Jesus Became Sin? Does Scripture Teach That Jesus Literally Became Sin?

 

Often we hear some professing christians & preachers teach & boldly assert that Jesus became sin, that on the cross Jesus was made to become sin itself and when he died, sin died. 

They strongly believe this is what scripture teaches in 2nd Corinthians 5:21 but is this true?

The truth is Jesus never became sin and couldn't have become sin, scripture in 2nd Corinthians 5:21 says he was "made sin for us"...."poieō harmatia huper hēmōn" which in essence is made a "sin-offering" for us.

In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for sin sometimes means "sin offering". 

For example in Genesis 4:7 where God said to Cain: "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him"; The word translated as "sin" in the common english version of this verse is "chaṭṭâ'âh" which is actually a sin offering and the word "lieth" used in the text is "râbats" which means to crouch (on all four legs folded, like a recumbent animal).

In other words, God was telling Cain that if he didn't do well he can still make amends like an atonement for his wrong doing by taking the animal that laid/crouched by the door to offer it as sin offering. 

Speaking of this animal/sin offering God further said to Cain: "unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." In other words it is an animal subject to you, an animal that is not wild or restive as to resist being offered as a sacrifice. This is typical of the animals that God chose to be used for sacrifice in the shadows of the old testament, none was wild or restive.

In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), the same word (hamartia) is frequently used for both sin and sin offering.

What the apostle was thus saying to the Corinthian saints is that 

"God made Christ to be a sin offering for us."

This is consistent with Isaiah's prophecy:

"When You make His soul an offering for sin..." (Isaiah 53:10).

Jesus bore our sins, but did not become a sinner let alone becoming sin itself. 

The typical lamb of the old covenant used as sin offering never became sin itself so I wonder where some people read such a defiled thought into scripture, that Jesus literally became sin itself.

The fact is that the sin-offering was presented to God of old as bearing the "sin" of the one who presented it. This is consistent with what 1st Peter 2:24 teaches that Christ himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree and not that Christ became sin.

The difference between the old and the new is that he who bore and presented the sin offering to God in the new testament is Christ himself who had no sin of His own and emphatically knew no sin. He could not otherwise have presented it; for it was an offering of Himself, and that must be a spotless offering to be accepted. But He stood, therefore, before God as identified with the sin of others which He had taken upon Himself & endured the judgment unto death.

Ephesians 5:2 teaches same, that Christ gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

If Christ literally became sin itself, then He wouldn't be the spotless Lamb of God in taking away the sin of the world. The New Testament consistently maintains His perfect, spotless, holiness even in his being offered as a sacrifice for sin.

"The precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:19). That speaks of him as having been slain, an offering for sin yet without blemish & spot.

Even while bearing our sins on the cross and in his death & descent into hades, he remained the Holy One, thus God did not leave his soul in hades, it was impossible for the pangs/power of death to detain him thus his flesh did not see corruption/decay in the tomb - Acts 2:24, 27 & 31.