The Great Exchange
2 Corinthians 5:21
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
In a few days we will celebrate Easter! I can say without doubt that I love Easter. It is my favorite time of the year in the life of a church. Partly due to the onset of spring as the cold of winter is passing and the temperatures trend warmer. People have been cooped up indoors to stay warm and are now beginning to emerge. We exchange cold weather for warmer weather. We exchange dark days for more sunlight. Longer days bring more sunshine for kids to play outside and for yard work in the late afternoons and early evenings.
During this season, we celebrate new life all around us. The dullness of winter passes and, in exchange, we get the new life of spring. Trees are budding, grass is growing and flowers are blooming.
The resurrection of Jesus provides us with the opportunity to receive and celebrate His gift of eternal life. The empty tomb assures us victory in Jesus over sin, death and the grave. Hell has been conquered! And we can live our lives in freedom from sin and shame by receiving His gift of salvation.
But there is another reason Easter is my favorite time of the year. Easter reminds me of God’s great exchange. According to II Corinthians 5:21, a great exchange occurred and God the Father is the one doing the exchanging. In fact, according to this verse, there are two parts to this great exchange.
First , God exchanged the sinlessness of His own Son for the sinfulness of all mankind. God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us.” What a great exchange! Think of it this way - God the Father, took our depravity, our sinfulness, our rebellion and our disobedience and He placed it on His perfect Son, Jesus. According to this verse, all the sinfulness of humanity was placed on the shoulders of the perfect, sinless Son of God. That is a blessing to each of us. The cross displays the mercy of God and in that mercy, He doesn’t give us what we deserve. Instead, He gives what we deserve to His Son. He exchanged the sinlessness of His Son for the sinfulness of humanity.
But this is only half of the exchange. Not only did God put the sin of the world on the sinless Lord Jesus, He took the righteousness of the Lord Jesus and placed it on the unrighteous shoulders of all who believe. That is grace. In the first exchange, we see the mercy of God - He doesn’t give us what we deserve. But in this exchange, we see the grace of God - He gives us what we don’t deserve, the righteous character of His Son, Jesus!
The interesting truth about this exchange is that no man could orchestrate it; only God Himself could do so. Only God could take our sin and put it on Jesus and only God could take Jesus’ righteousness and put it on us!
As you enjoy the warmth of exchanging winter for spring, I pray you will also celebrate The Great Exchange that God provided for us through the death and resurrection of His Son.
How can this exchange occur in your life? It is not by any human hands or any work you can accomplish. It is solely the responsibility of God, and when we respond to His invitation to come to Him in faith, we then receive His gift. His gift is so much more than eternal life. It is the righteous life of Jesus placed on us, and the sinfulness of each of us placed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
You can receive that exchange by placing your faith where God placed your sin - on the shoulders of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about receiving this gift of the great exchange for yourself. And if you have already received this great exchange, rejoice, be thankful, and share with others how the great exchange has changed your life!