²⁵ [Christ Jesus] whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith …

Love of God was not only exercised, but it was done in an observable way. Eastern religions refer to Christianity as an “earthy” religion, in that it deals with the physical, tangible things of life, as well as the “other-worldly.” God invaded our planet, taking on the form of humanity (John 1:14, Col 2:9). And His work in saving us was done openly in a very earthy way, for all to see. Obviously, we cannot now physically see the crucifixion today, except as painted through the perceptions of artists. But it was nonetheless an observable event so that anyone at that time could actually see His death on the cross. God’s work was not just a spiritual overlay as though one of many invented by humans. Rather, God worked in a factual, empirical way. If video recorders had been available, one could have recorded the event or taken a photo of Jesus.

The interpretation of the event of the crucifixion is what Paul addresses—namely, “propitiation.” Leon Morris, in his monumental book “The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross,” defines this as “appeasing God, or of averting His anger.” He speaks of the “eternal recoil against the unholy on the part of the all-holy God.” In Christ, now, that wrath of God is fully satisfied. He was fully propitiated concerning our sin.

A mistake Christians sometimes make is to believe that God simply stops being mad when a person comes to Christ. But that is not the case at all, for God indeed is angry as hell at our sin (I do not speak flippantly, but very literally). That anger was not simply put aside, but it was fully exercised, it was fully spent, it was fully satisfied when it was exhaustively poured out on Christ when He died in our place on the cross. “In His blood” refers not only to His death, but also to the sacrificial nature of His death (see Heb 9:22). He substituted for us; He stepped in front of us, as it were, and took the full blow of God’s anger that was due us, but He absorbed it into His holy body and soul, and died the spiritual death of eternity for us.

We wonder if the force of this was anticipated in Gethsemene when Jesus prayed three times for the “cup” to be removed from Him (Matt 26:36-46). Was this the recoil of the second Person of the Trinity in the face of the terrible wrath of God? Only He could understand the ultimate true nature of God’s wrath. I am so glad that now I don’t have to face that!

Lord Jesus, thank You for taking the full and eternal blow of Your Father’s wrath which was due me. You have indeed propitiated God.