Christ's death, our death?

Did Jesus suffer on the cross in an identical way with the suffering deserved by sinners, or was the suffering different in any respect? Here are Owen's scripture references to suport the claim that he suffered an identical punishment with regards to God's destructive wrath, but a different punishment with regards to the length of time it was endured (he was on the cross 6 hours, sinners deserve eternal hell).


1. Romans 8:32: This passage expresses the opposite of a “change of the kind of punishment” (p. 448 all this material is from here)

2. Galatians 3:13: We were under a curse (cf. v10 also) but Christ was put under that exact curse according to this passage.

3. Romans 8:3: “Where God condemneth sin, there he condemns it in that very punishment which is due unto it in the sinner, or rather to the sinner for it … The condemning of sin is the infliction of punishment due to sin.”

4. “The whole penalty of sin is death, Gen. 2:17. This Christ underwent for us: Heb. 2:9, “He tasted death.” And to die for another is to undergo that death which that other should have undergone, 2 Sam. 18:33.” The death penalty for sin has an essence (pains of hell) which Christ suffered (Psalm 116:3; 22:1; Luke 22:44) and it has attendancies (duration and the like) “which he could not undergo” (Ps. 16:8-11; Acts 2:24-28). To confirm Christ suffered our death in potentia (Heb. 2:9, 14) which because of the dignity of his person (1 Pet. 3:18, Heb 9:26, 28, Rom. 5:10) “raises the estimation of punishment” to make the deaths equivalent in their attendancies.

5. Isa. 53:6, 2 Cori. 5:21: as our sins were laid on Jesus and he was made sin for us, so “lay the very punishment of our sin, as to us threatened, upon him.”

6. Read in scripture what we are told of Christ’s sufferings: “and see if they do not plainly hold out the utmost that ever was threatened to sin.” Isa. 53:5; 2 Peter 2:24; Matt 26:37; Mark 14:33; Luke 22:44; Matt 26:38; Heb. 5:7. “Those cries out of the deep, and mighty supplications under his fear … that was upon him, do all make out that the bitterness of the death due to sin was fully upon his soul … it was no less than the weight of the wrath of God and the whole punishment due to sin that he wrestled under.” (p. 449)

this is taken from John Owen's "The Death of Christ." And supports limited atonement because if Christ suffered everything deserved by sinners (and died for ALL) there would be no hell for God's wrath would be taken away from ALL - the Bible assures us God's wrath is raging in hell though (Rev. 14:10) so Jesus must have only exhausted it for those in heaven.