“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).

The Son of God was willing to endure the wrongful accusations and punishments of men. He became sin in man’s eyes when He was condemned by the counsel and priests for blasphemy. Mocked by Herod and his men, He was treated with contempt. The people called out for His death because they were persuaded He should be destroyed. Pontius Pilate washed his hands. This was prophesied; “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” (Isaiah 53:3). This is how Jesus became sin for us. The heathen raged, and the people imagined vain things. “‘The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.’ For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.” (Acts 4:26-27).

Though Christ was “to be sin for us,” He did not become a sinner for us. He remained whole in the sight of the Father. “...the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. . .”(John 14:12-13). “... Nothing In Me. . .” This is reiterated many times: ‘a lamb without blemish,’ ‘the just for the unjust,’ ‘knew no sin,’ ‘yet without sin,’ ‘who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God.’ The integrity of Jesus was such that Satan had nothing to exploit. Jesus conquered sin by living for His Father. “As the Father gave me commandment, so I do.” In Romans 5:18 this is called “the righteousness of one” and in verse 19 “the obedience of one.” This wholeness is what made the sacrifice of Jesus effectual. This wasn’t just a good man who died. This was one who expressly demonstrated the love of God. We might think of sacrifice as a religious thing, or a perhaps a ritual. With Jesus it was the supreme act of friendship, of love. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). The outcome is “... for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Christ’s sacrifice is the key to our transformation. “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” (Romans 5:9). Christ’s shed blood is the result of two realms meeting; that of God and that of man. It bears witness of our crime and God’s desire to justify the unrighteous. If our Creator and Sinless Friend bled by the hands of man, what justification is there if He forgives man’s offenses? Absolute justification! Why? Because He alone has the grounds to accuse us. He was the innocent victim, yet mercy is proffered. This is how we become “the righteousness of God,” absolved of sin because of Christ’s merciful position. He is the one who makes us right. All faith, and all obedience, every bit of yielding to the call of the gospel would amount to nothing if the Lord did not justify us. Justification saves us from the wrath of God. Wrath is prepared for hardness of heart and scorn toward the goodness and mercy of God. Salvation is the way out. It is passing from destruction to life.

“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10). This is an expansion of verse 9 which further illuminates how God makes us right. Consider these two ideas; reconciliation, and salvation ‘by His life.’ Reconciliation is a heartfelt word. It goes beyond balancing a ledger. It means coming home, being received. It is the tenderness of love requited, and the sweetness of joyful reunion. If we have enjoyed such a thing, we must proceed. We start afresh. Our activities take on a new vibrancy. So there is more to becoming “the righteousness of God” than having sins taken away. Innocence by itself is like having a swept and ordered house with no occupant. (See Matthew 12:43-45) Being reconciled, we must live in the cleansed house. “. . . We shall be saved by His life.” There was life given, so there must be life received. To be saved by the life of Christ is to receive the Crucified One and live because of Him. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) There is something to be and do because of Him. Someone to become.