Christ became what we are that we might become what He is

Sermon Transcript

2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 

What happened when Jesus died on the cross that leads us to call Good Friday “good”? What happened on the cross that Friday afternoon over 2,000 years ago that leads us to call this day “Good Friday”? The answer to that question is the big idea of 2 Corinthians 5:21. The big idea is a quote attributed to the great church father Athanasius. What happened on the cross that makes Good Friday so good? Christ became what we are that we might become what He is. Christ became what we are that we might become what He is. More was happening on that Friday so many years ago than first meets the eye. We see the Lord Jesus arrested by the religious leaders because Jesus claimed to be God, backed it up with miracles, and the crowds were beginning to follow Him. We see the sham of a Roman trial and the crowds yelling, “crucify him.” We see him wrongly sentenced to death, beaten, mocked, crucified, and crying out with his last breath, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” But there was more going on than meets the eye. On that cross, in his death, Christ became what we are that we might become what He is. Tonight we are going to take that big idea, and 2 Corinthians 5:21, in two parts: 1. Christ became what we are 2. That we might become what He is. Let’s look together at what makes Good Friday such good news for you and me…

 

CHRIST BECAME WHAT WE ARE

 

I don’t want to rush past the very first words of 2 Corinthians 5:21 – For our sake… God the Father sent His Son to become what we are that we might become what he is for our sake! Slow down and take in the great love of God for the sinners he saves. God did not send His Son to become what we are that we might become what He is because he was lonely or because there is some deficiency in Him. He did it for our sake because He loves us. As Paul writes to the Roman church, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God designed the death of His Son for our sake, that’s how much he loves us. God sent Christ to become what we are that we might become what he is for our sake. Believer in Christ – God loves you even more than you know!

 

“Christ became what we are” or as the first part of 2 Corinthians 5:21 says – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin… We are sinners by nature and choice. We inherited guilt from our father Adam – the first human – and we have all disobeyed and ignored God in the world he created. We are sinners and on the cross Christ became what we are. The sinless Christ, the one that the Bible says was tempted in every way we are yet without sin, became our sin on the cross. On the cross, for our sake, the Lord Jesus Christ took all of our sin and the wrath and judgment of God that we deserve upon himself to remove God’s wrath and judgment from all who believe in Him. On the cross, He became our substitute, stood in our place, became our sin, and died for us. Christ became what we are.

 

On Good Friday, Christ became what we are and we shouldn’t be surprised. We shouldn’t be surprised because God had been promising and foreshadowing it in various ways since the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God for the first time and plunged our world into sin, the Lord killed an animal and clothed them with the skins. The animal died so that Adam and Eve would not. The animal became what they were. It was the first sin-atoning animal sacrifice, but it would not be the last. The Lord actually instituted a special day, an annual festival in Israel’s calendar called the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) that foreshadowed Christ who became what we are. The Day of Atonement is described in Leviticus 16 in the Old Testament. Theologian JV Vesko wonderfully describes Yom Kippur this way, “On this day of days, the high priest was supposed to offer a sacrificial bull on his own behalf, to ensure that he was ceremonially pure and free from defilement so that he could enter the Holy of Holies and offer the necessary sacrifices on behalf of the nation (Lev. 16:6). In addition to the sacrificial bull, the high priest took two goats: he sacrificed one and then performed a hand-laying ceremony on the other: “And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness” (Lev. 16:21–22). In this hand-laying ceremony three things stand out: (1) Aaron lays his hands on the head of the goat, which signified the transfer of something (cf. Num. 27:18; Deut. 34:9; 1 Tim. 4:14); (2) in this case, the high priest transferred the sins of the nation to the scapegoat, evident by the fact that he confessed Israel’s sins as he laid his hands on the goat; and (3) the goat bore the sins of the people and carried them outside the camp. The scapegoat became what the people were, but, of course, we know that an animal can’t really be the substitute for a human. The scapegoat foreshadowed and pointed forward to the Lord Jesus Christ who became what we are at the cross on Good Friday. Now, Professor Vesko points out that as the OT progresses, what was foreshadowed by the scapegoat gives way to the dawning light of the Messiah through the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 53:5-6 – But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 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. On Good Friday, at the cross, Christ became what we are and we shouldn’t be surprised. In his great love God has been foreshadowing and promising this ever since humanity was plunged into sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin… The Son of God took our rap sheet of sin upon himself and he absorbed the judgment and wrath of God that we deserve, as our Scapegoat – he took our sins outside the camp to the cross so that we would bear them no more. He did it as our Suffering Servant – all our iniquities were laid upon him so that we would bear them no more. He did it as our Messiah, and our only hope. Christ became what we are, but that is only half of what makes Good Friday “good.” Let’s turn now to the second half…

