"And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance" (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).
"...a hanged man is cursed by God." Did you catch that?
Paul quotes this verse in Galatians 3:13:
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'"
Stop and think about that.
God knew when He gave the command to the Israelites that His eternally-loved Son would die on a cross.
God is the one who said, "a hanged man is cursed by God."
He didn't say that about any other form of capital punishment.
So why would God, who loved His Son perfectly for all eternity, curse His Son?
Look back at Galatians 3:13. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us."
It wasn't for any other reason than that God the Father and God the Son wanted to redeem you and me from the curse of the law.
The crucifixion is so much more than a horrible bloody death.
Jesus Christ died on the cross and became cursed by His Father. Not because of His crimes, but because of yours and mine.
Wow! What an expression of love toward you and me!
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