Often in churches, when we talk about the cross of Jesus Christ, we talk about the profound theological significance of what actually happened. We use big theological words to describe the crucifixion, but sometimes we can lose the gritty, physical reality of the love demonstrated there. Today, I want us to look at one of those beautiful, weighty words: expiation.
If we are to truly grasp the depth of what happened on the cross, we must clearly define what this theological term actually means. Sometimes Christians talk about propitiation—Jesus taking the judgment of a just God upon Himself so we don’t have to.
But what is expiation? In the simplest and most profound terms, expiation is “Jesus the Lamb of God who takes the sin from you onto himself into himself expiating it”.
As Jesus hung dying on that Roman cross, struggling to take His breath, He was “expiating carrying away the sins of the world”. Expiation is the astonishing reality of the Son of God lifting the weight, the disappointment, and the sins of humanity off of our shoulders and carrying them away Himself.
It is one thing to understand expiation as an abstract theological idea, but have you ever wondered why the four gospel writers spend so much time detailing the physical suffering of Jesus on the cross?. Why do they focus so intently on the crown of thorns, the flogging, the thirst, and the spear in His side?.
They focus on these physical details of the traumatized Saviour because our human reality is physical. Any of you who have experienced trauma will know that the physical dimension really matters. As Jesus is expiating our sin, He is doing it in a physical body, stripped naked and shamed for all to see, suffering the most agonizing torture known to humanity at that time.
God demonstrates His love for this world not just through a supernatural sign or a book, but by going through unimaginable physical trauma at the cross. He steps directly into our pain so that our sins can be carried away.
Even as Jesus is paying the price for our sins—even as He is expiating the sin of the world and bearing the just anger of God against injustice and wrongdoing—He is actively caring for those who caused His suffering. He cries out from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. In that very moment of atonement, Jesus is doing the beautiful, compelling work of forgiveness.
To understand expiation is to realize that you no longer have to carry the heavy weight of your own sin, shame, and brokenness. God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. By taking the sin from you and onto Himself, our traumatized Saviour offers you absolute forgiveness, profound empathy, and a love that can truly heal a broken world.
If you are looking to take these truths from your head to your heart—especially as we navigate the heavy realities of pain, trauma, and trying to live faithfully in a broken world—I want to invite you to explore my book, Forgiveness. Together, we look closely at one of the most challenging yet profoundly restorative commands of Jesus, discovering how it is possible to find healing and hope even when it feels impossible.
