Does the Father “will” the death of the Son?

Does the Father will the death of the Son? It’s a common question in the realm of atonement discussion. I’m doing a close reading of Fowl’s New Horizon’s Commentary on Philippians so that I can write a critical response. His response to this question is so good that I wanted to post it here. The use of Anselm’s own words in support of his point of view is genius, considering that Anselm’s Substitutionary atonement view has so come to dominate American individualistic notions of atonement. Anselm brilliantly turns the whole thing on the issues of atonement and justice. I really enjoy this paragraph.

“In this regard, it is important to remember that the emphasis in [Phil.] 2:8 is on obedience. Of course, Christ’s obedience ultimately leads to death. God could, however, will the obedience without directly willing the death. It would seem best to formulate the matter this way: God wills Christ’s perfect obedience. The Son, as an expression of love for the Father, willingly takes on human life, becoming fully human and revealing God’s deepest desires for the world. The world, being the sort of place it is, cannot abide the obedient one and kills him. As Anselm wrote, “Therefore, God did not compel Christ to die, when there was no sin in him, but Christ himself freely underwent death, not by yielding up his life as an act of obedience, but on account of his obedience in maintaining justice, because he so steadfastly persevered in it that he brought death on himself.” (from “Why God Became Man.”) p.100

Stunning…