For years, when I heard the story of Jesus’ death on the cross, I felt sad because it seemed like such a horrible way to die. I remember watching the Jesus film and other portrayals of the crucifixion. The scenes that showed the soldiers beating and whipping Jesus are etched in my mind. As I watched him take his final, painful breaths as he hung on the cross, my heart broke. The message I took from these depictions of Jesus’ death was that Jesus died an agonizingly painful death on the cross for me. While that’s definitely true, there’s more to the story. Read this verse carefully.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21
He became sin who knew no sin
God made Jesus to be sin. the Bible says that Jesus, who didn’t know sin, actually became sin. He had never committed a sin. Not even one. Jesus had never told a little white lie or thought an evil thought. He was complete perfection and he became sin. The agony of the cross had far less to do with the nails in Jesus’ hands and feet than the torture he felt when the sin of all creation crushed him.
Not only that, because of that sin, God the Father turned His back on Jesus. Remember the words Jesus uttered on the cross? Scripture doesn’t record that Jesus complained about the physical pain. Instead, we read:
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46
Movies and plays will never be able to portray that one key part of the crucifixion story: God’s wrath poured out on Jesus, who had become sin. As he bore the sin of the world, Jesus felt every bit of the pain of God’s wrath, poured out completely on Him. This pain was far greater than any physical pain Jesus experienced from the beatings and crucifixion he endured.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:9-10
The Wrath of God Was Satisfied
That million-dollar word, propitiation, means appeasement. The song, In Christ Alone, has a line that says, “the wrath of God was satisfied”. That’s propitiation. God’s wrath was satisfied (appeased) when Jesus became sin for us. Because of our sin, we deserved all of that pain, all of that torture. But Jesus became sin for us and thus became the propitiation for our sins.
As you consider the agony of the cross, remember that Christ became sin for you. In his humanity, he felt the pain of the nails and the spear, but the greatest pain he felt was the pain of propitiation. The next time you hear the hammer hit the nail, remember that becoming sin hurt far worse than any nail. And then thank Jesus, because he did it just for you.
**I found this article really helpful – The Wrath of God Was Satisfied: Wondrous Love in the Awful Cross