 

THAT WE MIGHT BECOME WHAT HE IS

 

Good Friday is glorious because Christ became what we are that we might become what he is. 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” On Good Friday, upon the cross, Christ became what we are that we might become what He is. Of course, you’ve noticed that word “might.” The Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross doesn’t automatically make every person the righteousness of God. Look again at 2 Corinthians 5:21. Notice two key words: “in him.” For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Christ – through our union with him by faith – we become the righteousness of God. “In Christ” is such an odd phrase. I’m an American citizen, but I would never say that I am “in George Washington.” However, in a glorious and mysterious way, when we receive and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are placed into Christ and we are declared to be what He is: righteous. Theologians call this the doctrines of justification and imputation. The doctrine of justification by faith alone says that we are declared not guilty and totally right with and righteous before God not by our own works of righteousness, but by faith in the perfectly righteous life, atoning death for our sins, and victorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. “The doctrine of imputation teaches that in the doctrine of justification, God imputes or accredits the righteousness and suffering of Jesus to those who are in him and, conversely, imputes the sins of those redeemed to Christ” (Dr. Vesko). Christ became what we are that we might become what he is! The great Martin Luther called this the “great exchange,” and it’s what makes Good Friday, “good.”

 

The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), question 60, helps bring home to my heart the wonder of Christ who became what we are that we might become what he is. Question: How are you right with God? Answer: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is to accept the gift of God with a believing heart. 

 

Maybe you’re still wondering what this looks like. Since Christ became what you are, you might become what he is, you are righteous in Christ. It’s as though you have an infinite line of credit from Christ who is seated in Heaven. When you sin, you can simply draw on the infinite line of credit because Christ’s righteousness has been given to you in full. On the cross, Christ became what we are that we might become what he is. Good Friday is glorious. Let’s leave the line of credit and imagine that you’ve been brought to court on murder charges that you, the jury, and the judge all know that you’re guilty of. The judge is about to rightly sentence you to life in prison, but at the last second the Judge’s son volunteers, out of sheer love for you, to take your guilty sentence for you though he’s never murdered anyone. The judge’s son gets your sentence and in a shocking exchange of places, the judge takes you home as his adopted son. At the cross, Christ became what you are that you might become what he is. Let’s leave the law court and head to a job interview. Let’s imagine you’re about to interview for a job at Amazon, but you know that you don’t meet even one of the job qualifications. As you are about to step into the interview room, Jeff Bezos walks up to you in the hall and asks for your resume. He looks it over and sees that you fall short of the job requirements in every way. So he tears up your resume and hands you his own resume, which meets and exceeds every required qualification. He tells you it’s yours. Christ became what we are that we might become what he is. That’s why we call Good Friday “good.”

 

CONCLUSION

 

What should we do? Answer: receive and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

 

1. Unbeliever – Receive Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Admit what you are and embrace him for all that He is. Without Him you will bear the penalty for your sin forever. With him you’ll be treated as completely righteous. It’s the difference between heaven and hell. Receive Christ. Point people to connect card. 
2. Believer – Rest in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. You have nothing left to prove, nothing to earn, you wear no condemnation, you are clothed in Christ’s righteousness, and your future is incredibly bright. Rest in Christ. Lay down all your weary righteousness earning and joyfully rest.