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“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’),” (Galatians 3.13; emphasis mine, jb).

• They Crucified Jesus – A Curse for Us (3/4)

Paul affirmed that Christ became a curse for us, and this according to the Law where Moses wrote, “…for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” (Deuteronomy 21.23). The application is clear; Paul did not see Jesus as a transgressor, but rather someone who accepted the curse of a transgressor as if He were a transgressor. His crucifixion took on that dimension, a depth which mortal minds cannot begin to fathom. The penalty of sin was heaped upon His sinless shoulders as He took upon Himself that curse.

Isaiah spoke of the same when he wrote, “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. (Isaiah 53.3-8).

In closing this amazing prophecy, the prophet wrote, “Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53.12; emphasis mine, jb). His suffering and death was a vicarious affair. By that, I simply mean that He took upon Himself the penalty that I deserved. I should have died as a result of my sin, but He took my place. The stripes that were laid upon His back were stripes that deservedly belonged to me. However, He bore it all!!

When John was doing his work as the harbinger of the gospel age, he spoke of Jesus, saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1.29). Notice that the word sin is singular in this passage; it speaks of the collective transgressions of all humanity accumulated into one nauseating and God-defying mass. It was for that aggregate of sin that He died, and it was for me that He died. Someone has rightfully said that Jesus died for everyone, but had He known that only one person would have believed in Him for salvation, He would have died anyway! He died for one; He died for all!

In an ironic twist to the gospel, Paul wrote, “For He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5.21). Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us! The sinless for the sin-ridden! The perfect for the imperfect! And why we must ask? “That we might become the righteousness of God in Him!” Herein is the purpose of the sacrifice on the Cross; it was to enable men to avail themselves of God's goodness and grace. This is the marvelous and timeless mystery of the Cross.

Questions:

1. What is the connection between the Cross and forgiveness?

2. What is “the sin of the world” that the Lamb of God takes away?

3. How did Jesus become sin for us?

4. Why did Jesus become sin for us?

"Inspiration For You" from Randy Mitchell

Communicate your Image Well