“Christ redeemed us…by becoming a curse for us…” 

It certainly wasn’t one of those things you could call a vacation.  Not in a million years.  How could it be, when you already live in Paradise?  When your environment is the glory of God.  When you already rule from Heaven.  When you have enjoyed perfect fellowship with the Father and the Spirit forever.  How could it get any better than that?  So as soon as Jesus left, it was a definite step down — no, a huge plunge down!  Never in all of time has such an event occurred.

Given the grandeur of his former position, you would think that he would have commanded the highest of positions here.  But he didn’t do that.  He didn’t even ask for a middle-class environment.  In fact, he said he had “nowhere to lay his head” (Matt. 8:20), referring to the fact that here he had no home of his own of any kind (“Foxes have holes and birds…have nests”).  Indeed, he was born in a stable or cave, not the kind of place you would rush to for a birth.

But to come for this?  To be a curse?  To become the most contemptible thing on the planet in the Father’s eyes?  Yes!

In Galatians 3:10 Paul begins a technical portion of Scripture by mentioning the curse of the law:  “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”  He is quoting from Deut. 27:26.  Interestingly, in that chapter of Deuteronomy (vs. 15-26) we find Israel called to reaffirm the Law orally.  They stood on 2 sides of a valley shouting  “Amen!” in unison for judgment on all who disobeyed God’s commands.  It almost sounded like a party of vengeful sadists having the time of their lives.  But not so.  God’s holiness was at stake.  He had linked himself so closely to Israel that their obedience would bring immediate blessing as a testimony to him.  Likewise, their disobedience would bring his wrath, still a testimony to his character and law.  Thus the summary command that Paul quotes from Moses’ last verse of that chapter:  “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things…”  Definitely an impossible situation for Israel, as well as other fallen sinners…like you and me.

That’s why Paul’s conclusion is so obvious:  “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law” (v. 11).  That is “because, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”  Even in Old Testament times this was true.  Paul will mention Abraham shortly (vs. 15-18) as a man who lived by faith.  Another is David in Rom. 4:6-8.  Then he mentions the motive principle:  “The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, ‘The man who does these things will live by them.’”  Here he quotes Lev. 18:5, indicating that temporal blessings were God’s reward for obedience, not eternal blessings for a grace-based faith.  Man carried the burden of obedience to earn those rewards or face judgment.  Thus the curse.

The curse that “Christ redeemed us from” (v. 13) was more than the knowledge that perfect obedience was impossible.  It was the actual penalty that the law required.  Paul quotes Deut. 21:23 as an example of the curse.  This verse talks of those who were executed for a capital offense.  Frequently bodies of the dead were hung up on a tree as examples of God’s punishment — a picture of the ultimate curse.  It was a stark reminder of just how bad sin is and just how complete the punishment is for it.

That is why he had to come to earth, fill our shoes and walk in our paths all the way to the cross and die in our place — not only as “a curse” in general, but “a curse for us.”  The result?  “…[T]hat the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles…that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit” (v. 14), “the deposit guaranteeing our [spiritual] inheritance” (Eph. 1:14).  The principle of faith and its operation, first highlighted biblically in Abraham, would be passed on to all those who also trust God and his word.  His salvation extends globally — all the way around the world — to all the Gentiles/nations.

Sadly, the curse of sin and its punishment is a universal reality.  Nothing stops it.  However, only one thing can stop the work of redemption: an unbelieving human heart.  Are you free from the curse today?  Has Christ become your curse?  Are you delighting in his redemption?