Answering the question at the top of the article means understanding what did and did not happen as Jesus died on the cross. It also means putting key verses back into their proper context. Beyond that, answering the question means defending the nature of Jesus.

To start with, the idea that Jesus became a sinner on the cross is something casually said by preachers of many denominational and brotherhood churches. It is often used as a strong emotional hook to tug the heartstrings of the sermon hearers: Tell them that Jesus, the sinless God|Man, became a sinner in order to save the world, and people are inclined to feel all the guilt, sorrow, and desire to do better that naturally comes with the preaching of the Gospel.

The problem is the claim completely undermines the nature of Jesus.

If, at any point, Jesus became a sinner, the scheme of redemption would have been ruined. His offering on the cross only works if He remains a Lamb without blemish. The verse commonly used to argue the claim is 2 Corinthians 5:7…

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.

(2 Corinthians 5:21)

So let’s ask the question: Does the phrase “made to be sin” necessarily imply that He was “turned into a sinner”? Let’s also ask if “turning into a sinner” is what happened when a sacrifice was laid on the altar. To answer the first, I would direct the reader’s attention to the phrase that follows immediately after “made Him to be sin for us,” which is: “who knew no sin.” If He knew no sin how could He become a sinner on the cross? Furthermore, did Jesus go to Hell when He died? If He became a sinner on the cross, and He died on the cross, then to take that doctrine to its logical conclusion we would have to conclude that Jesus died and His soul went to the tormenting place for all who die in sin.

Did Jesus go to Hell? Surely not! Work backward from Jesus’ statement, when He told the penitent criminal “today you’ll be with Me in paradise.” If Jesus went to paradise upon death then He didn’t die a sinner!

So then what does Paul mean when He says Jesus was “made to be sin for us?” The answer is found by simply observing what happened on the Cross. Jesus wasn’t killed by the Romans (though they oversaw His execution). Jesus wasn’t killed by the Jews (though they conspired against Him). Jesus wasn’t killed by Judas (though he sold his allegiance to Him). Jesus’ death was the Will of God. God sacrificed Jesus on the Cross.

God did to Jesus what He originally asked Abraham to do to Isaac: “Take your only begotten son and offer him on the altar” (Genesis 22:1-2, Hebrews 11:17).” Of course, God did not let Abraham go through with that sacrifice, but the point here is that Abraham was willing to sacrifice His Son before God stopped Him. How much more amazing is God, who did sacrifice His Son?!

Seeing the crucifixion scene framed as a sacrifice upon an altar makes it much easier to understand what Paul means here. Jesus was a sin offering, and sin offerings are sometimes simply called “sin.” For example…

They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

(Hosea 4:8)

How do you eat sin? You can’t, but you can eat a sin offering, which is exactly what Hosea is talking about in his text.

Jesus was made into a sin offering for the people. What was the point of Jesus being offered? To make us—sinners—righteous in Him. To dumb this verse down to just “Jesus became a sinner for you!” cheapens the greater meaning here and, arguably, blasphemes the Holy One. It becomes a parlor trick for preachers who are trying to make their audience cry instead of making them learn.

God took His Lamb (Jesus) and laid Him on the altar (the Cross) and sacrificed Him for our sins. When the Israelites offered a lamb in the Old Testament, the lamb wasn’t a sinner. The lamb was innocent. The lamb died instead of the sinner (the man)! The lamb died as if the lamb was guilty, without actually being guilty. The same thing happened with Jesus. We were guilty. He was innocent. He died an innocent, sinless offering FOR the sins that we the guilty, sinners committed. He died as if He was a sinner, because He died instead of sinners, while He remained perfect, holy, innocent, and sinless.

Words matter, and we should all take better care to use words that reflect the truth of the Gospel.

~ Matthew