“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Galatians 3:13)

A very important Portrait of Christ concerns His role as our Redeemer. We so often hear this title applied to our Lord, but the word itself may not be fully understood from its common usage. For instance, when we redeem something, we usually turn something of little or no value into something of greater value. We define redemption as the act of bringing something good out of an otherwise bad situation. Can these words really apply to Christ?

Our text says that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law. What Law? What is “the curse of the law”? “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). We have to understand that Christ’s work of redemption was not simply a matter of lifting a burden – He did not just release us from the Law’s curse, He redeemed us from it. This He did by “being made a curse for us.” This means that He doesn’t forget the sin debt; He actually paid it Himself.

In Biblical usage, a legal duty to redeem fell on one’s relatives for the purpose of maintaining a family’s inheritance (Leviticus 25:49). This fact sheds much light then on an aspect of Christ’s Incarnation, through which He was made “…perfect through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10); paying the sin debt (spiritual death) for us – “…for which cause he is not ashamed to call them [us] brethren” (Hebrews 2:11). As Paul continues in his letter to the Galatians:

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,” (Galatians 4:4)

“To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Galatians 4:5)

 “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” (Galatians 4:7)

As our Redeemer, Christ has paid the price of our redemption by dying in our place. But the story doesn’t end there: God “…hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4). This inheritance, among other things, is Eternal Life (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25; 18:18).

Our Blessed Redeemer has secured the Inheritance of the saints as members of the Household of Faith, at the same time making us members of that Household and “…heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).

We see then that this title applies perfectly to Christ; as He has, by redemption, been made “…to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).