An excerpt from Holiness in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross, and Kingdom (Wipf and Stock, expected 2015).
The Exodus in the Old Testament was the high moment of salvation for the family of Abraham, the people of God. It is the Exodus that subsequent generations look back to as the culminating moment of the national Hebrew identity. It is the event in which their transcendent and holy God broke into history and delivered them. This is their testimony. It is in the Exodus that God made the nation of Israel a people of His own possession (Ps 114:1).
At the center of that event, interestingly enough, very little is said about the forgiveness of sins. It is the sacrificial system that is established at Sinai that brings atonement into the dialogue as a key element of the covenant code. Obviously, the sacrificial system didn’t come until the establishment of the Mosaic Law at Sinai after deliverance under Pharaoh. Nonetheless, to talk about forgiveness of sins at the event of the Exodus would be anachronistic. This is a strong indicator in itself that God’s World Renewal Plan is about much more than atonement. We must adjust out theology in light of the fact that the cross (like the Exodus) is not merely about substitutionary atonement; we must arrive at the place in our thinking where we understand that forgiveness of sins is a means for the establishment of God’s holy reign on earth. Kingdom is the endgame.
Passover
Let us consider the Passover event for a moment. The Passover, as the pivotal event in the sequence of liberation miracles, does indeed point to atonement for sin. However, even in the Passover narrative itself (Exodus 12), very little is mentioned concerning the forgiveness of sins beyond the symbol of the sacrificial lamb, and even then, the sacrificial lamb is situated in a much larger context where there is quite a lot of other things happening regarding Israel’s redemption. The blood of the lamb being on the doorpost would cause the angel of death to “passover” the house. Victor Hamilton helpfully goes into detail on the various nuances of the tri-consonantal Hebrew root p-s-q. He concludes that “stand/stood watch over” is a better translation than “passover”.[1] This means that we should not only visualize the Destroyer “passing over” Hebrew homes, but the Destroyer passing over Hebrew homes because this is where God stood watch. Hamilton writes, “The God of Exod. 12…[as a]…protecting God for those inside, behind the blood. Because, and only because, the Lord will stand watch over his people, a ‘Destroyer’ will not be able to enter their houses.”[2]
So where does forgiveness for sins correlate with deliverance? Exegetically speaking the concept seems to hardly enter the picture. While we can legitimately read back into the story elements of atonement, one is hard-pressed to find it here. After all, the Egyptian slavery is not punishment for sin as the Exile was. So, while the Passover meal certainly can represent the forgiveness of sins later on in light of the sacrificial system (in particular connection with the Day of Atonement), it also represents something greater: God’s power to save his people from death. While the firstborn sons of Egypt are dying all around, it is the people of Israel who are saved. The Passover narrative tells us that through participating in blood sacrifice God’s people can be saved from his judgment. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt, the giving of the Torah and the gift of the Promised Land all serve the purpose of God establishing his reign on earth through his covenant people.
This is all to say that yes, at the center of the work of Jesus on the cross is the work of substitutionary atonement. However, this work serves a greater purpose that goes beyond the forgiveness of sins. What is that greater purpose? That greater purpose is the establishment of the rule and reign of God on earth. Through the cross, Jesus overthrows the powers of sin and death that run parallel with the Pharaoh of the first Exodus. With the resurrection in sight, the reign of sin and death is dethroned and Jesus takes his place of authority as the king.
[1]. Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 185.
[2]. Ibid, 185.