10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 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”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:10–14, ESV)

Last week, we began looking at how the gospel transfers us from curse to blessing, the first way being that it promotes the way of faith. The second reason the gospel transfers us from curse to blessing is that Christ was cursed for us. This is what we must believe. For this point, Paul again quotes from Deuteronomy. He wrote:

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)

The idea is that in the Old Testament period, capital punishment was carried out by stoning. After the criminal died, they were often hung on a tree (or wooden stake or post) as a sign of their curse. [1] Paul made it clear that Jesus' cross qualified as a cursed tree. Peter joined Paul when he preached that Jesus was "hung on a tree" and wrote that Jesus "bore our sins in his body on the tree" (Acts 5:30, 1 Pet. 2:24). So while sin entered the world by eating the fruit of a tree, Jesus dealt with our sin problem on the tree of his cross so that we could one day eat of the tree of life (Genesis 2:24, Revelations 22:2).

Because Jesus was hung on a tree, Deuteronomy says he was cursed. This means that Jesus fulfilled the law by carrying it out to perfection—he climbed the mountain peak none of us could climb—and he also fulfilled the law by consuming its curse for us on the cross. Paul said he became a curse for us (13). He not only took the curse, but he became the curse. This is similar to what he wrote in 2 Corinthians:

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Because Jesus did not die for his own sins but became a curse for ours, he was able to redeem us from the curse of the law (13). This speaks clearly of Jesus's substitutionary death on our behalf. He did not die for his own failures—he had none. He completely absorbed the curse we were all under, a curse brought on by our guilt when he died on the cross.

Perhaps you have heard or asked the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" We all understand the sentiment. Life can be confounding and painful; often, the sweetest and kindest among us are plagued and tormented by it. But the technical, biblical, and theological answer to that question is—at least in part—that there has only been one good person, and bad things happened to him because he chose to go to the cross to rescue the rest of us from bad things if we would believe in him. He substituted himself for us!

We see an example of this substitutionary atonement in our very bodies. If you have an infected wound or sore, pus comes out if it is opened. What is that? Dead white blood cells that your body has sent to fight the infection. They have died so that you might live. So substitutionary salvation is in our very blood! [2]

We must cling evermore to Jesus. He bore the curse of the law for us. On the cross, he took on the separation from God that we humans deserve. Adam might've substituted himself for God, but Jesus was God substituting himself for us!

...God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. (Romans 8:3)

As time passes, we might easily begin to believe we are better than we are. It is almost inevitable that people who began steeped in the gospel and then drift from it will one day look down on others. But our hope is not in our goodness—we are clinging to the righteousness of another! And every human is alike: fallen short of God's glory. God is not grading on a curve. Our good works cannot somehow outweigh the bad, at least not to be considered acceptable in God's sight. To escape the curse, we must have someone else rescue us—and Jesus is that rescuer!

Next week, we’ll examine a third and final reason the gospel of grace transfers us from curse to blessing: it brings the Spirit to us.

[1] Walvoord. 2003. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook Publishing Company. [2] Keller, Timothy. 2012. Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.