Jesus became our sin

ApriL 13

Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 and reflect on the passage.

Perhaps the saddest words in the entire old testament are these, “So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23). In this moment of failure, all of humanity would now exist in depravity and with inherent sin. But there is Good News—God has an eternal purpose to save and reach and restore His creation. He is making all things new, and bringing the entire universe into restoration and reconciliation through the coming of His Kingdom. This includes us! We too, can be “reborn.”

In this passage, Paul reminds us that Christ is “reconcil[ing] us to Himself,” by actually becoming our sin. Paul then says that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And so, by contrast, perhaps the gladdest words in all the New Testament are found in Revelation: “And He who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’...They will see His face.”

Martin Luther said it this way: “It is impossible for a man to be a Christian without having Christ, and if he has Christ, he has at the same time all that is in Christ. What gives peace to the conscience is that by faith our sins are no more ours, but Christ’s, upon whom God hath laid them all; and that, on the other hand, all Christ’s righteousness is ours, to whom God hath given it. Christ lays His hand upon us, and we are healed. He casts His mantle upon us, and we are clothed; for He is the glorious Savior, blessed for ever...” (Commentary on Romans). Our sin is Christ’s, and His righteousness is ours.

Questions

1. Do you feel more like a sinner saved by grace, or a saint who sometimes sins?

2. In what ways can you release the anxiety and sadness of your humanity and live into your identity and role as an “ambassador of Christ?”

Prayer

Merciful God, we praise You for reconciling us to Yourself and making us new persons in Christ. We rejoice that we can come before You with confidence and joy. Empower us to spread this Good News of peace to those who do not know You. Amen.

--Andrew Fuller