In this episode we keep exploring how Galatians 3 explains the promise God made to Abraham to bless all nations through his seed. In Galatians 3:5-9 Paul marked out two pathways for receiving the blessing of Abraham - the works of the law vs faith. Next, in 3:10-13 he is going to make his case for why relying on the works of the law will actually bring a curse, and not a blessing. Essentially, the works of the law option is an all or nothing wager. Either you keep the entire law and therefore earn the blessing (which no one can do) or you go with the faith option and receive the blessing through your participation in Christ's faithfulness.
Once Paul identifies everyone relying on the works of the law as being under the curse of the law, it naturally raises the question: how do we get out of this cursed condition and receive the blessing of Abraham? After all, once you're under that curse, you can't earn your way out from underneath it. The answer may surprise you. Paul says the way Christ rescues those under the curse of the law is by journeying towards them and joining them in their cursed condition i.e. he becomes a curse for those who are under the curse. But notice that he does not become a curse instead of us. He becomes a curse with us. By joining us in our cursed condition, he is able to reach us and make contact with us. And how does he become a curse for us? As Deuteronomy 21:23 says, "cursed is everyone who hangs from a tree." And for those who want to join Christ in his crucifixion and die to the law, trusting in the faithfulness of Christ on their behalf (2:19-20) there is a way out of the curse of the law to receive the blessing of Abraham. By trading a reliance on works of the law for a reliance on the work of Christ anyone can receive the blessing of Abraham. Christ himself is the way out. What Paul presents in Galatians 3:10-13 is a clever and complex argument, and we try to do it justice, but the basic principle is that Jesus becomes one of us in order to save us. For some reason, Paul takes it for granted that we would all understand that in order to save something, you have to make contact with it. Like a lifeguard at the beach swimming out into the ocean to save someone from drowning, Jesus was joined those under the curse of the law by dying on a cross and becoming a curse for us. But only those who can stop struggling and allow Jesus to save them will be pulled out of that cursed condition and brought into the blessing.
Key Passages
Galatians 3:10-13
Deuteronomy 27:26 - "Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law." If we rely on the works of the law to receive the blessing, unless we can do all of the law, all of the time, we are under the curse of the law.
Deuteronomy 21:23 - "...his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance." Paul quotes the part of this verse I put in bold font when he says in Galatians 3:13, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” But did you catch that? Paul leaves off two important words - "of God." This is a strategic move by Paul to avoid suggesting that God somehow cursed Jesus on the cross. Contrary to the view of penal substitution, God does not curse Jesus on the cross, or pour out his wrath on him. Christ does not become a curse instead of us (us meaning those who come under the curse of the law). No, he becomes a curse with us. He joins us in our cursed condition so that he can make contact with us at the very place we are get stuck, and through his faithfulness to God and life-giving resurrection, makes a way out of that cursed condition into the blessing of God.
