“For He hath made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (v.21)
Wow! So much in this chapter; Assurance of the Resurrection, The Judgment Seat of Christ, Being reconciled to God. But, what jumped out at me this time around was our text, "God made Him." Think about that.
The idea that any man could be sinless was foreign to Jewish thinking (Ecclesiastes 8:5). Despite that, no one challenged Jesus when He claimed to be sinless (John 8:46). Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul carefully chooses his words here. He does not say Jesus was made to be a sinner. Jesus never became a sinner, but He did become sin for us. Even His becoming sin was a righteous act of love, not an act of sin.
When Christ was born an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:20-21). Christ, born of a virgin, sinless, and remained so His entire life, to fulfill one purpose, that He might be the sinless sacrifice to God (who made Him) for all who would believe in His name, to make a way for us (positionally) to enter into heaven through His righteousness.
Jesus took our sin, but gave us His righteousness. It is a tremendous exchange, all prompted by the love of God for us! Therefore, when God looks at us, He sees only the righteousness of His Son, and we will stand perfected in Him before the throne of God, because God made Him for us (John 3:16). Hallelujah!
The Truth: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
