement. The primary exegetical home is Chapter 6. The Servant is "pierced for our transgressions" (53:5), "the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (53:6), and his life is made "an offering for guilt" (asham, 53:10). This passage is referenced throughout the book as the foundational Old Testament witness to substitutionary sacrifice.
Isaiah 53:4–6 — Chapters 6, 19, 24
"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows... he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement (musar) that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray... and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." The heart of the Servant's substitutionary suffering.
Isaiah 53:10–12 — Chapters 6, 4, 5, 19
"It was the will of the LORD to crush him... when his soul makes an offering for guilt (asham), he shall see his offspring... he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors." The guilt offering language and the sin-bearing motif.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 — Chapters 7, 10, 12
The new covenant promise. "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." The new covenant, ratified by Christ's blood, provides the definitive forgiveness that the old covenant sacrifices could only foreshadow.
Ezekiel 18:4, 20 — Chapters 26, 27
"The soul who sins shall die." Establishes the principle of personal responsibility for sin — a text raised by critics who question how punishment can be transferred to a substitute.
Ezekiel 36:25–27 — Chapters 3, 36
God promises to sprinkle clean water, give a new heart, and put His Spirit within His people. The atonement is not merely forensic but transformative.
Daniel 9:24–26 — Chapter 6
"Seventy weeks are decreed... to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness... the Anointed One shall be cut off and shall have nothing." The anointed one is "cut off" to accomplish atonement.
Hosea 6:6 — Chapter 4
"I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." God's interest in the heart behind sacrifice, not merely the ritual act.
Micah 6:6–8 — Chapter 4
"With what shall I come before the LORD?... He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" The prophetic critique of sacrifice without justice and mercy.
Zechariah 3:1–5 — Chapters 6, 36
Joshua the high priest stands in filthy garments before the LORD, and the Angel of the LORD commands that the filthy garments be removed and clean garments given. A vivid image of imputed righteousness replacing imputed sin.
Zechariah 12:10 — Chapters 6, 12
"They will look on me, on him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him." Applied to Christ in John 19:37 and Revelation 1:7.
Zechariah 13:7 — Chapter 7
"Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered." Jesus quotes this in Gethsemane (Mark 14:27), connecting His coming death to God's sovereign plan.
Matthew 1:21 — Chapters 7, 1
"You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." The purpose of the incarnation is salvation from sin.
Matthew 8:17 — Chapters 6, 7
"He took our illnesses and bore our diseases," quoting Isaiah 53:4. Matthew applies the Servant Song to Jesus' healing ministry, connecting the Servant to Jesus.
Matthew 20:28 — Chapter 7, 2, 22
"The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom (lytron) for (anti) many." Jesus' own statement of His substitutionary mission. The preposition anti ("in place of") indicates substitution. Parallel to Mark 10:45.
Matthew 26:26–29 — Chapter 7, 4, 5, 10
The Last Supper institution narrative. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (v. 28). Jesus interprets His imminent death as a covenant sacrifice achieving forgiveness.
Matthew 26:36–46 — Chapter 7, 11, 20
Gethsemane. "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me" (v. 39). Jesus' agony reveals the real cost of bearing human sin, while His submission ("not as I will, but as you will") demonstrates the voluntariness of His sacrifice.
Matthew 27:46 — Chapter 11, 7, 20
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The cry of dereliction. A critical text for understanding the nature of Christ's suffering. The primary exegetical treatment is in Chapter 11.
Mark 10:45 — Chapter 7, 2, 19, 22
"The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom (lytron) for (anti) many." The parallel to Matthew 20:28 and one of the most important dominical sayings on the atonement.
Mark 14:22–25 — Chapter 7
Mark's Last Supper account. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (v. 24).
Mark 14:32–42 — Chapter 7
Mark's Gethsemane account. "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (v. 36).
Mark 15:34 — Chapter 11
Mark's account of the cry of dereliction: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Luke 22:19–20 — Chapter 7
"This is my body, which is given for you... This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." Luke's Last Supper account emphasizes both the gift ("given for you") and the new covenant.
Luke 22:37 — Chapters 6, 7
Jesus quotes Isaiah 53:12 — "He was numbered with the transgressors" — and says "this Scripture must be fulfilled in me." Jesus explicitly identifies Himself with the Suffering Servant.
Luke 24:25–27, 44–47 — Chapters 6, 7
The risen Jesus explains from all the Scriptures that the Christ had to suffer and rise. "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations" (vv. 46–47).
John 1:29 — Chapter 12, 4, 5, 7
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John the Baptist's identification of Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb. Connects Jesus to the Passover lamb and the Levitical sacrificial system while affirming the universal scope of His work ("of the world").
John 3:14–17 — Chapter 12, 7, 30
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son." The atonement rooted in God's love for the whole world.
