DID JESUS SUFFER GOD'S WRATH ON THE CROSS?

Yesterday I gave some sample hymn lyrics and Scripture which support three longstanding theories of the Atonement - Moral Influence, Ransom, and Christus Victor. Personally, I consider all three to be sound and biblical frameworks for understanding how the cross of Christ brought reconciliation between God and Man. 

But none of those three are currently as fashionable in American Evangelical churches as a fourth theory, namely "Penal Substitutionary Atonement" (PSA).

Now that label might be unfamiliar to most Christians, but the concept is not. In fact, I feel like I need to tread lightly here because many think of PSA as essential to the gospel. (While I think of it as a distortion of the gospel.)

PSA says that in bearing our sins in His body, Jesus suffered the punishment from God's hand which we ourselves deserved for our sins. God's righteous wrath was poured out on His Son. This, then, is what satisfies God's justice and makes it possible for Him to forgive our sins. 

One of the best examples of this understanding of the crucifixion in lyric form is from a newer hymn, "In Christ Alone":

'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

For the longest time, I didn't question God's wrath being poured out on His Son for our sins. It sure sounded right to me. And maybe it sounds right to you. We've certainly heard it preached often enough, especially around Easter and in evangelistic sermons. 

But have you read it in Scripture? Or just heard it asserted and repeated?

Here's the tricky part of this discussion: I am in full agreement with the foundations of PSA: Jesus bearing our sins and acting as our substitute, His suffering on the cross, and certainly the fact that we deserve punishment for our sins. All of that IS Scriptural, no doubt about it.

The part that I find to be extrabiblical is God pouring out His wrath on Jesus to satisfy His own justice. THIS is the part - and it's the keystone of PSA - that I would challenge you to show me in the Bible. 

I don't see it. In fact, I find it to be a presupposition that contradicts clear Biblical teaching. 

But before we get into that, tomorrow I want to highlight those aspects of the Atonement which PSA gets right. 

[As a reminder, I am writing here merely my own thought process as I have wrestled with these ideas - If you disagree with me about PSA, then let's have a discussion!]