Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” goes the opening line of the old spiritual. I sometimes remark to students that, out of its original context, there are two possible answers to this question. The question—ambiguous as it is—probably is a nonne question, expecting the answer “yes.” In that sense, the answer might presuppose Christian identification with Christ on the cross or participation in his death, a human participation grounded in the fact that in his death Christ represents us. “We have died with Christ” (Rom. 6:8).

On the other hand, one might also answer “no” to the question. It was an event that took place before the church’s very existence. Christ died alone, as illustrated by the fact that, on his arrest, he insisted that the disciples were not to accompany him (John 18:8–9). In a crucial sense, then, we were not there. He was there, taking our place in our stead.

The former understanding of Christ’s death—as a representative act in which believers participate—has become an uncontroversial axiom in biblical scholarship and Christian theology. The latter, on the other hand, has become highly contested. It is in the light of this controverted status of “substitution” that this book aims to argue that Christ’s death for our sins in our place, instead of us, is in fact a vital ingredient in the biblical (in the present discussion, Pauline) understanding of the atonement. It should be emphasized, however, that the argument here does nothing to undermine the importance of representation and participation. Rather, the point is that substitution can happily coexist with them.