2Cor 5:21 BLOOD & SUBSTITUTE

"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

By way of explanation...

Saint Brian is a great guy - he's one of those natural evangelists. He can't help himself, and he never wants to stop. He's got a bunch of guys studying the Bible - even though they aren't believers. Yet. And he asked me to help out with a question that came out of their last meeting.

"Can you explain something to the guys next week?" said Saint Brian.

Sure, I said. No worries. What did they ask?

"They want to know what it means when we say that Jesus became sin."

So the following is a very rough outline of where the night went. We covered a lot of other ground, too. So this blog might expand later to cover more op the questions, answers and digressions.

CHRIST... BECAME SIN.

“A stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”
That's how Paul describes the idea of Christ crucified.

The Jews couldn’t understand how Jesus could possibly “take away the sin of the world.” Gentiles could not imagine why an immortal God would choose to become mortal – and willingly die. The idea, by the world's logic, was strange.

The idea that Jesus died for our sins, that he had “become sin”, still needs some explaining today. Because, like way-back-when, it's a strange idea to say the very least.

Please understand this – what we’re tackling is NOT EASY. If you don’t get it by the end of tonight, don’t worry. It doesn’t mean you’re slow. Please remember, though, that it equally doesn’t mean that there’s actually anything wrong with the idea (which we usually call a doctrine).

It DOES mean that it isn’t an easy concept. It still causes controversy, even between people who have studied this What we’re going to investigate is this odd thought: “CHRIST BECAME SIN FOR US.”
Understand this, too. The Lord God is – at the same time – a loving God, a God of mercy, a God of justice, and a holy God. Sin is an offence to God that separates us from God and breaks our fellowship with Him. He is a holy God and sin cannot be where the presence is that of a pure, perfect and just God.

Substitution... for a person
If the offering you bring as a sin offering is a sheep, you shall bring a female without blemish. You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin offering; and it shall be slaughtered… The priest shall take some of the blood… and put it on the horns of the altar… and pour the rest of its blood at the base of the altar… Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin you have committed, and you shall be forgiven. Leviticus 4:32-35
Blood is very important. The pouring out of blood graphically tells the repentant sinner that his sin can only be paid for with blood. God instructs His people to lay the sin on the animal. The animal becomes sin, and is killed, and its blood is poured out.

Something really worth knowing here is that the man, when he realises that he has offended God, produces one of his own animals - he didn't just go to the shops and buy a sheep. A year-old, unblemished sheep is a pretty valuable animal; the sort of animal that makes wool, milk and and (most importantly) more sheep. The man would bring forward the animal, lay his hands on the animal - here his sin would be placed on the animal - and he would feel the animal die. He would understand that the sheep was a substitute for himself.

Why Blood?
For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement. Leviticus 17:11
Blood, as far as God is concerned, is sacred. He forbids His people from eating blood (which is one of the things that defines a kosher product), because the blood is the life. This is the life, poured out in the place of the blood – the life – of a sinner.

What did Jesus do?
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God I Peter 3:18
Jesus willingly obeyed his Father, who sent him to earth. When Jesus was executed, God placed on him the sins of the world.

Everyone. Everywhere.

Just as the sins of an individual would be placed on the animal, the sins of the whole world were laid upon Jesus. And Jesus died, carrying with him the punishment that those sins should bring to us: death, and separation from God the Father. As the perfect, sinless Son, he was the only one who could do this.

Paul phrases this clearly;
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written 'Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree' Galatians 3:13
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
So that we might become the righteousness of God. We are, once again, without blemish or defect. We are able once again to be in the presence of a holy God. We can come home to our Father, because Jesus took our sins upon himself. Miraculously, he did this while we were still enemies of God:
God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, we will be saved through him from the wrath of God Romans 5:8-9

What Does This Mean Now?
We were made by a perfect and holy God, and we were made in His image. But we corrupted that image with our sin. Our sins, now removed from us by Jesus Christ the Righteous, are no longer the barrier between us and our Lord.
[Jesus] was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification. Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 4:25 – 5:2
This is why Jesus came;
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Artwork taken from http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/?p=301