The cross does not appear in Scripture without preparation. From the covering of human shame after the fall, through Israel’s sacrificial worship, to Isaiah’s suffering servant, Scripture teaches us the grammar by which Christ’s death is finally understood. This earlier essay follows that biblical movement toward Calvary and asks how sacrifice answers the problem of sin, not as an isolated religious idea, but as part of the long scriptural history that reaches its fulfillment in Christ.

From the archives: Originally published by Donnie L. DeBord on May 19, 2026. Read the original article, “The Sacrifice That Answers the Problem: How the Garden Sacrifice, Leviticus, and Isaiah 53 Prepare Us for the Cross,” on Donnie’s Dogmatics.