He Freed Us from the Curse

We have all heard about the incredible pain and suffering that Jesus endured on the cross. How, as the sin of the world was being poured out upon him, He cried out in anguish, “my God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”  For the first time since the beginning of all things, Jesus felt separated from His Father in Heaven. In that moment Jesus became a curse for us that we might be saved through Him.

So why did it crush Him so? Was it the brutal physical pain of being nailed to the cross, or was it something much worse? I once read an article by Dr. RC. Sproul, a renowned theologian, who explained what it meant for Jesus—a Jew—to become a curse for us. It shed light on His pain and anguish as it was happening … not simply the physical pain and suffering, but the suffering of his spirit.

If you really want to understand what it meant to a Jew to be cursed, I think the simplest way is to look at the famous Hebrew benediction found in Numbers 6:24-26, one which clergy often use as the concluding benediction in a church service:

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

For the Jew, to be blessed by God was to be bathed in the glory that emanates from his face. “The Lord bless you,” means, “the Lord make his face to shine upon you.” So as the sin of the world was being placed upon Him, God cursed Jesus, poured out His wrath upon Him, and turned His face from Him. In that moment Jesus empathized with the rest of humanity and shared in our eternal separation from the Father that comes through the curse of sin and death.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 teaches that there was a divine curse placed on a hanged person:

“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death,

and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you

shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance”.

The apostle Paul referred to this law in relationship to Jesus and His death on the cross.  

“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

Jesus was cursed for us, hanging on the cross as a substitute for our sins. Sproul surmised that the divine curse placed upon Christ would be the antithesis of the divine blessing that we read above in Numbers. To fully understand, here is the blessing, but rewritten into a mirrored curse:

“May the Lord curse you and abandon you. May the Lord keep you in darkness and give you only judgment without grace. May the Lord turn his back upon you and remove his peace from you forever.”

The physical pain of being hung on the cross was nothing compared to the wrath of God being poured out upon Him. Jesus became what we deserved so that we might live. When the work of God was complete, Jesus said, “it is finished,” and gave up his spirit and died. For everyone present this appeared to be the end…or was it? That was only Friday…but Sunday was coming!

Suggestion for a Prayer: Heavenly Father, Your love overwhelms me. I can’t conceive of a love that would accept Your curse in order that I could be free to receive Your blessings. Your Goodness and Glory would be too much to bear if it wasn’t for Your Spirit in me Who receives it on my behalf. May everyone come to know Your love and be overwhelmed as I am. In Jesus’ Name, amen!”

Note: your writing team this week is Claire Walker, Rob Tudball and Peter Bowyer.