We may add this third thought to the two already mentioned. There
is a sense in which the atonement was necessary in order to the
fulfillment of the predictions of the Old Testament--predictions
inseparable from the person and work of the Messiah. If Jesus
Christ were the true Messiah, then these predictions regarding His
sufferings and death must be fulfilled in Him (Luke 24:25-27, 44;
Isa. 53; Psa. 22; 69).