2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

“For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

To make ourselves something else means to change ourselves. Maybe this means we look at life differently, adjust our goals, change an outlook, etc. Sometimes, it can be physical. We lose weight, we try a new style of clothing, makeup, plastic surgery, etc.

We have all tried to make ourselves into something else even if it is minor. These changes may simply give us confidence or it may change the trajectory of our lives. Either way, it makes us into something different. Take that concept and multiply it times infinity and that is the change that happened on the cross. That change is this: the only perfect person to have ever walked the earth, God in human form, took upon Himself sin.

This in and of itself is amazing. But that’s not the only change that happened. The sin that Jesus took upon Himself was removed from us and His righteousness was placed upon us. What an extraordinary change is that? The only perfect man became sin. He didn’t just get punished for us, He became sin.
This phrase gets tossed around a lot in church. However, becoming sin means that God the Father treated Him as if His life was as sinful as ours and more. He received all the wrath and anger God has for sin, even though He deserved none of it. In turn, we receive all the love and blessings of God. We are treated as though we lived a perfect, righteous life, even though we deserve none of it.

This is the change. Christ becomes sin and we become righteous. Christ is treated as a sinner and we are treated as perfect. Christ bears the wrath, anger and justice against sin and we receive the love, grace and hope for His people. What an amazing exchange.

This week, if you have not experienced this transformation, place your faith in Christ and His sacrifice on the cross will change you as well.