THE CROSS WAS AN EXCHANGE

Romans5

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

The word translated here as atonement (katallagē) is a word that means exchange. It was used to refer to the activities of a money changer or in today’s context the business of a forex bureau. Nowhere else in the bible is it translated as atonement. In fact, the word atonement is not found anywhere in the New Testament apart from here and even here the root word doesn’t even mean atonement.

Atonement is not a New Covenant concept. It was an Old Covenant concept where animals were sacrificed and their blood symbolically covered the sins of the people. In the New Testament Jesus doesn’t cover our sins. He takes them away forever.  

This verse on the other hand, isn’t talking about Jesus covering our sins (atonement), it is talking of an exchange that took place on the Cross between Jesus and us.

There was an exchange that took place at the Cross. Jesus became who we were and took upon Himself whatever we deserved. We on the other hand became who He was and took upon ourselves whatever He deserved. 

This is best described in Isaiah53;

Isaiah 53

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Jesus on the Cross bore great grief and sorrows. But the grief and sorrows that He bore were not His own. They were ours. He bore all the griefs and sorrows that we had and would ever bear. There is no sadness, sorrow and grief that Jesus hasn’t experienced. You have never been and will never be in a situation where Jesus doesn’t know how you feel.

He bore our sorrow and griefs so that we would not have to bear them. On the Cross Jesus delivered us from sorrow and grief and brought us happiness and joy forever.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

“He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed. All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the LORD caused the sin of all of us to attack him.” Isa53:5-6 NET

Then He also took the punishment and the wounds that we deserved for our sins and iniquities. In 

order for us to have peace with God, we had to pay the price for all of our transgressions. Jesus paid that price for us and brought us into peace with God.

Isaiah54

7 For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. 8 In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer. 9 "This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

In exchange, we received reconciliation and peace from God. We are now at peace with God. We are faultless and blameless in His sight. We are without wrinkle and without spot before God.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Why did Jesus suffer so much during His crucifixion?

Because of our transgressions and sins. He was stricken for our transgressions. He was made to become our sin and to carry the punishment that we deserved for those sins.

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1Pet2:24

In exchange, we received the righteousness of God freely and became the righteousness of God.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2Cor5:21

Many of us have accepted the first part of this verse, but rejected the second part. We believe Jesus bore our sin for us, but we don’t believe that He actually made us righteous.

Why do we choose which one we want to believe and reject the one we find hard to believe? If one part is true, then the other part is also true. It's like having a coin. A coin has two sides. You can't have a coin with only "heads," or one with only "tails." That wouldn’t be a valid coin. All coins have both sides.

In the same way, any person who accepts that Jesus paid for their sins must also accept that He made them righteous. That He made them the righteousness of God. It’s the same scripture!

God made Jesus (who knew no sin) to become my sin. Now He has made me (who knew no righteousness) to become His righteousness. I am the righteousness of God.

The sin that made Jesus to become sin was my sin, the righteousness that makes me to become righteous is His righteousness.

It was my sin that made Jesus a sinner. It is His righteousness that makes me a righteous saint.

He became who I was, a filthy sinner; I have become who He was, a righteous saint.

Just as sure as Jesus bore my sin in His own self on the Cross, I bear His righteousness this very moment in myself. I am righteous. This is the exchange!

10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

God was pleased to kill Jesus on the Cross. This is something that surprises a lot of people. We have this idea that God was depressed in heaven as His beloved Son died on the Cross. This verse tells us that it pleased the LORD to bruise Jesus. To put Him to grief and to make Him an offering for sin. Why would God be pleased to do this to Jesus? His only beloved Son?

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

God was pleased to bruise Jesus because He looked forward to the exchange that was happening. He looked forward to the fruit of the Cross. He saw all of us who would finally be free from who we were and become a brand new creation with limitless possibilities in Christ.

There was an exchange that took place at the Cross whereby God took whatever was true of us and made it true of Jesus and then took whatever was true of Jesus and made it true of us.

Jesus became whatever we were and we became whatever He was. We had an exchange take place. He became sin, He became unrighteous and unholy, He became poor, He became sick, depressed etc. Most Christians think that this is just symbolic and general but it isn’t. Jesus literally became these things at the Cross.