How Does Jesus Atone for Our Sins? | The Cross, Resurrection & Ascension with Dr. David Moffitt

How does Jesus atone for our sins? For many Christians, atonement is understood almost entirely through Jesus’ death on the cross. But what if the New Testament presents a larger sacrificial process—one that includes not only His death, but also His resurrection, ascension, entrance into the heavenly sanctuary, and ongoing priestly ministry? In this conversation, I sit down with Dr. David M. Moffitt, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St Andrews and author of Rethinking the Atonement: New Perspectives on Jesus’s Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Drawing especially on Leviticus and the book of Hebrews, we explore what sacrifice and atonement meant in the biblical world and how those concepts can reshape how we understand the work of Jesus. Dr. Moffitt also discusses his forthcoming work, Ascension and Sacrifice: The Return of the Risen Son, which develops his understanding of sacrifice in greater detail and explores these themes not only in Hebrews but also in texts such as Romans and 1 John. 0:00 Coming Up 1:09 Introduction 2:00 How Moffitt Came to Rethink Atonement 6:03 The Traditional View: The Cross as Sacrifice 9:42 What That View Misses in Hebrews 19:13 What Is Sacrifice? 25:31 Blood, Life & Priestly Presentation 30:00 Not Every Sacrifice Makes Atonement 31:11 Covenant Maintenance & Repair 41:21 Isaiah 53, Exile & Covenant Restoration 50:51 The Deeper Problem of Death & Mortality 51:21 Jesus’ Offering & the Heavenly Temple 1:02:17 The Living High Priest & Ongoing Intercession 1:09:45 Salvation Is More Than a Single Event 1:12:05 Where to Find David Moffitt JOIN THE WATER INTO WINE COMMUNITY If you want to go beyond simplified explanations of the atonement and dig more deeply into the biblical concepts of sacrifice, priesthood, resurrection, ascension, and the heavenly temple, I hope this conversation gives you plenty to think about and study further. Water Into Wine is a community for serious students of Scripture who want to go deeper into the biblical text, its ancient context, and the world of biblical scholarship. Join the community and stay connected: https://alecdunlop.com DAVID MOFFITT — BOOKS & RESOURCES Rethinking the Atonement: New Perspectives on Jesus’s Death, Resurrection, and Ascension Baker Academic: https://bakeracademic.com/products/97... Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540966232?... LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. DAVID M. MOFFITT University of St Andrews: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/divinity... PHOTO CREDIT Photo of Dr. David M. Moffitt courtesy of Isabella Baradaran. #DavidMoffitt #Atonement #Hebrews #Jesus #Resurrection #Ascension #Sacrifice #HighPriest #BibleStudy #BiblicalStudies #ChristianTheology