A RESPONSE TO
MICHAEL SHANBOUR’S “A GOSPEL ACCOUNT OF OUR FATHER AND THE BLOOD ATONEMENT OF
JESUS”
(Part IX)
AND NOW, THE REST OF THE STORY
In his apparent effort to thoroughly rid the Bible of its atonement hemorrhage induced by “atonists,” Mr. Shanbour missed a few places in need of bandaging and constricting. But before we discuss these passages, we must first review some of the progress made in earlier sections. One area has to do with one of his original questions, which was “Who speaks for God?” According to Shanbour, Jesus is the exclusive spokesperson for the heavenly Father. However, I demonstrated that he contradicts himself with this conclusion when he attempts to silence the Old Testament writers, because Jesus himself endorsed the canonical Old Testament on more than one occasion (Matt. 5:17,18; John 5:39,40; 10:34-36). And as I demonstrated earlier, Jesus also endorsed the New Testament epistles by proxy. However, because the only Scripture in existence at the time of Jesus was the canonical Old Testament (and to give Mr. Shanbour a break), I will curtail my pursuit of the atonement doctrine to within the confines of the canonical Gospel words of Jesus (as was Shanbour’s original backdrop), including his direct endorsements of the canonical Old Testament. After all, if the atonement doctrine did not derive from either of these two sources, then perhaps Mr. Shanbour has a point when he claims that the New Testament epistle writers force-fitted this unwarranted interpretation on Jesus.
By citing John 12:23-38, I demonstrated earlier that in Part II of his discourse, Mr. Shanbour evoked the mistaken notion that Jesus did not use the word “death” or any derivative thereof in referring to himself. As promised, I shall cite other cases that clearly refute Shanbour’s claim. Furthermore, Shanbour’s re-interpretations of the passages cited in his Part VII were exposed as unwarranted for one reason or another, which means these “pro-atonist” passages have been restored to their proper context. I shall continue to build my case from here. As a final note, for those who have access to a copy of The UB, the Gospel passages cited below include in adjacent brackets the appropriate paper, section, and paragraph number where the parallel passage may be found in Part IV of The UB. For example, the designation {123:4.5} means paragraph 5 of Section 4 in Paper 123. The designation “na” means the Gospel passage has been omitted from The UB. This comparative study will hopefully demonstrate how the alleged celestial authors have radically rewritten these Gospel passages to better suit their anti-atonist predisposition.
I. THE LAMB OF GOD
While John the Baptist was baptizing one day on the banks of
the
“‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29) {135:9.7}
John had publicly repeated the same announcement the
following day (John
“The barbarous idea of appeasing an
angry God, of propitiating an offended Lord, of winning the favor of Deity
through sacrifices and penance and even by the shedding of blood, represents a
religion wholly puerile and primitive . . . .It is an affront to God to
believe, hold, or teach that innocent blood must be shed in order to win his
favor or to divert the fictitious divine wrath.”[1]
But the canonical Gospels do not
record any such disclaimer made by Jesus when he had the opportunity. To the contrary, we see that Jesus requested
to be baptized by John, which clearly implies a direct endorsement of John’s
views. On at least two occasions Jesus
could have spoken out, and on both of those occasions he chose to remain in
silent agreement.
Where could John have gotten this
idea that Jesus was God’s Lamb in the first place? Does the phrase “Lamb of God” appear anywhere in the Old Testament? Indeed, it does. When God had tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to offer his
son Isaac as a sacrifice, he packed appropriate provisions and obediently set
out for a mountain in the region called Moriah. Along the way, Isaac had asked the obvious question, “where is
the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7).
Abraham answered as follows: “‘God himself will provide the lamb for the
burnt offering, my son’” (v. 8). As the
story goes, Abraham was kept by the angel of the Lord from carrying out the
sacrifice on his own son, and ended up sacrificing a wild ram instead (v.
