“The circumcision of Israelite males visibly preached that a future descendant would bring redemption hence the circumcision of the male reproductive organ. The blood-substitute, the one who was to avert [exhaust-J.F.] the wrath of God on behalf of God’s people, the One who was to be cut off and circumcised from the land of the living, the long-promised seed of the woman, has come. He was cut off so that God’s people would not be cut off and suffer covenant curse,” (J.V. Fesko, Word, Water and Spirit, p. 246).

""A Trinitarian understanding of the gospel clears up a lot of popular misunderstandings. For example, it challenges presentations of the gospel that make it sound as if a wrathful Father took out His anger toward us on His passive Son. On the contrary, the Father “so loved the world, that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16). It was the Father who chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). And as for the Son, He was hardly a passive victim; He gave Himself up for His people. Jesus, “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2; see Isa. 53). He was a willing sacrifice: “No one takes [my life] from me,” He said. “I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 4:34; 10:11, 18; see also Matt. 16:23; Luke 9:51; Heb 10:5–10). He went to the cross knowing that His suffering would lead to glory not only for Him but for His people. In spite of His grief, He determined, “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11). The cross itself was far from a joy, but He endured it for the joy that lay beyond it. He had embraced the cross in eternity,"" (Michael Horton, The God-Centered Gospel).