Does Jesus bear God’s anger at the cross?

(This is the third in a series of posts exploring penal substitutionary atonement. The first and second are here: https://jotsandscribbles.blog/2025/08/23/is-jesus-death-substitutionary/ https://jotsandscribbles.blog/2025/08/24/is-jesus-death-penal/)

So far I have shown that there is good biblical evidence for the Jesus’ death being substitutionary (he dies in our place so that in some sense we don’t have to die) and penal (he takes the penalty or punishment for our sin so that we don’t have to). Those who uphold penal substitutionary atonement as an account of the cross tend to also take the view that God’s anger is poured out at the cross. This is expressed in what has become modern classic hymn, In Christ Alone: “on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.” There is no necessary connection between penal substitution and an account of God’s wrath- you could have penal substitution with no wrath, and wrath being dealt with in non penal ways. But the classic evangelical account of God’s anger being poured out at the cross is often a key part of objections to penal substitutionary atonement. So we’ll look at whether the bible does teach God’s anger is poured out at the cross, and whether that supports understanding the cross as penal substitution.

So first I think we need to consider the idea that God is angry at sin and angry at sinners. Some people immediately reject this. Many human experiences of anger are of anger being out of control, disproportionate, and driven by sinful selfishness and pride. If an angry parent or spouse or teacher or boss has harmed you, you can’t see how a good God could be angry. But God’s anger is not something that rises up in him and takes over, something that makes him out of control. Rather, God’s anger is a settled opposition to evil, to all that destroys what is good. This is standard theology- and is what lies behind the often misunderstood concept of God’s impassibility- emotions don’t rise and fall in God, nor do they control him. But God does hate sin and oppose it implacably, and this “No” to what is wicked is described as God being angry.

With that theological clarification in place, we turn to the Bible. When we do, we find that God being angry at sin and sinners is not a subtle or hidden theme. It is pervasive. A scattering of examples will show that this is how God has inspired the Bible writers to speak of him:

Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. Numbers 11:10

I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me. Deuteronomy 9:19

Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, ‘Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me…’ Judges 2:20

‘When they sin against you – for there is no one who does not sin – and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; 1 Kings 8:46

So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, 2 Kings 17:18 (on why Israel was exiled)

[God] rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying…

Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Psalm 2:5, 12 (messianic Psalm)

⁵ The Lord examines the righteous,
    but the wicked, those who love violence,
    he hates with a passion.
⁶ On the wicked he will rain
    fiery coals and burning sulphur;
    a scorching wind will be their lot. Psalm 11:5-6

See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. Isaiah 30:27

The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is on all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. Isaiah 34:2

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Ephesians 5:6

They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! Revelation 6:16

Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. Revelation 15:7

If you read through the whole Bible, you find these theme hammered home. God hates and is angry with sin, and will destroy those who sin in his anger, which is often described in terms of fire. (Incidentally just regularly reading through the whole Bible more or less chronologically makes certain interpretations of topics or individual verses just become implausible. God inspired the Bible writers to put in a lot of sentences about his anger, so he wants us to know this!)

[God’s anger is not something he experiences in his eternal divine life apart from creation. The perfect life of Father, Son and Spirit has no evil for God to be angry at. But God’s goodness, expressed in his own life as a Yes to all that is good, implicitly contains a No to all that is evil. So when evil enters his creation, God’s goodness expresses itself in anger, in opposition to evil.]

Now we come to the cross. If God is angry at sinners, and if the cross achieves a reconciled relationship between God and us sinners so that God is no longer angry at us, what happens at the cross. Does Jesus bear God’s anger on the cross?

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says: ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’ Matt 26: 39 The cross is the drinking of a cup, an event so terrible Jesus describes his soul as overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. This cup is terrible. What is this cup? It is the cup of God’s wrath, God’s anger at sin.

Let their own eyes see their destruction; let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty. Job 21:20

Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger. Isaiah 51:17

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. Jeremiah 25:15

Jesus takes out sin upon himself on the cross, and then he experiences God’s anger at our sin. God’s anger is appropriate and terrible. If we do not trust Jesus, then God’s anger remains directed at us and we will drink the cup of his wrath: [Those who belong to the beast not the Lamb], too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. Revelation 14:10

Because Jesus drinks the cup of God’s anger at our sin, there is no more anger left at our sin, and despite our sins we are completely welcomed by God. God holds back his full wrath for now till a final day (1 Thes 1:10, Romans 2:5). But those who reject God are experiencing God’s wrath now in his letting them live without him and follow their own desires (Romans 1:18ff). All of humanity is unrighteous according to Romans 1-3. But Jesus’ death redeems all who trust him, so that instead of anger there is loving adoption.

Romans 5:8-10 express this confidence well: ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

So it is absolutely appropriate to speak of Jesus experiencing or bearing God’s wrath at our sin on the cross. There is a need for care to avoid splitting the Trinity, and the humanity of Christ is a vital reality as we think about how the Son of God can experience the wrath of God. The language of wrath being satisfied is slightly odd, since it is more that wrath is fully poured out than that the wrath is a person to have payment made to. But it is a glorious truth that the God who is angry at our sin has no anger left if we trust in Jesus, because Jesus took our sin and God’s right anger at our sin, in full. This is a glorious life giving substitution.

In my next post, I’ll explore how penal substitution helps us see why God rescues by the cross.

(I originally titled this post “Is God angry at Jesus on the cross?” A friend pointed out that leads to some potential trinitarian confusion, so I’ve edited the post lightly to make it clear that Jesus bears God’s anger, but remains the beloved son,)