The Son Became A Curse

The cross is a symbol of shame and curse. The Son of God was crucified on the cross to become accursed for His people. In the previous lesson, we learned that Christ was “made sin” on our behalf. He bore the sins of His people. In this lesson, we will learn about a very important aspect of the cross that Christ became a curse for us.

THE UNIVERSAL CURSE OF SIN: Galatians 3:10

For all who are of works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all the things written in the book of the Law, to do them.”

NASB

This verse says that those who are depending upon their own works to fulfill the law, who rely on their own moral virtue, or personal righteousness, or obedience to the law of God to make them acceptable before God are under a curse.

The Scriptures clearly proclaims that all whore rely upon their obedience to the law are under a curse because the requirement of the law perfection and none of us has met it.

The word “curse” is from the Greek word katára which refers to violent denouncing of something or someone with intense disgust, loathing, or hatred. Those who have broken the law of God are the object of His divine vengeance. They are considered futile, vile, and worthless, and their end is eternal punishment under the presence of the Holy One.

It is important to understand this because according to Paul Washer, ‘Unless we comprehend what it means for man to be under the divine curse, we will never comprehend what it meant for Christ to “become a curse for us.”’

DIVINE BLESSING & DIVINE CURSE: Matthew 5:3-12

We are all familiar with Matthew 5. This portion specifically refers to the citizen of the Kingdom of God. The blessed are those who are poor in the spirit, who mourn over sins, gentle, hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc. If those are the descriptions of the blessed ones and they are granted entrance to the kingdom, comforted by God, etc., then those who are not citizens of the Kingdom are cursed and will receive the opposite of the blessing that God’s people have. See the image below for a brief comparison (not exhaustive of all the blessings in the passage).

The unbelievers are miserable in God’s sight. No matter how they profess, claim, or declare to be blessed in this world with all the things that they have, fame, riches, job, family, cars, and any other temporal or material possession, in reality, they are cursed, objects of His wrath and divine displeasure.

THE PROBLEM OF BLESSING: Numbers 6:24-26

The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord cause His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His face to you, And give you peace.’

NASB

This is the heart of the problem. The blessings above are pronounced to the people of Israel. But the question is, How can a holy and righteous God grant such blessing to a sinful people without compromising His righteousness?

The wonders of all wonders, the people of God are blessed because their Savior was cursed on their behalf.

In order for the Lord to bless and keep us, Christ was accursed and was given over to destruction. The Father did not spare Him when He bore our sins. In order for the Lord to

THE TRUE BLESSING IN CHRIST: Galatians 3:13

Christ 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”—

NASB

The sinner can be blessed only because Christ was cursed in his place!

The word “redeemed” comes from the Greek word exagorázo, which means, “to buy or make payment in order to recover something or someone from the power of another.” It was often used with regard to the buying of freedom for a debtor or slave. The Amplified Bible translated it this way, “Christ purchased our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of the Law and its condemnation by becoming a curse for us“. To accomplish this on behalf of His people, Christ took upon Himself our sin and became the object of divine execration.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers writes, “The Law brought a curse, but the Christian is delivered from that curse. How? Christ has taken it upon Himself. The Crucifixion brought Him under the curse of the Law. At the same time, it abolished the dominion of the Law, and threw open the Messianic blessedness to Gentiles as well as Jews…”

THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE REDEEMED: Psalm 32:1-2

How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord does not take into account, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

NASB

In this verse, we ask, “How can a holy and righteous God cover up sin but remain just?“

The blessings couched in the phrases wrongdoing is forgiven, sin is covered, and guilt is not reckoned “imputed” to him are only true in those who are in Christ. This is the true blessedness of God’s people: that their sins are forgiven and covered by the blood of the Blessed One. He took the curse that should be for them that they may receive the blessings of salvation.

In the Old Testament, we can read the pronouncement of blessings on Mount Gerizim and curse on Mount Ebal (Deut. 27 & 28). After all the blessings and curses the biblical author summed it up in Deuteronomy 29:20-21,

The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and His wrath will burn against that person, and every curse that is written in this book will lie upon him, and the Lord will wipe out his name from under heaven. Then the Lord will single him out for disaster from all the tribes of Israel, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant which is written in this Book of the Law. - NASB

The Son of God is the rightful owner of all things, and because He is the Son of God and He obeyed the law perfectly, He had every right to the blessings of Gerizim. But the curses from Mount Ebal were poured by the Father upon the Son when he was hanging on the cross bearing our sins.

At cross on Calvary, the Messiah was “singled out” for disaster, and “all the curse of the covenant” written in the book of the law fell upon Him. He died that those who trust in Him may not be cursed.

We cannot undo the curse. We were cursed because we’re unable to obey the law perfectly. God did it through His Son when He shed His blood on the cross while bearing our sins. We were hopeless, and bound to hell to suffer under the curse of God. Christ redeemed us! What a blessing! In Christ, the accursed ones became the blessed ones.

Outside of Christ, you are cursed. But in Christ, you are blessed! Any professed blessedness outside the Messiah will eventually lead to the eternal curse of death and punishment under the hand of the Most High.

My friend, you can escape this eternal curse of being away from the presence of the loving Father and being under His burning anger because of your sins! Run to Christ, be forgiven, and be truly blessed! This is the true blessing that you need.

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

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Note: This lesson is from our weekly Youth Bible Study Based on Paul Washer’s Discovering the Glorious Gospel.