For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

We are told that the Messiah knew no sin. He never acted out of his fleshly nature, never reached for the forbidden fruit, never defied the will of God. He stands sinless.

Spotless.

Morally pure.

Perfect.

But for our sake, he was transformed. Though he knew no sin, he has BECOME sin.

The spotless one has become blemished.

The pure one has become our defilements.

The perfect one has become our imperfections.

This means Jesus has become the grotesqueries we so desperately seek to cover and hide. He has become the secret, the shame, that which we dare not even whisper. He has become the sinful cancer infecting us that we have not yet even acknowledged. He has willingly become even this, for he has become sin.

He has become pride.

Rage.

Plagiarism.

Bitterness.

Pornography.

Gossip.

Overeating.

Theft.

Violence.

Slander.

Homosexuality.

Dishonesty.

Adultery.

Covetousness.

Hatred.

Greed.

Legalism.

Cheating.

Murder.

He has BECOME sin.

My sin.

Your sin.

Our sin.

And this so that we might become something else — that we might become the righteousness of God.

Praise the One who has become, that we might become.