THE CURSE OF THE CROSS -- Monday:
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." (Gal 3:13)
The judgment of cursing mentioned in our text comes from the Law. "And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree" (Duet 21:22) . The Spirit applies this to the Lord Jesus, who was prefigured by this seemingly obscure law.
The cross of Christ was the place of cursing. Here the wrath of God was "revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (Rom 1:18). The very words, "being made a curse for us," arrest the mind and challenge the heart. This was the One who came into the world as "God manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim 3:16). Yet He was "made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Heb 2:9). The death He suffered, however, involved the "curse" of the Almighty. God forsook Jesus upon the cross in order that He might bring Him back from the dead, together with lost humanity.
REDEEMED FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW
When Jesus bore the curse of God, the curse of the law was lifted from us: He "redeemed us from the curse of the law" by being "made a curse for us." The involvements of this curse are uniquely declared by Isaiah, over 700 years before they occurred. "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed . . . Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand" (Isa 53:4-5,10).
The grief and sorrow Christ bore resulted from the curse of God. He was "cursed" when He was "bruised" and chastised on our behalf. He was cursed when God "put Him to grief." No person can afford to "lightly esteem" the "Rock of His salvation" (Deut 32:15). It will not go well for anyone who refuses the Savior who was "made a curse for us."
SIN CONDEMNED IN JESUS' FLESH
In the flesh of Christ, God "condemned sin" (Rom 8:3). The Divine action that took place at the cross is staggering! Here, by Divine imputation, God "made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin." The purpose for this decisive action was that "we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21). By making Jesus sin, God provided for sin to be cursed, finally and once for all. Having "laid on Him the iniquities of us all" (Isa 53:6), God released His indignation against sin upon His own Son.
The magnitude of this curse is difficult to imagine. It was greater than the wrath exhibited in the destruction of the world by a flood. Greater still was it than the wrath against Sodom and Gomorrah, when they suffered the "vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7). The curses that erupted in the ten plagues against Egypt were nothing in comparison to the curse that came upon Jesus on the cross.
THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CURSE
God's anger reached its apex against Christ. The only wrath that will exceed that will be His "unmixed" indignation that will be poured out upon those rejecting His Lamb (Rev 14:10). When Jesus died, God focused on sin, as the iniquity of us all was laid upon the Christ. Something of the effect of sin upon God is seen when He considers it is in the flood, as well as in Sodom and Gomorrah. In both of those cases, however, wrath was mingled with mercy. Noah was spared in the flood, and Lot in the fiery holocaust of Sodom. But there was no mercy extended to Jesus when He suffered Divine abandonment. He was not merely cursed, He was "MADE A CURSE."
THE DEATH OF THE CROSS
This is "the death of the cross" to which Paul refers. "And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil 2:8). Obedience was involved in this death – in submission to the curse of the Almighty. How Jesus humbled Himself! He took the lowest seat, submitting to a cursed death. God's plan had always been to curse Christ so the human race could be delivered from cursing. Jesus is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev 13:8). However, the degree of obedience entailed in submitting to this challenges our hearts and minds.
Our Savior, bless His name, submitted to the "death of the cross," which involved being cursed by His God. When He was tempted to withdraw from the dreadful duty, His sweat erupted from Him, falling down to the ground as "great drops of blood" (Lk 22:44). Rather than rebel against the commandment given to Him, He cried out for the will of the Father to be done, not His own (Lk 22:42). He submitted to the curse. For this reason, God raised Him from the dead, not permitting Him to remain in the domain of death. That is what it took to free you from the curse!
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You for your marvelous wisdom that made a way for us to be delivered without You violating Your own character.