13). The ram provided immediate
fulfillment of Abraham’s prophecy to Isaac, but its ultimate fulfillment is
found in the Lamb of God spoken of by John the Baptist. The ram offering was the foreshadowing of
what later became the Hebraic ritual of substitutionary sacrifice. As it turned out, the mountain in Moriah on
which Abraham performed this sacrifice was later identified as the temple mount
in
II. IT IS WRITTEN
Some time before his triumphal
entry into
“Jesus
took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are
going up to
And during the Last Supper, while
identifying the one who would betray him, Jesus echoed this same message:
“‘The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.’” (Matt. 26:24; cf.
Mark 14:21; Luke 22:22) {179:4.2}
In other words, Jesus was saying
that all these things he was going to endure were prophesied in the Old
Testament, including his death. And
because we see that Jesus had endorsed the canonical Old Testament as also
speaking for God, then it stands to reason that Jesus was claiming that God had
endorsed all these future sufferings that lay ahead for him, including his
death.
If Jesus is claiming that these
details of his demise were predicted in the Old Testament, where are they to be
found? I will here begin revealing the
Old Testament sources piecemeal as appropriate. Hosea 6:2 states: “After two days he will revive us; on the third
day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” This messianic passage pertains to what
Jesus was referring to as his resurrection on the third day.
III. BY WAY OF THE CROSS
In one of the parallel passages
cited above, Jesus specifically mentioned that his mode of death would be by
crucifixion:
“‘They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the
Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.’” (Matt. 20:18-19) {na}
In fact, Jesus again predicted
crucifixion as his mode of death on a separate occasion, during Passion Week:
“‘As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of
Man will be handed over to be crucified.’” (Matt. 26:2) {na}
Notwithstanding that Jesus believed
his fate was prophesied in Scripture (which we will explore in more detail
later), let us examine the mere fact that he obviously knew ahead of time that
he was going to endure crucifixion. It
stands to reason, then, that because Jesus viewed Scripture as God’s other
spokesperson, and he viewed himself to be the fulfillment of the messianic
prophecies of the Old Testament by referring to himself as the Son of Man, then
the only rational conclusion one can draw is that he came to the realization that
it was by God’s pre-ordained will that he be crucified. Therefore, it would be quite fitting that
the reason Jesus was so deeply troubled at Gethsemane to the point of sweating
blood[2]
was because he was going to have to endure crucifixion if he wanted to obey
God’s will.
IV. GOD WILLING
Shortly after the Last Supper,
Jesus made these chilling remarks in that regard:
“Then
Jesus told them, ‘This very night you
will all fall away on account of me for it is written: “I will strike the
shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”’” (Matt. 26:31; cf. Mark 14:27) {181:2.27}
Jesus here was citing Zechariah
13:7, which is a messianic prophecy that clearly indicates God’s willful and
pre-ordained plan to have the Messiah (that being Jesus, a.k.a., the good
shepherd) killed. Jesus was clearly
referring to himself as the shepherd, and the scattered flock represented the
apostles who went into hiding after Jesus was arrested (Matt. 26:56; Mark
Can Mr. Shanbour offer a plausible
alternate interpretation to rid this passage of its incriminating
overtones? I will even provide a
suggestion: Jesus took this passage to “more literally” mean that he was to be
stricken, as in slapped in the face and/or beaten, both of which happened
during his interrogation by the Sanhedrin (Matt. 26:67). Unfortunately for those that would want to
adopt this interpretation, both the Greek (patasso) and Hebrew (nakah)
words from which “strike” is translated mean “to smite” (indeed, the word
“smite” is used in the KJV in these verses), as in “strike fatally.” This meaning contrasts that of the Greek
word rhapizo, which is the translated verb in Matthew 5:39 that reads as
follows: “‘If someone strikes you on the
right cheek, turn to him the other also.’” Likewise, tupto, meaning “to thump”
(i.e., cudgel or pummel), is the verb in Matthew 24:49, which reads: “‘and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat
and drink with drunkards.’” (Again, both of these two verses use the
word “smite” in the KJV translation, but obviously neither of their intended
meanings are that of a fatal strike.)
Therefore, any interpretation of Matthew 26:31 other than the root
word’s obvious definition is without warrant.
