Cursed!

Peter Neilson September 11, 2024 6 2

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Galatians 3: 10-14 (MSG)

10 Scripture backs this up: “Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law.”

11-12 The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: “The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that’s the real life.” Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: “The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them.”

13-14 Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham’s blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God’s life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it.

Deeper and darker. The Eternal Word became flesh for us. The Son of God became sin for us. (2 Corinthians 5:21) The Crucified Christ became a curse for us. God has entered the darkest corners of our human condition with the sole intention of saving us from our worst selves. The Cross is the place where God goes deeper and darker than our worst experiences to bring us home to Himself.

In everyday language, a curse is a form of swearing that can be hurtful and insulting. Constant abuse does deep emotional damage. The power of those words needs to be broken in the name of Jesus, releasing people into the healing love and grace of God.

Paul’s “curse” language is more specific. For the Jew to live by the Law was to earn God’s blessing. To fail to live by the law was to incur God’s condemnation. Imagine living with that image of God who would curse you for failing to live up to the mark.

Some of us don’t need a God to curse us. We do a brutal job all on our own — living with self-accusation and blame, beating ourselves up for not living up to our own ideals, let alone God’s. We live under a curse of our own making. The language may sound extreme, but the feelings are all too real.

What if those dark words of condemnation could be silenced? The Gospel message is that every word of condemnation has been diverted to and disarmed at the Cross.

He became a curse and at the same time dissolved the curse.

Prayer:

Remember that Cross we set before us the other day. Look at it again.
As you meditate, let these mysterious words of Paul sink deep into your heart and mind:
He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse.

Recall harsh words that have stuck to you like a curse. Watch those harsh words settle on that cross. Watch them dissolve in the blood of Christ. Repeat to yourself:
There is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8: 1)

Trust God with the faith of Abraham and walk through the day with your head high.