Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,”
Galatians 3:13
Galatians 3 [10.] For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.” Now that no man is justified by the law before God is evident, for, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not of faith, but, “The man who does them will live by them.”
Galatians 3 [13.] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,” that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring. He doesn’t say, “To descendants”, as of many, but as of one, “To your offspring”, which is Christ. Now I say this. A covenant confirmed beforehand by God in Christ, the law, which came four hundred thirty years after, does not annul, so as to make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by promise.
Galatians 3 [19.] What then is the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise has been made. It was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not between one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not!
Meaning:
Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia because teachers were urging Gentile believers to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to belong fully to God’s people. He answers that the Law, taken as a way to be right with God, brings a curse: “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them” (Galatians 3:10). This verse gives God’s answer.
- “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law”
To redeem is to buy back or set free by paying a price. Jesus said that he came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Christ paid the price that set his people free.
- “Having become a curse for us”
Paul does not say that Christ was cursed for his own sins, for he had none. He became a curse “for us,” on our behalf. Paul says something similar elsewhere: “For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Isaiah had foreseen this: “Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Christians explain the atonement with different emphases, but this verse clearly speaks of Christ taking on himself the curse that belonged to others.
- “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”
Paul quotes the Law about the body of an executed criminal: “for he who is hanged is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). The same law is why the Jewish leaders asked that the bodies be taken down from their crosses before the Sabbath (John 19:31).
The apostles faced this directly. Peter spoke of Jesus, “whom you killed, hanging him on a tree” (Acts 5:30), and told Cornelius, “whom they also killed, hanging him on a tree” (Acts 10:39). What looked like proof of God’s rejection was in fact the place where Christ bore the curse for others.
- “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles”
The next words give the purpose: “that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:14). God had promised Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him. Through the cross that promise reaches the Gentiles, who receive “the promise of the Spirit through faith,” as Cornelius and his household did.
The Significance of Galatians 3:13
- Freedom from the curse
No one is condemned for failing to keep the Law perfectly if they trust in Christ, who bore its curse.
- The cross turns shame into blessing
The most shameful death became the source of blessing for every nation. Christians boast not in their own law-keeping but in Christ crucified.
Cross-References:
Deuteronomy 21:22-23: “for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” The law Paul quotes.
2 Corinthians 5:21: “For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf.” Christ in our place.
Galatians 3:14: “that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.” The purpose of the cross.
Conclusion: Paul taught that Christ redeemed believers from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for them, fulfilling the words, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” The cross, which seemed a sign of God’s rejection, became the means by which the blessing of Abraham reaches the Gentiles. This is the message the apostles preached, from Jerusalem to the house of Cornelius.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible