Jesus’ Sacrificial Death | 2 Cor. 5:11-21
Paul is writing to believers reminding them of the gospel message and the love of Christ. This message is the only message that has the power to change lives forever and gives us a home in heaven. Some people thought that Paul was crazy for living like he did, suffering for Jesus and to preaching a message like he did. But yet, Paul understood that in light of what God did for him, he “could no longer live for himself but for the one who died for him.” Paul staked his life on the message of the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul gives us the gospel message in a nutshell; Martin Luther called it “The great exchange.” In it we see that Jesus lived a life that I could not have lived, died a death I should have died and won a war that I could never win. In Jesus’ sacrificial life, we see that He died a death that I deserved to die, for our sake as a substitute to satisfy the justice of God.