God put [Jesus Christ] forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
God promised him in the Holy Scriptures in advance, decreed him to be born as the Son of David, and raised him from the dead. Furthermore the Holy Spirit, sent out into the world following Pentecost, declared him to be the Son of God (Romans 1:3–4). There are many redemption rituals found throughout the world—in the Roman world. But of all these rituals designed to reconcile the gods, not a single one had ever been announced, given, or confirmed by a god. It is only the reconciling sacrifice of Jesus’ blood that was publicly announced by a divine decree not only many centuries in advance but also after the fact.
Cranfield1 and others maintain that Romans 3:25 does not pertain to a public announcement of Jesus at all, but rather refers to God’s eternal plan with respect to Christ Jesus. The one does not have to exclude the other, however. God’s eternal plan for redemption is only revealed (or put forward
) by means of being announced publicly and this announcement is dependent upon God’s earlier revelation of his redemptive plan. Furthermore, the structure of the sentence seems to indicate that the translation indeed ought to read either put forward
or announce
(namely, as the means of reconciliation).2
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.