40 Days of the Cross: Day 9

Hello and welcome to the ninth day of our “40 days of the cross” series. Each day we are taking just a few minutes to look at a word which will help us better understand the meaning of the cross. 

Today’s word is curse. When God gave the Law of Moses to the people of Israel there were laws of blessing as well as laws that concerned curses. One of those laws concerned criminals who were hung upon posts in the ground. Deuteronomy 21:22-23 says, “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.” This is part of the reason the Jews hurried to remove the bodies of those crucified before the sun set and the Sabbath began. 

Anyone who was crucified was cursed according to Jewish Law. This curse, for the people of Israel, meant a separation from the covenant God had with Israel. Separation from the covenant meant separation from God. This curse meant you were no longer part of the nation of Israel, no longer one of God’s chosen people. You were damned to an eternal death. 

But this law was just a shadow of the reality of the situation. In fact, ALL people were under a curse. This curse was the curse of sin. The Law was given to show humankind that no one could follow the Law completely. The book of Romans says that all have sinned, and the wages of that curse of sin is death. The same death as that covenantal separation from God. An eternal death with no hope of reprieve. 

But look at what it says in Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” On the cross, Jesus BECAME the curse. Instead of the curse of eternal death, because of the cross, we are offered the gift of eternal life. He substituted Himself so that the curse of sin no longer had power over us. But we’ll talk more about “substitute” tomorrow. 

Let’s close in prayer now, but after I’m done praying, would you spend a little time in meditation and prayer thinking about how Jesus became a curse on the cross to conquer the curse of sin for us?
 

Heavenly Father, Your Law is just and holy. It is a reflection of who You are. All of us deserve the curse of sin. So, we thank you for the cross which frees us from that curse. Thank you for Jesus and the love He showed for us by becoming the curse so that we could have eternal life. In the Name of Jesus, amen. 

Thanks for listening/reading today. Please take some time to meditate on how the cross defeated the curse of sin.  Continued