V. THE SUFFERING SERVANT
When Jesus was being arrested, one
of his followers (John
“‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for
all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my
disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen
in this way?’” (Matt. 26:52-54; cf. John
18:11) {183:3.7}
Shanbour and I are in agreement
that Jesus knew it was the Father’s will for him not to resist arrest. But what does Mr. Shanbour suppose Jesus
meant by his reference, made in this and other verses, to Scripture that must
be fulfilled “in this way?” Isaiah
chapter 53 is known as the “Suffering Servant” passage, which is considered by
“atonists” to be a definitive chapter in messianic prophecy. In this passage is a striking portrait of
God’s chosen, who suffers much for the transgressions of others, including
death, despite his innocence. The
clincher is that all the suffering brought upon this one particular person is
apparently endorsed by God (v. 10), Who actually offers this individual’s death
as a pleasing sacrifice to cover the sins of many. This chapter from Isaiah, written approximately 700 years before
the birth of Jesus, is worth looking into one verse at a time, because it
foreshadows many of the details that took place during Jesus’ crucifixion as
described in the canonical Gospels.
However, I shall cite the bulk of the chapter without comment for the
reader’s consideration:
“He was
despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with
suffering. Like one from whom men hide
their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we
considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was
upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own
way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did
not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep
before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken
away. And who can speak of his
descendants? For he was cut off from
the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people he was
stricken. He was assigned a grave with
the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor
was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was
the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes
his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and
the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life, and be
satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will
bear their iniquities. Therefore I will
give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the
strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors.” (Isa. 53:3-12)
While he was suffering on the
cross, Jesus had made reference to yet another important “suffering servant”
passage:
“About
the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’–which means, ‘My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matt. 27:46; cf. Mark 15:34) {187:5.2}
Jesus was citing the first verse
of Psalm chapter 22, which again contains strikingly familiar themes that can
only be understood to be prophetic passages pointing to Christ’s sufferings on
the cross. I have again quoted
pertinent verses from Psalm 22 below, with fulfillments thereof in braces:
“All who
see me mock me; they hurl insults shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the Lord;
let the Lord rescue him. Let him
deliver him, since he delights in him’ [Matt. 27:39,40,43; Mark
Note the chilling parallel
description of what a body undergoes during crucifixion, including acute
dehydration, bones being pulled out of joint, and most notably the piercing of
the hands and feet. Keep in mind that
this Psalm was written approximately 1,000 years before Jesus appeared and
about 700 years before crucifixion was even invented. Can Mr. Shanbour provide a “more reasonable” explanation as to
why Jesus would have chosen to cite only this particular Psalm without having
intended to reflect these specific prophetic incidents, many of which he did
not have any control over their having transpired? Perhaps it is because of this lucid familiarity with which Psalm
22 reflects Christ’s death on the cross that the Roman centurion on guard that
day, having recognized this familiar Hebrew prophecy regarding the Messiah,
uttered his famous testimony: “‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’” (Mark
In addition to Psalm 22 and Isaiah
53 are a group of passages known as the “suffering servant songs” (Isa. 42:1-7;
49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12), of which Isaiah 53 is part. They also depict an innocent servant of God
destined to suffer much in order to redeem the guilty.
VI. I AM HE
In John Chapter 4, we read the
account of Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman.
The woman was impressed after talking briefly with Jesus, and determined
that he was a Jewish prophet. But she
had also brought up an age-old controversy between Samaritans and Jews
regarding the appropriate place to worship (v. 19,20). Jesus continued the conversation by
indicating that a time was soon coming when it would no longer matter where one
worships God, but whether one worships in truth and spirit (v. 21-24). The woman responded by deferring to the
coming Messiah:
“‘I know
that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming.
When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’” Then Jesus declared, ‘I who speak to you am he.’” (John 4:25,26) {143:5.7}
After Jesus had been arrested,
Jesus was being interrogated by the Sanhedrin.
They asked him a direct question, to which Jesus gave an honest answer:
“The high
priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you
are the Christ, the Son of God.’ ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. (Matt. 26:63,64; cf. Mark 14:61,62)
{184:3.11}
With this confession, Jesus had
made the bold proclamation that he was indeed the long-awaited Messiah, leaving
no room for doubt that he believed himself to be the fulfillment of all
messianic prophecies of the canonical Old Testament, including those that refer
to the Messiah as a “suffering servant.”
