'Tis Sweet

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

“A kid’ll eat the middle of and Oreo first, and save the chocolate cookie outside for last.” So went the old commercial for Oreo Cookies, a product which to this day remains highly popular, even to the extent there are some members of the clergy who wear that attribution either proudly or pejoratively.

The sweetest part of a confection; the sweetest morsels; the proverbial icing on the cake: this is what a child’s palate is most inclined to consume before anything else, just as having one’s hand caught in the cookie jar as a child was the proverbial no-no.

When you are told that God “made Him whew knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” you are hearing one of the sweetest morsels that could ever be written, spoken, delivered to your ears. Bear with a few paragraphs here and consider with me just what this means. If words could be candy there would be none as sweet as this.

First of all, it is our Maker who did this; the one whom we’ve offended deeply with our sin, which is infinitely worse than getting one’s hand caught in any cookie jar. The heart of man is evil from his youth. The offense started early. It continues daily. It isn’t just an occasional “oops” where we get carried away to satisfy ourselves for a little while and get caught in the process. No, it is a sinful nature inherited from Adam and stuck to us till our baptism is complete in the grave and resurrection.

But because it is our Maker Whom we have offended, He, and He alone, can make all things new. He calls things that are not as though they are, and so He is fully able and willing to call our sin as though it is not, and thus wipe it away forever.

How is this done? By offering Christ Jesus as the ultimate sin offering on our behalf. Did you notice how boldly and unequivocally this is written: He was made to be sin. Cyril of Alexandria put it this way: "[W]e do not say that Christ became a sinner. Far from it, but being just, or rather in actuality justice, for he did not know sin, the Father made him a victim for the sins of the world."

And that’s not all. The Apostle here gladly uses the broad sense of “we” when he writes of becoming the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This Righteousness is not just for prophets, Apostles, and those whom we think to be superior in some way. This Righteousness is for you, who once were dead in trespasses and sin.

This is the sweetest comfort and joy; the icing on the cake, and we partake of this sweetness as we participate in the Holy Supper where Jesus’ tender mercies, love, righteousness, forgiveness, and eternal life are surely present and given among poor, weak children who sin daily and much. This is a sweetness your Father in heaven desires to bestow upon you lavishly. It is His greatest desire as He loves you with His whole Being.