John 6:51 — Chapter 12
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven... the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." Jesus offers His flesh for (hyper) the life of the world — substitutionary and universal.
John 10:11, 15, 17–18 — Chapter 12, 7, 20
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep... I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord." The voluntariness of Jesus' sacrifice and His authority over His own death.
John 11:49–52 — Chapter 12
Caiaphas's unwitting prophecy: "It is better that one man should die for the people." John notes that Jesus would die "not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (v. 52) — substitutionary and universal.
John 12:27–33 — Chapter 12
"Now is my soul troubled... It is for this purpose I have come to this hour... Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out." Substitutionary suffering and Christus Victor combined in one saying.
John 15:13 — Chapters 12, 20
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." The atonement as the supreme expression of divine love.
John 19:30 — Chapters 12, 10
"It is finished" (tetelestai). The declaration that Christ's atoning work is complete.
Acts 2:23–24 — Chapters 7, 21
"This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up." The cross as both the plan of God and the act of wicked men — divine sovereignty and human responsibility together.
Acts 4:27–28 — Chapters 7, 21
Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles, and the peoples of Israel gathered "to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." The cross was not a divine accident but the eternal plan of God.
Acts 8:32–35 — Chapters 6, 7
Philip explains Isaiah 53 to the Ethiopian eunuch as referring to Jesus. The early church read the Suffering Servant as a prophecy of Christ's atoning death.
Acts 13:38–39 — Chapter 36
"Through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses." Justification through Christ rather than through the law.
Acts 17:30–31 — Chapter 26
God "has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed." The connection between the atonement and final judgment.
Acts 20:28 — Chapters 2, 12
"The church of God, which he obtained with his own blood." God purchased the church through the blood of Christ — a purchase/redemption metaphor with substitutionary implications.
Romans 1:18 — Chapters 3, 8, 26
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." The reality of divine wrath against sin — a necessary backdrop for understanding the atonement.
Romans 3:9–20 — Chapters 3, 8
The universal indictment of humanity under sin. "All have sinned" — the universal need for atonement.
Romans 3:21–26 — Chapter 8, 2, 3, 5, 19, 24, 25, 26, 36
The single most important New Testament text for the theological mechanics of the atonement. God set forth Christ as a hilastērion (propitiation/mercy seat) to demonstrate His righteousness, so that He might be both just and the justifier. The primary exegetical home is Chapter 8.
Romans 3:25 — Chapters 8, 2, 5
"Whom God put forward as a propitiation (hilastērion) by his blood, to be received by faith." The key term in the propitiation/expiation debate.
Romans 4:5–8 — Chapters 8, 36
"To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness." Justification by faith, with imputation of righteousness.
Romans 4:25 — Chapters 8, 9, 36
"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." The connection between Christ's death (for sin) and resurrection (for justification).
Romans 5:1–2 — Chapter 36
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The fruits of the atonement — peace and access to God.
Romans 5:6–11 — Chapter 9, 3, 19, 20, 30
"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us... we have now been justified by his blood... we shall be saved by him from the wrath of God" (vv. 8–9). The atonement demonstrates God's love, achieves justification, and delivers from wrath.
Romans 5:8 — Chapters 3, 9, 20
"God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The cross as the supreme demonstration of God's love — not a contradiction of His love.
Romans 5:12–21 — Chapter 9, 28
The Adam-Christ parallel. As sin and death entered through one man's transgression, so righteousness and life come through one man's obedient sacrifice. Foundation for federal headship and corporate solidarity.
Romans 6:1–14 — Chapters 36, 37
Union with Christ in His death and resurrection. "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that... we too might walk in newness of life" (v. 4). The atonement applied through union with Christ.
Romans 8:1–4 — Chapters 9, 36
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Freedom from condemnation through the atonement.
Romans 8:3 — Chapter 9, 5, 8
"By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin (peri hamartias), he condemned sin in the flesh." The phrase peri hamartias echoes the LXX for "sin offering." God condemned sin in Christ's flesh — penal and substitutionary.
Romans 8:31–39 — Chapters 20, 36
"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" The atonement as the ultimate guarantee of God's love and the believer's security.
Romans 8:32 — Chapters 9, 20, 30
"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all." Echoes Genesis 22 (the binding of Isaac) and affirms the universal scope of the atonement ("for us all").
1 Corinthians 1:18–25 — Chapters 1, 37
"The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." The cross as the paradoxical wisdom and power of God.
1 Corinthians 5:7 — Chapters 4, 5, 7, 12
"For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." An explicit identification of Christ's death with the Passover sacrifice — substitutionary and sacrificial.
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 — Chapter 9, 1, 7, 19
"Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." The earliest Christian creed. "For our sins" (hyper tōn hamartiōn hēmōn) is the foundational substitutionary formula.
