Dr. John Stott on the Mystery of the Cross

I am not saying that substitution is the one and only meaning of the cross, for the cross speaks also of victory over evil, the revelation of love and glory through suffering. But if you are talking of atonement, the means by which we sinners can be reconciled to the God of holy love, why then, yes, I don’t think we can escape the truth of the divine substitution.

Essentials, 165.