What is a “Sacrifice of Atonement”?

本文轉載自patheos論壇Scot McKnight三年前寫的文章。

Words are funny. Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? Why does “to buckle” mean either to connect or secure AND to collapse or fall down. Or “to dust” can mean either to ADD or REMOVE small particles. Or my favorite, “to sanction” means to allow an action, OR to prevent or boycott an action. These words can have totally opposite meanings. And context is key for knowing which meaning is meant in each situation. This is true when we read the Bible and discuss theology. (哈哈，so true！特別是我們母語不講英文的人都會同意。）

And it is especially true when we stumble upon the Greek word hilasterion while reading Romans 3:25: …whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement [hilasterion] by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed… 羅3:25中的「挽回祭」，訂正版「贖罪祭」，中標譯本「平息祭」，NET中譯本「施恩的寶座」，意思需要仔細檢查前後文。）

Atoning Sacrifice – hilasterion. In previous post we talked about the blood of Jesus, and how it is better thought as a cleansing agent of life rather than a demand for death. Now I want to talk about not just the blood, but the idea of an atoning sacrifice. For all the discussions of different atonement theories, the word for “atoning sacrifice” or “sacrifice of atonement” only shows up in the New Testament couple of times. Only once in Paul’s writings. 耶穌的血如何拯救？最好理解為好像洗滌劑，藉信心生效。hilasterion在新約中只出現了幾次。）

“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement [hilasterion], through the shedding of his blood…” (Rom. 3:25 上帝設立耶穌作hilasterion，用他的血...)

“Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover [hilasterion].” (Heb. 9:5 約櫃上方有榮耀的基路伯，遮蔽著hilasterion...)

“…in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement [hilaskomai] for the sins of the people.” (Heb. 2:17 忠信的大祭司好為人民hilaskomai。)

“He is the atoning sacrifice [hilasmos] for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2 他為我們的罪做了hilasmos。)

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice [hilasmos] for our sins. (1 John 4:10 上帝...差他兒子為我們的罪作了hilasmos，這就是愛。)

Because of this relative lack of use it is difficult to build a clear context for its exact meaning—especially as Paul is using it in Rom. 3:25. (因為這字用得少，難以看出羅3:25的意思。）我們列出下面三種可能的意思。

Option 1: Propitiation (第一個選擇，平息上帝忿怒 appeasing God’s wrath，比較老的英譯本翻成Propitiation。我認為是把中世紀的代罰神學翻進經文去了。你只要把羅3:21-26中「上帝的義」統統理解成「上帝的道德完美」，把人的罪統統理解成沒有達到上帝的完美標準，這段經文就支持了PST。)

Option 2: Expiation (第二個選擇，清洗潔淨人的罪 cleansing human sin)。 Many, however, criticize many assumptions of the Option 1 and lean toward understanding hilasterion as cleansing or purging of sin—something directed primarily toward humanity, not God.（理由如下）

While the pagan usage of hilasterion means the appeasement of the wrath, the Hebrew use of the word in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX) shifts toward “cleansing”, allowing the underlying Hebrew kipper to transform the meaning of the Greek hilasterion from propitiate to expiate. （異教徒用hilasterion平息神明的憤怒，希伯來用法從LXX譯本看出轉向「潔淨」的意思。）

While the context of Rom. 1-3 is a revelation of God’s wrath, this doesn’t mean that salvation requires an “appeasement” of wrath. Just as God poured out judgment on Egypt, and yet protected Israel through the sign of the Passover blood, so too God will protect all those marked/cleansed with the blood of Jesus when God judges the world for sin. （羅1-3章講論上帝對人的忿怒，但逾越節羔羊的血抹在門框上是保護，不是平息忿怒。）

While the wrath of God is contrasted with the righteousness of God in Rom. 1-3, it is better to think of God’s righteousness not as an eternal, moral attribute, but as a historical, relational commitment. As scholars in the New Perspective on Paul have pointed out, Paul’s understanding of “righteousness” means something like God’s “covenant faithfulness”, God’s historical commitment to Israel (and to humanity through Israel). （上帝的義最好理解為祂對人立約守信的性情。）

These views, which argue for expiation, add up to something like this: The covenant faithfulness of God protects all who are in Christ from the coming wrath/judgment on sin by offering the perfect cleansing sacrifice. （信實的上帝藉著潔淨的禮儀保護所有在基督裡的人。）

Also in favor of this reading is that 1 John 1:7-9 & 2:2 uses the cognate of hilasterion in connection to cleansing: “and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin…If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness…He is the atoning sacrifice [hilasmos] for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:7, 9; 2:2). Some proponents of “propitiation” will say that the concept of “expiation” should not be opposed to propitiation because they actually can both work together. They claim that God’s wrath can be appeased at the same time as our sins are cleansed. While this is technically true for of the theological concepts, we must not import theological concepts into words. Instead, we need to ask, which concept is mostly likely being used through this word by this author in this text. The evidence leans more toward expiation/cleansing than propitiation or appeasement. （約一的兩處用法也支持清洗潔淨的理解。中文的摩西五經中祭司行贖罪禮有時翻成潔淨禮。）

Option 3: The last option is the one that seems the most obvious and often the least appreciated. If Heb. 9:5, which uses the same word (hilasterion)—but by an author who isn’t Paul—, and this word clearly refers to the physical place (the lid) on the ark of the covenant known as the “mercy seat”, then Paul probably means the same thing. This view would be congruent with aspects of the second option. God “presenting Christ as the mercy seat” would bring to mind the Day of Atonement in which the entire temple was cleansed from sin (through which Israel’s sins were carried away and forgiven) (Lev. 16). And this would mean that Jesus is now the “meeting place” between God and humanity—just as the ark of the covenant was for Israel. AND it would mean that Jesus is the means of cleansing humanity from its sin. Jesus—in his body and blood (yes, think the Eucharist)—is the union of heaven and earth, the place/person through which we receive mercy. In other words, Jesus is the mercy seat where heaven and earth meet. （第三個選擇：hilasterion是「施恩座」，就是約櫃的蓋子。上帝讓基督成為人與祂會面、接受祂恩典的地方，也算講得通。）