Jesus died for our sins—for the sins of the whole world, claims John (1 John 2:2). But how did that death work? That’s the question atonement theories try to answer. One of the prominent theories in North American evangelicalism is called penal substitutionary atonement (PSA). That is, Jesus died in our place (substitutionary), absorbing God’s wrath toward sin (penal). In this book, Tony Jones pushes back.

Jones takes a look at PSA—the “payment model” (107–38)—before surveying a variety of other atonement theories. To be clear, Jones isn’t interested in mounting an exegetical defense of his favored theory. Instead, he asks a series broader hermeneutical questions (109):

1. What does the [atonement theory] say about God?
2. What does it say about Jesus?
3. What does the model say about the relationship between God and Jesus?
4. How does it make sense of violence?
5. What does it mean for us spiritually?
6. Where’s the love?

For Jones, PSA doesn’t pass the smell test.

If you’re looking for a biblically oriented survey of atonement theories, Did God Kill Jesus? Will not satisfy you. This book was written for a popular audience and doesn’t spend much time in the Bible. That’s not the Jones’ intent. Jones takes aim at the broader theological and logical implications of PSA and, in doing so, elevates a variety of other metaphors for atonement.

So, the short answer? No. God didn’t kill Jesus. That idea would drive a wedge into the eternal life of the Triune God. God the Father was in Christ with the Spirit on the cross reconciling the world to himself (read The Crucified God to unpack this idea). Jesus took the full weight of the world’s violence on himself and absorbed it instead of turning it outwards.

Jones, Tony. Did God Kill Jesus? Searching for Love in History’s Most Famous Execution. HarperOne, 2015.