The Epistle to the Hebrews on the Death of Christ

Closely connected to Paul’s letters, yet almost certainly written by someone else, the Epistle to the Hebrews stands as one of the most striking and instructive writings in the New Testament. What makes it especially notable is how directly and powerfully it presents the death of Christ as the divinely intended means by which humanity is saved from sin — even more explicitly, in some ways, than Paul’s own writings.

The Teaching of Paul on the Death of Christ

Another major strand of New Testament teaching — one that Paul closely connects with his central doctrine of justification by faith — now calls for our attention. This teaching helps address a serious moral problem: how God can pardon guilty people while remaining righteous. Both Christ and His apostles proclaim forgiveness, but Paul presses us to see how this forgiveness is grounded in something much deeper.

After announcing in Romans 3:21–22 a “righteousness … through faith in Christ for all who believe,” Paul continues in verse 24 by saying that believers are “justified … through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” He immediately expands on this idea of redemption by adding that God put Christ forward “as a propitiation through faith, in His blood.” These words clearly highlight the violent death of Christ as a central element of the redemption accomplished in Him.
Paul explains the ultimate purpose of this act: it served as a demonstration of God’s righteousness, so that God might remain righteous while also justifying those who have faith in Jesus. In short, God gave Christ over to death in order to bring human justification into harmony with His own righteous character.