Now, again, this opportunity would have been ideal for Jesus to speak up
and set the record straight if he indeed was not the “suffering servant” which
is offered up by God as a human sacrifice for the sins of the world. He could have truthfully denied any
connection whatsoever with this messianic “nonsense” and gotten off the hook to
boot, having no need to go through the agony of death by crucifixion, which was
not the Father’s will in the first place, according to Mr. Shanbour. But instead, Jesus almost literally hung
himself with this confession, and the end result became practically unavoidable
from that point.
VII. DEAD MAN WALKING
During one of his
post-resurrection appearances, Jesus approached two disciples who were
traveling to Emmaus, which was a few miles out of
“‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken! Did not
the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with
Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the
Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25-27) {190:5.4}
When Jesus had appeared to the
apostles prior to his ascension, he repeated this theme:
“‘This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written
about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the
Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise
from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be
preached in his name to all nations, beginning at
Where does the reader suppose
Jesus began his discourse? Luke chapter
24 tells us he began with the books of Moses.
A survey of the Old Testament reveals that the promise of a redeemer was
first prophesied from the very time that the need for a redeemer was
realized. In Genesis Chapter 3 we find
the plan for salvation revealed in its embryonic stage, promised to Adam and
Eve after their fall into sin. We read
that God placed a curse on Satan (the serpent) and promised that an offspring
of the woman would mortally wound the serpent, while the serpent in turn will
have injured the heel of the woman’s progeny (Gen. 3:14,15).
When God had called Abraham to
serve Him, He promised that through him all people on earth would be blessed
(Gen. 12:3). The purpose of this
promise was to restore the blessing God had originally made through Adam and
Eve before the Fall (Gen. 1:28). This
promise found its ultimate fulfillment through Jesus (see Acts
“The
angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, ‘I
swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have
not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the
seashore. Your descendants will take
possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all
nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.’” (Gen. 22:15-18)
Moving on, God had inspired Moses
to write of a prophet who would arise out of the Jewish people and who would
speak the very words of God himself:
“‘I will
raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my
words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that
the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.’” (Deut.
18:18-19).
I need not comment on the
fulfillment of this messianic passage, because Mr. Shanbour has already
ambitiously provided the appropriate evidence thereto (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7;
Luke
Based upon previous discussions,
we can be sure that Jesus discussed Psalm 22 and the other “suffering servant”
passages found in the Book of Isaiah.
He would have then cited the other passages from both the major and
minor prophets before completing his survey of the Old Testament.
Several other messianic prophecies
that were fulfilled during the life of Jesus come from the Law, the Psalms, and
the Prophets, too numerous to discuss in detail here (e.g., Gen. 22:8; 49:10;
Ps. 2:7; 16:10; 34:20; 41:9; 69:21; 78:2; 118:21-23; Isa. 7:14; 8:14; 9:1,2,6;
11:10; 25:7; 29:18,19; 35:5,6; 42:1-4; 61:1,2; Jer. 31:15,31-34; Eze. 9:24-26;
Zech. 9:9; 12:10-12; Mic. 5:2; Hos. 11:1).
For Luke to have repeated all the applicable Old Testament passages
would have produced excessive and unnecessary redundancy, for they are already
in the record for us to discover. And
because Jesus had indicted all of the Old Testament as having been God-inspired
and not to be tampered with, we must either accept all messianic passages as a
testimony to God’s purpose for Jesus, or we must somehow disqualify Jesus as
God’s spokesperson.
ENDNOTES (Part IX)
[1]. The UB, 4:5.4.
[2]. The drops of blood that Luke reports Jesus having sweated were
the symptoms of a phenomenon which the medical profession has in recent years
determined to be a known, observable condition associated with a high degree of
psychological stress, called hematidrosis.
See Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1998), pp. 194-195.
For some unexplained reason, the alleged celestial authors omitted this
detail from their account of