Trading Places - Jesus & the Sinner
The Grace of God
NOTE: I tried a recording of this article. Let me know if this is useful. I’m busy and it is hard to find time to record articles as well as write them, but will try to do so, if people find it useful. Thanks.
One popular plot formula for movies is having two very different people trade places through some mysterious means. It may be kids trading places with adults. It may be the rich person trading places with the poor person. It may be the city person trading places with the country person. The more different the two people, the more comical the effects of trading places is.
All Christians are in a storyline of two very different people trading places. It isn’t the story of rich/poor, young/old, or city/country, it is the trading places of the woefully inadequate and sinful trading places with the perfect and sinless. This isn’t a comedy. In so many ways it seems like a tragedy. The one who deserves punishment and death gets forgiveness and eternal life. The one who deserves worship and praise gets punishment and a torturous death.
Unfortunately most of us are not thankful enough for the wonderful benefits we get from this trade and don’t feel the horror we should at what was done to our perfect God, Creator, and Savior.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) {emphasis mine}
What a wonderful, glorious turn of events in our personal story that we become “a new creature” in Christ; we “become the righteousness of God in Him.” What a tragedy and unfathomable sacrifice that our Creator God, “who knew no sin,” became “sin on our behalf.” We are part of the most unfair trade, and we benefit so incredibly much and yet we take it for granted most of the time.
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; (1 Peter 3:18) {emphasis mine}
We, the unjust, were made just so we can be forgiven and face God almighty. Our Creator, Jesus Christ, the just was made sin for us and died to pay the penalty we deserved for our rejection of God, selfishness, dishonesty, and general ignoring of our Creator.
I don’t think we comprehend how much we don’t deserve the Salvation we received and how much Jesus didn’t deserve the treatment He got throughout history, but especially in His death and separation from God on the cross. We feel severe pain when we are separated from our close friends and/or family. Jesus, part of the 3-in-1 God, was separated from God the Father and God the Spirit. It was like us having a limb cut off. They are one God, so severing one from the rest was the greatest torment that He could ever go through. It was worse than infinite, eternal Jesus limiting Himself to a mortal, finite body to live on earth as a man. It was worse than being tortured and killed in the most painful way ever designed by man. Perfect, holy Jesus was made sin, so He could no longer be in the presence of the Father. We need to thank Him every single day for what He did for us. (I know I don’t thank Him enough.)
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:4-6) {emphasis mine}
Look at all the replacement language in this passage:
“our griefs He Himself bore”
“our sorrows He carried”
“He was pierced through for our transgressions”
“He was crushed for our iniquities”
“The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him”
“by His scourging we are healed”
“the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him”
Because of what Jesus did for us, He took the grief, sorrows, piercing, crushing, chastening, and scourging that we deserved. He took on the burden and guilt of our iniquity.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. ( 1 Peter 2:21-25) {emphasis mine}
How amazing is it that our loving Creator came down to earth and lived a perfect life as “an example for you to follow?” How unfathomable is it that He took our sins into Himself changing Him from the Holy Lamb to a sinner judged and separated from God? How incredible is it that we get His righteousness because He willingly took on our sins? How can we ever show enough gratefulness for what He has done for us?
This next passage is a passage of the greatest joy imaginable and what all believers have to look forward to:
Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. (1 Corinthians 15:50-54) {emphasis mine}
The day is coming that we will not just be justified by Jesus’s sacrifice, but we will be changed from perishable to imperishable and from mortal to immortal. “In the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised.”
As the passage continues, “but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Trust Jesus.
your sister in Christ,
Christy
If you don’t want to miss a post, please consider subscribing, so you know when new posts are published. Unfortunately, my life will not allow for a perfect schedule of posts.
If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you. I will try to reply to your questions and comments as quickly as possible. I’m sure life will sometimes get in the way, but know that your input is valuable to me. Some responses may be direct to you. I may address some with a blog post.
Join Christy’s subscriber chat
What a wonderful post. So well put. He really did take everything that we deserve and gave us what we don’t, what we can never earn. What a Christ!