A common phrase in contemporary evangelical theology is “Jesus died the death I deserve.” You’ll hear it in sermons, worship songs, and theological discussions. It’s meant to capture the heart of the gospel— that Christ suffered punishment in our place. But what if this seemingly biblical phrase actually distorts the very thing it’s trying to explain? In writing The Cross in Context: Reconsidering Biblical Metaphors for Atonement, I became convinced that this formulation contains a fundamental category error that undermines... Read more