As Christians, we are constantly reminded that Jesus bore our sins, and thus, we are set free. Peter emphasized this in 1 Peter 2:24, “‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds, you have been healed.’”
According to this verse, Jesus suffered for doing good without retaliating towards those who mistreated Him to achieve His mission.
Jesus’ refusal to react against those who mistreated Him, was His way of showing that He trusted the Father to be the just judge and make everything right, as stated in 1 Peter 2:23, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
These verses are so reassuring and yet they still pose a question to us as Christians. What does it truly mean when Christ bore our sins? What should we do in exchange for this undeniably selfless act that our Lord Jesus Christ gifted to us?
What Is the Importance of 1 Peter 2:24?
We would have remained lost in our sin if Jesus had not willingly endured unjust suffering. Instead, on the cross, Jesus bore, or “carried,” our sins.
He did die to pay the price for our sins. He took our place and died the death we, ultimately, deserve.
He went through pain so that we could be free of sin. We have been set free as a result of that deed, thanks to God’s grace and our faith in Christ. As a result, believers are free from the cost of our sin, as well as from the ability of evil to poison our decisions.
Christians can now live righteously because of Jesus’ suffering. We don’t have to sin; we have the option of making good decisions that please and honor God, as stated in 1 Corinthians 10:13,
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
How Did Christ’s Wounds Free Us from the Penalty of Sin?
Christ’s wounds, His death in our place, and His suffering for our good have freed us from the penalty and power of our sin as Christians. Jesus’ wounds, his suffering, are how Christians are healed and forgiven of their sins by God.
Through His one-time sin sacrifice on the cross, Jesus paid the eternal punishment for anyone who would believe, as stated in 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.”
He could pay the eternal punishment of human sin in one ultimate sacrifice because He is God incarnate. Jesus was the ultimate Being to be sacrificed, in addition to paying the ultimate price of death on the cross. To put it another way, the ideal God took on the shape of a human and made the perfect sacrifice.
As a result, the cost of human sin has been paid in full. All that is left is for those who believe in Him to receive the gift of salvation, as stated in John 1:12-13,
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
Before Christ’s death, Jewish priests were compelled to make frequent sacrifices for the people’s sins. However, Hebrews 10:11-12 states that this changed with Jesus’ sacrifice:
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
Why Did Jesus Christ Bear Our Sins?
A recurring sacrifice was no longer required — Christ’s sacrifice was and continues to be adequate for all time, as stated in Hebrews 10:14, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
Jesus Christ, the perfect God-man, made the ideal, adequate payment for sin. For their sin against the infinite God, finite beings would have to pay an unpayable price. However, because Jesus is God, He can, in total, make a one-time payment to cover our infinite sin.
Rather than spending eternity in torment for humanity’s sins, He might give Himself as a one-time, faultless sacrifice. Those who trust in Him are saved and forgiven of their sins, and they are granted abundant life now, as stated in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
And in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
What Does it Mean That Jesus Bore Our Sins?
What does it mean that Jesus bore our sins? It means that Jesus endured all suffering, His wounds freed us from the penalties of sin and that He alone was enough to serve as the atonement of our sins. What does this mean for us in the modern-day Church?
It means that we should always thank Jesus for His sacrifice in our daily lives because He bore our sins, and because of Him, we are freed from bondage.
It also means that we should thank God the Father for deciding to give His only begotten Son to the world to bore the sins of man because, without His judgment, we would still be in bondage.
For further reading:
Why Does Sin Desire to Have Us? (Genesis 4:7)
Are We Born with or Do We Learn a Sinful Nature?
If We Confess Our Sins, Will We Be Forgiven from All Unrighteousness?
How and to Whom Did Jesus Pay Our Ransom?
Why Did Jesus Become Sin When He Knew No Sin?
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Gift Habeshaw
Glory Dy has been a content creator for more than 10 years. She lives in a quiet suburb with her family and four cats.
