He who bore our curse

We like to think of God as someone who blesses us. And while it’s true that God prefers to bless us, He is fully capable of cursing us, too.

Take the fall of man, for example. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent, Satan, tempted the couple into sin. Then, God cursed all of humanity.

To Eve, God said, “‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you’” (Gen. 3:16 NKJV).

To Adam, God said, “‘Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return’” (Gen. 3:17-19 NKJV).

It’s the sin of humanity. The brokenness, imperfection, and chaos. It’s the curse of God. And while it may seem strange that God would curse His creation, we must remember that God is perfectly holy and cannot embrace sin (see 1 John 3:4-5).

“‘Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known’” (Deut. 11:26-28 NKJV).

It all seems hopeless. How can anyone possibly live a blessed life? I mean, nobody is able to keep the law and obey God in every little detail of life.

In the book of Mark, Jesus shared a great example of what it means to be cursed.

Jesus was hungry. He approached a fig tree, hoping to get a fruit. But the tree was fruitless. Jesus responded by cursing the tree, saying, “‘May no one ever eat your fruit again!’” (Mark 11:14 NLT).

“The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, ‘Look Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!’” (Mark 11:20-21 NLT).

Now, humor me for a moment. Part of me believes Jesus was “hangry.” He was angry because He was hungry. So Jesus cursed that stupid tree! Makes sense to me, but you can take it or leave it.

The real point I want to make with this passage is serious. You see, this story is an eye-opening picture of what happens to those cursed by God.

Remember Adam? Well, get this. “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Rom. 5:12 NLT).

God’s curse is for all of us sinners. We’re doomed. Hopeless. Bound to become dead, withered fig trees. But wait, there’s more!

“For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17 NLT).

God cursed humanity, but He never stopped loving us. His love was crazy and reckless enough to sacrifice His perfect Son for our sins.

“But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Gal. 3:13 NLT).

Let this encourage you. When you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, God’s curse is destroyed.

“‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’” (John 3:16 KJV).

An endless gift of love and grace—that’s Jesus, He who bore our curse.