“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13; cf. Deuteronomy 21:23).
The Gospel of Jesus Christ sets Christianity apart from everything else in the world, including all other religious systems. The good news according to Scripture is simultaneously ugly and beautiful, appalling and glorious. This is true on multiple levels, but the paradox is especially vivid at the cross of Christ.
Jesus is the perfect man, He is the obedient servant and the selfless king. There is none like Him. At the cross, however, Jesus becomes the most heinous sinner of all time. He is utterly righteous and morally pure, but something happens that we are not able to see with our eyes.
God the Father took all of the sin, rebellion, malice, hate, enmity, perversion, arrogance, indifference, greed, and lust from all those who would trust/believe in Jesus and put it on the Son. The perfectly pure One – Jesus Christ – was made to be shamefully guilty.
What unthinkable impropriety we see at the cross of Christ!
Ah, but this is the wondrous and mysterious beauty! That pure One was cursed in order that the cursed ones may be pure. The sinner is exceedingly guilty and, therefore, cursed by God. The sinner deserves God’s wrath, and God is perfectly justified in His vengeance. BUT, God redirects His intense fury! Instead of delivering it on the head of the sinner, God counts Christ as exceedingly guilty and, therefore, curses Him in the sinner’s place! Christ, then, received the justified vengeance of God’s wrath, and the trusting sinner is set free.
This exchange, the sinner’s guilt and Christ’s righteousness, is the very heart of the Gospel. This is the reason the Gospel is most precious to some and most ridiculous to others. To those who are being saved by it, it is most assuredly the power and wisdom of God.
Behold the wondrous mystery, and look to Christ – the hideous and glorious Savior!
Holding the Line 