The Great Exchange

He Took Our Sin

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Paul packed the whole good news into one verse: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Many Christians call it the great exchange. First, look at what Jesus took.

Sin is serious. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Wages are what you earn. Sin earns separation from God, who is holy and good.

A price must be paid. “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Remission means sins sent away and forgiven. In the Old Testament, God taught His people this with animal sacrifices.

The Lamb of God. When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus is the sacrifice every lamb pointed to.

He knew no sin. Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He never told a lie, never disobeyed and never had a selfish thought.

Why that matters. A sinner cannot pay for someone else's sin, because he has his own to pay for. Only someone with no sin could take our place.

Made to be sin. Jesus did not become a sinner. God put our sin on Him and treated Him as if He were guilty. “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

He carried it. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). The tree means the cross.

For our peace. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). Isaiah wrote this about seven hundred years before Jesus was born.

To bring us home. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

He chose it. Jesus said He came “to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). A ransom is a price paid to set someone free. No one forced Jesus; He went to the cross because He loves us.

Finished. On the cross Jesus said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). The whole debt was paid. Nothing is left for us to add.

What we learn. Your sin is not too big for Jesus. He carried all of it so that you would never have to.

What to do. This week, when you remember something wrong you did, tell God about it. Then thank Jesus out loud that He carried that sin to the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:21 has two halves joined by “that”: God made the sinless One to be sin, so that sinners might become righteousness.

Hamartia. The Greek word for sin here is hamartia (say: hah-mar-TEE-ah), which pictures missing the mark. Sin is not only breaking rules; it is falling short of the life God made us for (Romans 3:23).

“Who knew no sin.” To know sin here means to know it from the inside, by doing it. Jesus knew about sin and was tempted, yet He never once sinned (Hebrews 4:15). His perfect life is what made His death able to save others.

Why blood? Hebrews 9:22 says “without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Sin earns death (Romans 6:23). A substitute's life had to be given in the sinner's place.

The Lamb. John 1:29 calls Jesus “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The Passover lamb and the daily sacrifices were shadows; Jesus is the real thing they pointed to.

“Made Him… to be sin.” God did not make Jesus sinful. He laid our sin on Him and treated Him as the guilty one. Galatians 3:13 says Christ became “a curse for us,” taking the curse the law pronounced on lawbreakers.

Isaiah 53. Seven hundred years earlier the prophet wrote, “He was wounded for our transgressions” (53:5) and “the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (53:6). One Servant suffers in the place of the many who went astray.

1 Peter 2:24. Peter, a witness of Christ's sufferings (1 Peter 5:1), wrote that Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” Bore means carried like a heavy load.

A willing ransom. Jesus came “to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The Father gave the Son (Romans 8:32), and the Son gave Himself. The cross was love from both.

“It is finished!” (John 19:30). Jesus did not make a down payment on our sin; He paid all of it.

For the whole world. Christ “suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3:18). The payment is enough for anyone who comes to God through Him.

Assurance. If Jesus truly carried your sin, God will not charge it to you again. A believer can rest, not because he has been good, but because Christ has paid.

Application. When guilt comes back, answer it with the cross. Confess your sin, and remember that “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9).

His Righteousness for Us

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The second half of 2 Corinthians 5:21 is the part that makes us shout for joy: “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus took our sin, and God gives us something in return.

What is righteousness? Righteousness means being right with God: good, clean and accepted in His sight.

We cannot make our own. “All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Even our best deeds are mixed with pride and selfishness.

Abraham's example. “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3). Accounted means counted or credited, like money put into a bank account.

A gift, not a paycheck. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

One Man's obedience. “By one Man's obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). Jesus obeyed perfectly, and God counts His obedience for us.

White as snow. God says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). Scarlet is a deep red stain that will not wash out.

Covered. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1). God sees us covered in the goodness of Jesus.

A father's welcome. Jesus told about a son who wasted everything and came home. “When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). Then the father put the best robe on him. That is what God does for us.

No condemnation. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Condemnation means being found guilty and punished.

In Him. Paul says we become righteous “in Him.” It is not our goodness. It is Jesus' goodness, given to everyone who belongs to Him.

Made for good works. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). We do good because we are already accepted, not to get accepted.

What we learn. When God looks at someone who trusts Jesus, He sees the goodness of His Son.

What to do. Write these words on a card: In Christ I am right with God. Read the card whenever you feel you are not good enough.

The first half of 5:21 shows what Christ took; the second shows what we receive: “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Our sin was counted to Him, and His righteousness is counted to us.

Dikaiosyne. The Greek dikaiosyne (say: dee-kai-oh-SOO-nay) means righteousness: being in the right before a judge. Paul uses it for a right standing with God that God Himself provides.

Not our own. Isaiah 64:6 calls our best deeds “filthy rags.” Galatians 2:16 says “a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ.” Justified means declared righteous by God the Judge.

Credited (Romans 4:3). Paul's example is Abraham: “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness,” quoting Genesis 15:6. Abraham was counted righteous by believing, long before the law was given.

Two men (Romans 5:19). “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.” Adam's failure reached us; Christ's obedience reaches all who are in Him.

A two-way exchange. Christ did more than cancel our debt. He also gives His own perfect record. Forgiveness takes away the negative; righteousness gives the positive.

Cleansed. “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). David prayed this after his great sin, trusting God to make him clean.

The robe. In Luke 15 the father runs to his son before the son can finish his speech (15:20-21), then calls for the best robe (15:22). The son came home in rags and was dressed as an honored son. Many Christians see this robe as a picture of the righteousness God gives.

“In Him.” This righteousness is never separate from Jesus. It belongs to us because we belong to Him by faith (5:17).

No condemnation. Because of this, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The verdict is settled.

Grace and works. Ephesians 2:8-10 puts it in order: saved by grace through faith, “not of works,” and then “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Good works are the fruit of salvation, not the root.

Freedom. A believer does not have to prove himself to God every day. That freedom makes obedience joyful instead of anxious.

Application. When you fail, do not try to earn your way back. Confess it, receive God's forgiveness, and stand again in the righteousness Christ gives.

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