Redeemed from the Curse

The inspired apostle Paul, as he was working on justification of the Gentiles by faith in Christ Jesus and not the works of the law,  quotes several Old Testament passages between verses ten and thirteen of Galatian chapter three. In verse thirteen, our text for today, he quotes part of Deuteronomy 21:23. Here is the context from which Paul quoted:

“And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.” (Deut 21:22-23)

The inspired apostle Paul, as he was working on justification of the Gentiles by faith in Christ Jesus and not the works of the law,  quotes several Old Testament passages between verses ten and thirteen of Galatian chapter three. In verse thirteen, our text for today, he quotes part of Deuteronomy 21:23. Here is the context from which Paul quoted:

“And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.” (Deut 21:22-23)

· The curse of  Sin foreshadowed

The Jews practiced three main methods of capital punishment among the people: stoning (Lev. 20:2, 24:14 & 16), burning (Lev. 20:14;  21:9), and  by the sword  (Ex. 32:27).  However, whenever a particularly “despicable” sin had been committed and the offender put to death, there were the occasions when the body was then hung upon a tree as an object lesson of how accursed their transgression was in the eyes of the LORD. (C. f. Josh. 10:26; 2 Sam. 4:5-12) There is a principle here that should not  be missed in this physical example. The people were to see and fear, being reminded that punishment after death  of such heinous sin was reserved to Yahweh .

Notice that the LORD did not intend for the body to hang indeterminately but for what He deemed long enough for the lesson to be learned and the penalty paid. The one day, then brought down before sundown (I. e. “the same day”) and buried, otherwise the land would be defiled. The transgressor and transgression were hidden from sight in the grave.  As the New Testament would put it, “sufficient for such a one is this punishment” (2 Cor 2:6)

· The spectacle of the curse of our sin

In Jesus’ death, we see the application of this law. Do not think that those who put Him to death did not recognize the principle of the law when they saw Jesus hung upon the tree, then raised as a spectacle for all to see. True, they did not realize God’s intentions foreshadowed in the law, nonetheless, they smugly looked on, satisfied in their handiwork and understanding of the law.  We see the full application of the law in their desire to retrieve His body off the cross and place it in the burial sepulcher before sundown (John 19:31) in order not to defile the coming Sabbath high day (the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread) and thus, the land.

Once the New Covenant is ushered in, the Lord,  through the Holy Spirit, begins to upgrade the understanding of the beneficiaries of this covenant concerning all things. One principle clarified is the elimination of “graded” sins as contained in the law. No more is one sin greater than the other. As James through the Spirit wrote, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” (James 2:10)

In the letter to the Galatian church, Paul, through the Spirit, drives home the curse of  the law. Utilizing the most effective means understood in the law to communicate the destructive nature and ignominious repercussions of sinning against God, the apostle demonstrates the severity of our sins and the price that was required to be paid by Jesus in having Him hung upon a tree. All who have transgressed against God have committed sin worthy of death, are accursed of God, and deserving of the eternal punishment following physical death He has reserved for such malefactors.

Understanding these concepts properly, we can appreciate more fully John’s recording of Jesus’ words in his gospel account. “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.  (John 12:31-33 NAS)

Some points need to be made here.

1) If we comprehend properly how He died, we will then appraise properly the value of His death in becoming the curse for us, redeeming us of the repercussions of our sins under the Law.

2) Sufficient for us, is the punishment of this one. Christ paid the price once for all, we need to have full conviction in our faith that what God has said is so concerning Jesus’ offering – once for all time! No implementation of the law will justify ourselves or others, only faith in Christ. Would not this substitutionary death draw all men to Him?

3) Christ is no longer accursed of God. He once hung on the cross, but He came down off the tree and was buried. When the accursed is buried, the sins associated with Him are buried forever too. It stands to reason then that if we’ve been buried with Christ, then all our sins were buried with Him.  Consider again: “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with” (Rom. 6:5-6) Don’t defile the spiritual land! Christ is no longer on the cross. Yes, we need to remember our purification from our former sins. But it’s not so we can put Him back on the cross. Otherwise, would we not consider ourselves still accursed? We are to see ourselves as He sees us, redeemed saints of God lifted and seated with Him on the throne in glory!