1 Corinthians 15:20–28 — Chapters 21, 28
Christ as the "firstfruits" of resurrection. "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (v. 22). The Adam-Christ parallel again, with eschatological implications.
2 Corinthians 5:14–15 — Chapter 9, 19, 30
"One has died for all (hyper pantōn), therefore all have died." Christ's death is representative and substitutionary. The universal scope ("for all") supports unlimited atonement.
2 Corinthians 5:17–21 — Chapter 9, 2, 19, 36
The great reconciliation and exchange passage. "In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them" (v. 19). "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (v. 21). The admirabile commercium — the wonderful exchange.
2 Corinthians 5:21 — Chapters 9, 19, 24, 25, 36
"He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." One of the most important substitutionary texts in the New Testament — the exchange of our sin for Christ's righteousness.
2 Corinthians 8:9 — Chapter 9
"Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." The exchange motif applied to the incarnation and the cross.
Galatians 1:4 — Chapters 9, 21
Christ "gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age." Both substitutionary ("for our sins") and Christus Victor ("deliver us from the present evil age") dimensions.
Galatians 2:20 — Chapters 9, 36, 37
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Union with Christ in His death and the personal appropriation of the atonement.
Galatians 3:10–14 — Chapter 9, 19, 25, 32
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (hyper hēmōn)—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'" (v. 13). One of the most explicitly penal and substitutionary statements in the New Testament. Christ bears the law's curse in our place.
Ephesians 1:7 — Chapters 2, 36
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." Redemption, blood, forgiveness, and grace unified.
Ephesians 2:1–10 — Chapters 3, 29, 36
The movement from death in sin to life in Christ by grace through faith. "By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (vv. 8–9).
Ephesians 2:13–16 — Chapter 9, 36
"You who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ... and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility." Reconciliation accomplished through the cross.
Ephesians 5:2 — Chapters 9, 37
"Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." The cross as a sacrifice of love to God — combining substitution, sacrifice, and divine love.
Ephesians 5:25–27 — Chapters 20, 37
"Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her." The atonement as the supreme act of Christ's love for His bride.
Philippians 2:5–11 — Chapters 7, 20, 23
The Christ hymn. Christ "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant... he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (vv. 7–8). The voluntary self-humiliation of the incarnate Son. Important for recapitulation theology and the voluntariness of the atonement.
Colossians 1:13–14 — Chapters 2, 21
"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Christus Victor (deliverance from darkness) and redemption/forgiveness together.
Colossians 1:19–22 — Chapters 9, 20, 24
"For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things... making peace by the blood of his cross." Cosmic reconciliation through the blood of the cross. The Trinitarian unity of purpose in the atonement.
Colossians 2:13–15 — Chapter 9, 19, 21, 24
The record of debt (cheirographon) nailed to the cross (forensic/penal) and the triumph over rulers and authorities (Christus Victor) in the same passage. A key text demonstrating the multi-faceted nature of the atonement.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 — Chapters 3, 9
"Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." Deliverance from coming wrath through the atonement.
1 Thessalonians 5:9–10 — Chapter 9
"God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us." Salvation from wrath through Christ's death for us.
1 Timothy 2:5–6 — Chapter 9, 2, 22, 30
"There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all (antilytron hyper pantōn)." The compound anti + lytron (substitutionary ransom) + hyper (on behalf of) + pantōn (all) is a powerful expression of substitutionary, universal atonement.
2 Timothy 1:9–10 — Chapter 9
God "saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace... which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death." Grace, purpose, and the abolition of death through Christ.
Titus 2:11–14 — Chapters 9, 30, 37
"The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people... who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people." Universal grace, redemption from lawlessness, and moral transformation through the atonement.
Hebrews 1:1–4 — Chapter 10
The supremacy of the Son, who "after making purification for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." The priestly work of the Son in making purification for sin.
Hebrews 2:9–10 — Chapter 10, 30
Jesus was "crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone (hyper pantos)." Christ's death is for everyone — universal scope.
Hebrews 2:14–17 — Chapter 10, 21, 23
Christ shares in flesh and blood "that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil" (v. 14). He becomes a "merciful and faithful high priest... to make propitiation (hilaskesthai) for the sins of the people" (v. 17). Christus Victor and propitiation combined.
Hebrews 4:14–16 — Chapter 10
Jesus as the great high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses. The pastoral implications of Christ's priestly atonement.
Hebrews 7:22–28 — Chapter 10
Christ as the guarantor of a better covenant, a permanent priest "who has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily... since he did this once for all when he offered up himself" (v. 27). The once-for-all, unrepeatable nature of Christ's sacrifice.
