Every Friday
At the Cross, God Crossed His Hands
By J.D. Greear
When Jacob was preparing to bless Joseph’s oldest son in Genesis 48, he crossed his hands and blessed the younger son instead, bestowing on him the inheritance and position of privilege intended for his brother. Joseph protested, but Jacob said, “No, this is how God would have it.” It was a picture of the coming Messiah.
At the cross, God crossed his hands. He gave to Jesus what was coming to you—God’s wrath and death—and to you what was coming to Jesus—an eternal inheritance as God’s child. It was the great exchange. Paul uses two words in this chapter to describe Christ’s sacrifice: total and substitutionary.
First, Christ’s sacrifice was total. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:15 that Jesus “died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (ESV).
Christ died for you, withholding nothing. He didn’t tithe his blood; he gave it all. And your response should be the same, giving God not just a portion of your life but every part of it.
Second, Christ’s sacrifice was substitutionary. Paul says, “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). His sacrifice was an exchange for you. On the cross, he took your place of condemnation, becoming your sin, and gave you his position of privilege so you could become his righteousness.
The response to Christ’s sacrifice, Paul says, is generosity. In fact, in the context of this passage, Paul is defending himself against the charge that he’s crazy because of his generosity (2 Corinthians 5:13). When your life is changed by the gospel, you take what you earn and you bestow it onto others.
You cross your hands.
You determine that the benefit of your success or your talent will not be for yourself but for the lost world. You display the generosity of Christ.
Remember the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ—and then be that way to others.
Reflections
If you saw your resources as gifts to leverage for someone else, how would it change the way you give?
How does Paul’s description of Christ’s sacrifice—total and substitutionary—change the way you think about the gospel and/or your response to it?
Prayer
Thank God that Christ took your place, exchanging your sin for his righteousness. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you be sensitive to the ways he is calling you to be generous in response.