Jesus Became Sin

At one point or another, we’ve all heard it said that "Jesus became sin." But what does that actually mean? Did He become a sinner? Did His nature change?

You ready to dig? Let’s go.

The Divine Appointment

"For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ." — 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)

The first part says, "For God made Christ." This is vital because it establishes that Jesus came from God, not from the line of man.

In Genesis 3, we see that sin entered the world through Adam. If Jesus had been born from the natural seed of a man, He would have inherited that sin nature just like the rest of us. But because He came from God, He was born without the characteristic to disobey.

Now, look at that word "made." In the original Greek, the word is poieō. It doesn't mean "to create" in this context; it means to appoint. [Image showing the Greek word 'poieō' and its meaning 'to appoint']

This debunks the idea that Jesus is somehow less than God. He was with God from the beginning (John 1:1), but God appointed Him to fulfill a specific call. He wasn't "made" into a sinner; He was "appointed" to stand in the place of sinners.

Missing the Mark: Understanding the Nature of Sin

Before we go further, we have to level the field. What is sin? The Greek word is hamartanó, which literally means "to miss the mark."

Sin is a nature. It is an inherent feature in us that prompts us to disobey. Adam was under God’s authority, and when he refused to listen in the Garden, a nature of disobedience was birthed in every human. Romans 5:17-19 confirms this: Adam’s one act brought condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship for everyone.

The Clean Sacrifice

The verse continues: "...to be the offering for our sin."

Think about this practically. An offering is a sacrifice or a token of devotion. If Jesus had sin in Him, He could not be an offering for our sin. Why? Because you can’t clean a dirty dish with a dirty rag. Something that is defiled cannot purify something else that is defiled.

Jesus had to remain 100% sinless in His nature so that He could be the perfect sacrifice. Romans 5:7-8 tells us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He became the "sin offering"—taking the legal hit for what we did—without ever becoming a partaker in the sin itself.

The Way Back to Intimacy

"So that we could be made right with God through Jesus."

The whole point of Jesus being appointed as the sin offering was to bring us back to the Father. God loves relationship. We see that in Genesis 3:8, where He walked with Adam in the cool of the day. That level of intimacy was broken by the fall, but it has been redeemed through Christ.

This redemption is available to everyone, but not everyone will partake in it. There is a formula set before us in Romans 10:9-10: Confess and Believe. * Confess: Openly declare that Jesus is Lord.

• Believe: Trust in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.

God has provided the gift. He appointed the Sacrifice to settle your debt and restore your intimacy with Him. The only question left is: will you accept it?

The insights in this series are my own, with AI assisting in organization and presentation.