Made to be Sin

If sin is “the transgression of the law” and “the wages of sin is death”, what sin did Christ commit to deserve death? The obvious and unmistakable response to this question is, Christ “did no sin” and “in Him is no sin”; and though He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5; Hebrews 4:15). Yet, it is worth mentioning to consider the fact that the Bible also has this to say about the Saviour with regards to this matter:

“For He (the Father) hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us…” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

If this verse is read and understood in the context of the popular notion that sin is nothing but wrong actions that contradict the law, it stands to reason that it is God who, at some point of time and unknown to us, caused or willed that His Son should transgress the very law that He wills for His subjects to obey. Christ on the other hand, who’s “meat is to do the will” of the Father who sent Him, would have done that which is pleasing in the Father’s eyes, even if it meant that the law should be broken. This reasoning poses a very serious problem because it does not go well with the teachings outlined in the Bible. For instance, we find these words recorded in the book of James.

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man:” (James 1:13)

God does not tempt or cause any man to sin, which also includes Christ. Besides, Peter pointed out that Christ “did no sin” or, in other words, He did not transgress any precept of the law. So how can one say that Christ committed sin with the intention to do God’s will? So then, what is Paul implying when He says that Christ was “made to be sin… who knew no sin?”​ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

First and foremost, it is helpful to be reminded that God Himself declares that His Son hates iniquity and loves righteousness (Hebrews 1:9); that is to say that Christ does not have any desire to violate the law of God. And God declares this fact so emphatically and so plainly that He leaves no room for doubt or uncertainty concerning this issue. That is why we do not find any indication anywhere in the Bible that suggests that Christ committed an act of sin.

Keeping this in mind, I invite you to look again at the words of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:21 more closely.

“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God through Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

If you observe closely the first part of the verse, (the part that is highlighted in blue), you will immediately realise that the Father DID NOT make Jesus to commit a sinful act, but rather He chose to make His Son to be sin or to be a sinner. It was in this way that Jesus took the place of the real sinners, the people who actually deserve to die. In other words, Jesus did not commit any sinful act yet at the same time He was “sinful.” This is backed by the second phrase in the verse (highlighted in yellow) which says that Christ knew no sin, which points to the fact that though He was made to be a “sinner”, He never committed any sinful action.

What this tells us is that, Jesus, as the second Adam, was put by God Himself in the place where Adam should have been. Adam willingly chose to separate himself from God and therefore was deserving of death, but Christ, who did not desire separation, was separated from the Father by the Father. Bereft of the presence of the Almighty God, the Saviour cried out in a loud and an agonizing voice saying, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me.” (Matthew 27:46) It was at this moment that the Saviour of the world “was made to be sin for us” and yet “without sin”.

The Son of God came to this world to be part of this human race. Because He was sinless and loved righteousness, there was no way that He would ever come under the curse of sin. Therefore, He had to be put under the curse with which sin had enslaved the world.

“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.” (Galatians 3:13)

This verse not only validates that Christ was cursed or that He was kept under the curse, but it also tells us that this happened when He was crucified. The “curse” does not imply the curses uttered by the people who reviled Him at the time. It also does not point to the act of His enemies to sentence Him to death by the cross. To find out who actually did the cursing, we need to go to the verse from which Paul quoted in his letter to the Galatians.

“And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God) that thy land be not defied, which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” (Deuteronomy 21:22,23)

So, God did the cursing! Of all human beings, God cursed His own Son. By separating Himself from His Son, the Latter came under the curse of sin, the greatest of which is death.

As it has been pointed out in “The True Nature of Sin”, once man is no longer under the shadow of God’s will, he is naturally bent on committing sinful actions which produces bad consequences. This was expected of Christ for He too was a man. However, Christ lifted the curse by remaining good and by choosing good outside of God. He was the first and the only human being who accomplished this feat, unaided by any supernatural power from heaven.

In keeping with this truth, I feel that it is vitally important for me to make mention of the fact that, once again the doctrine of the Trinity is inadequate in light of this evidence because if Jesus were God Himself, how can God separate Himself from Himself? And if Christ were God Himself, as the Trinity advocates, then He was always and at all times omnipotent. If so, then the Trinity portrays the struggles of Christ on the cross as a sham – something which does not deserve much time and reason to ponder upon.

On humanity’s behalf, Adam separated himself from God by the choice that he made. Similarly, by one Man’s victory, humanity is once again restored to its former glory in Jesus Christ. As Paul points out:

“Therefore, as by the offense of one judgement came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." (Romans 5:18)

It is for this reason, therefore, that Christ had to come in the likeness of sinful flesh and after being made sin, condemned it in this flesh, so that by His victory, “we might be made the righteousness of God through Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Once again, the event on Calvary that transpired two thousand years ago is self-evident that sin is not just wrong actions but it is the state of being separated from God. The victorious life of Christ is what sinners need to overcome sinful deeds. This further adds meaning to the words of Christ when He says that He alone is the way to Father.

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