“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Galatians 3:13
What might the average Jewish person have said about the cross in Jesus’ day? Almost certainly that it was a place where the most wicked people were executed; somewhere criminals were cursed. The question for today is, “If the Cross was once seen as a symbol of a curse, how has it become the greatest symbol of blessing for all mankind?”
When Adam and Eve sinned and were cast out of the Garden of Eden, God said to them, “…Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field” (Genesis 3:17-18).
The death of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary abolished the curse and canceled every argument against us. Jesus once said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. (John 12:32). When He was resurrected, He was “lifted up.”
Not only did Jesus announce His sacrifice, but the Holy Spirit confirmed through Caiaphas the high priest said that it was necessary for one man to die in order to prevent an entire nation from perishing. The words that came from his mouth were prophetic because he was the high priest at the time (John 11:50-51).
However, when He was resurrected a new generation was also born, a people with a new genetic code. This is why Jesus promised, “I will draw all men unto me.”
When Jesus was crucified, the Cross was that tree. The Cross was made out of wood from a tree and was the place where Jesus took every curse that was upon us, in order to give us His blessings. The evil that was present in our fallen nature, was placed upon Jesus. It was on the Cross where He died, that our old nature was completely destroyed. When we have faith in Jesus, who was free from sin, all His goodness will be transferred to us.
The Apostle Paul, who understood this great truth, wrote, “May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
On one occasion, I was speaking with a young woman who said to me, “Pastor, I have attended church since I was a child and I became a Christian at the age of fourteen. My family went to church too. However, a moment came in my life when I got fed up with being a good person and said to myself, ‘I want to experience the world.’” She lived together with a young man who was an unbeliever. Four and a half years later, while going through some pregnancy tests, she discovered that she had contracted AIDS. This news devastated her and she ran away from the man she was with. She decided to come back to church and heard the teaching regarding the change of our spiritual DNA. She was desperately looking for a way out of her situation. One day she felt stirred to prayer, and began asking God to change her spiritual DNA for that of Jesus’. She did this just before she went to the doctors for another check-up. A few days later she received the results of the tests she’d had, but was too afraid to read them. The doctor later asked her, “Did you see the results?” She said, “No. Could you read them for me?” The doctor’s reply was, “Of course, but you realize that we couldn’t find anything wrong with you.” She was shocked at the news! Finally, she told me, “Pastor, I experienced a physical healing when God changed my blood, my spiritual DNA!” This is exactly what God wants to do with every one of us. He wants us to have a complete change in our DNA.
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“The bad person I once was remains on the Cross with Jesus, and all His goodness comes to my life in abundance.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Two.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
- Old Testament: Joshua 8-9; Psalms 75
- New Testament: Mark 1:35-45; 1 Corinthians 3
