Galatians 3:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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" —

NIV: 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 pole."

NASB: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: 'CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE'—

CSB: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

NLT: But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.'

KJV: 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:

NKJV: Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),

Paul spent the previous verses arguing from the Old Testament Scriptures themselves that the law cannot save us. The Judaizers are trying to convince the Christians in Galatia that they need to believe in Jesus, and in addition they need to continue to follow the law of Moses (Galatians 2:4). From Deuteronomy, Habakkuk, and Leviticus, Paul has shown that to live by faith and to live under the law are not compatible. They can't be merged.

So what are we to do? Paul showed that living under the law is to spend our days under the threat of being cursed by God for breaking the law. Unfortunately, we all break it somehow, meaning that according to the law all men are doomed. We're cursed. Now Paul turns to the answer and the focus of all of his teaching: Jesus Christ.

Christ did for us what we could not do. He redeemed us from the curse of the law. The word "redeemed," from the Greek exēgorasen, specifically refers to buying someone out of slavery. Christ did that for us, Paul says, by taking our curse on Himself. Paul again quotes from Deuteronomy: Everyone hanged on a tree is cursed (Deuteronomy 21:23). Even the way Jesus was killed was evidence that He had become cursed in our place.

This great verse contains the essence of the "good news"—the "gospel"—of Jesus in a nutshell. Because none of us could follow the law without breaking it, all of us were cursed by it. We were separated from God, not declared righteous by Him. Then Christ stepped in and took our curse on Himself and paid the price of the curse, which is death and separation from God. That frees us from the law and creates the opportunity for us to be saved by faith.

Galatians 3:10–14 describes Paul's argument that blessing does not come by following the law of Moses. In fact, the rules described in the law bring the threat of God's curse if anyone fails to keep them in any way. Since all fail to keep it perfectly, no one can be justified—made right before God—by the law. Paul quotes three Old Testament Scriptures to show this is true, and that Christ took this curse on Himself when He died for our sin on the cross. That's how the blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles who believe in Christ by faith.

Paul indicates the Galatian Christians are foolish for believing they need to follow the law of Moses to be right with God. He offers three specific arguments to support this. First, they received God's Spirit in a powerful way after believing in Jesus, but before doing any works of the law. Second, Scripture itself shows God's blessing coming by faith, and His curse coming by the law. Christ paid the price of that curse on the cross. Third, God's covenant with Abraham is like a legal document, and it cannot be revoked.

In Galatians chapter 2, Paul declared that we can only be justified—''made right with God''—by faith in Christ and not by following the law of Moses. In chapter 3, Paul offers three arguments for why that is true. He argues from the Galatians own experience, from the Scriptures themselves, and from the legal standpoint of a covenant contract. Finally, Paul answers what the law is for if it cannot save us from our sin. In part, it reveals our sinfulness and convinces us of our need to be saved by faith in Christ. The following chapter will expand on what it means to be an ''heir,'' spiritually.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.