Hebrews 9:1–28 — Chapter 10, 5
The detailed comparison between the old covenant tabernacle rituals and Christ's superior sacrifice. "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (v. 22). Christ enters the heavenly sanctuary "by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption" (v. 12).
Hebrews 9:11–14 — Chapter 10
Christ as high priest of "the greater and more perfect tent," entering through "his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption." The superiority of Christ's blood over animal blood.
Hebrews 9:22 — Chapters 4, 10
"Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." The necessity of blood for atonement.
Hebrews 9:24–28 — Chapter 10
Christ has entered "into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf" (v. 24). He was "offered once to bear the sins of many" (v. 28) — sin-bearing language echoing Isaiah 53.
Hebrews 10:1–18 — Chapter 10, 4, 5
"It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (v. 4). Christ's once-for-all offering replaces the repeated sacrifices of the old covenant. "Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin" (v. 18). The finality of Christ's sacrifice.
Hebrews 10:5–10 — Chapter 10
Quoting Psalm 40: "A body have you prepared for me... I have come to do your will, O God." Christ's self-offering replaces animal sacrifice through obedient self-giving.
Hebrews 10:19–22 — Chapters 10, 37
"We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus." The believer's access to God made possible by the atonement.
Hebrews 12:2 — Chapters 10, 37
Jesus, "the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." The joy-motivated endurance of the cross.
Hebrews 13:11–13 — Chapters 10, 5
The bodies of sin-offering animals are burned "outside the camp," and Jesus also "suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood." A Day of Atonement connection.
1 Peter 1:18–19 — Chapter 11, 2, 4
"You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." Redemption/ransom through sacrificial blood.
1 Peter 2:21–25 — Chapter 11, 6, 19
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed" (v. 24). Directly echoes Isaiah 53 and is one of the clearest substitutionary atonement texts in the New Testament. Christ bears our sins in His body — substitutionary, sacrificial, and vicarious.
1 Peter 2:24 — Chapters 11, 6, 19
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree." The central Petrine statement of substitutionary atonement.
1 Peter 3:18 — Chapter 11, 19, 25
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous (dikaios hyper adikōn), that he might bring us to God." The righteous one dying in the place of the unrighteous — unmistakably substitutionary. The purpose is reconciliation ("bring us to God").
2 Peter 2:1 — Chapter 30
False teachers who deny "the Master who bought them." Even false teachers are described as having been "bought" by Christ — supporting the universal scope of the atonement.
1 John 1:7 — Chapter 12
"The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." The cleansing, purifying power of Christ's blood.
1 John 2:1–2 — Chapter 12, 2, 8, 30
"If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation (hilasmos) for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." Propitiation combined with explicit universality — "the whole world."
1 John 3:8 — Chapter 21
"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." A Christus Victor statement.
1 John 3:16 — Chapter 20
"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us." The cross as the definition of love.
1 John 4:8–10 — Chapter 12, 3, 20
"God is love... In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation (hilasmon) for our sins." God's love and propitiation are not opposites — love sends the propitiation. This directly contradicts the idea that propitiation and love are incompatible.
Revelation 1:5–6 — Chapters 12, 37
"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father." Liberation from sin through Christ's blood — redemption and priestly identity flowing from the atonement.
Revelation 5:6–14 — Chapters 12, 21, 37, 38
The Lamb standing "as though it had been slain," worshipped with the new song: "Worthy are you... for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." The heavenly worship centers on the slain-yet-victorious Lamb. Ransom, sacrifice, universality, and triumph all converge.
Revelation 5:9 — Chapters 12, 22, 30
"By your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." The universal scope of the ransom — people from every group on earth.
Revelation 7:14 — Chapters 12, 37
"They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." The cleansing power of the Lamb's sacrificial blood.
Revelation 12:10–11 — Chapters 12, 21
"They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." The blood of the Lamb is the weapon by which the accuser is defeated — Christus Victor accomplished through sacrifice.
Revelation 13:8 — Chapters 12, 38
"The Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world" (some translations). The atonement as part of God's eternal plan, not an afterthought or emergency measure.
Revelation 21:1–5 — Chapter 38
"Behold, I am making all things new." The eschatological consummation toward which the atonement points — the complete restoration of all creation, made possible by the Lamb's sacrifice.
Revelation 22:1–5 — Chapter 38
The river of life flowing from "the throne of God and of the Lamb." The final vision of redeemed humanity in the presence of God — the ultimate goal of the atonement fully realized.
Note on This Index: This index covers the major Scripture passages discussed in the book's argument. Many additional Scripture references appear in footnotes and supporting arguments throughout individual chapters. The chapter listed first (especially when bolded) indicates where the primary, in-depth exegesis of the passage can be found; subsequent chapter numbers indicate secondary references, cross-references, or briefer treatments.