Theological Reflection

The Great Exchange

He became sin, that we might become righteous.

Good Friday Devotional
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April 3, 2026
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By An Expositor

“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

Good Friday draws us to a place where everything is stripped back. The noise falls away. The distractions lose their grip. We are brought to a hill, to a cross, to a dying man.

And yet this is no ordinary death. This is the centre of all history, the hinge of salvation, the place where God deals with sin once and for all.

Here we see the great exchange.

He Became Sin

The language of Scripture is staggering. He made Him to be sin. Not sinful, for Christ never sinned. Not merely bearing sin in some distant or symbolic way. He was made to be sin.

The sinless Son of God stood in the place of sinners. Every failure, every act of rebellion, every hidden thought, every word spoken against God was laid upon Him. The guilt was counted as His. The judgment fell on Him.

This is not theory. This is not metaphor. This is reality.

At the cross, Jesus Christ stands as the substitute. He takes what belongs to us. He bears what we deserve. He enters into the full weight of divine judgment.

The darkness that falls over Calvary is not accidental. It is the sign that the Son is drinking the cup of wrath. The cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is not dramatic language. It is the true experience of the sin bearer under judgment.

Good Friday is not simply about suffering. It is about substitution.

The Reality of His Death

Jesus did not appear to die. He did not come close to death. He died.

The Gospels are clear and deliberate. His body was broken. His strength gave way. His life was poured out. He breathed His last.

This matters. Because if He did not truly die, then sin has not truly been dealt with.

But He did die. The Son of God entered fully into death. The wages of sin were paid in full. The penalty was not postponed or reduced. It was exhausted.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “There is no hope for us outside of the death of Christ. Everything depends upon it.”

Everything depends on this moment. Not on our effort. Not on our sincerity. Not on our future improvement. On His death.

When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” He was not expressing relief. He was declaring completion. The work was done. The price was paid. The sacrifice was accepted.

We Become Righteous

The exchange does not stop with Christ taking our sin. It moves to us receiving His righteousness.

So that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is just as astonishing. We are not merely forgiven and left neutral. We are counted righteous. The perfect obedience of Christ is credited to us.

God does not look at the believer and see a mixture of failure and effort. He sees the righteousness of His Son.

This is why Good Friday leads to assurance. If Christ has taken all our sin, and if we have received all His righteousness, then there is nothing left to condemn.

The verdict has already been spoken.

Righteous.

In Him

All of this is found in Him. Not in ourselves. Not in our performance. Not in our ability to hold on.

Union with Christ is everything. We are in Him. And because we are in Him, what is His becomes ours.

His death counts for us. His righteousness covers us. His standing before the Father is now our standing.

This is why the cross is both humbling and comforting. Humbling, because it shows the depth of our sin. Comforting, because it shows the sufficiency of His work.

There is nothing left for us to add. Nothing left for us to prove. Nothing left for us to earn.

Only to receive.

Come to the Cross

Good Friday calls us to look again. Not quickly, not casually, but carefully.

See Him there. The sinless One made sin. The righteous One condemned. The living One dying.

And understand that this was for us.

The great exchange means that our sin has been dealt with fully, and that a perfect righteousness is now offered freely in Christ.

Do not look to yourself. You will only find uncertainty there. Look to the cross.

Because everything depends on this.

And here, at Calvary, everything has been done.

Our Sympathetic High Priest

Drawing near with confidence, not fear.

Devotional Reflection
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March 13, 2026
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By An Expositor

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession… Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.” Hebrews 4:14,16

The Christian life is not only lived under a secure verdict. It is lived with a present Saviour. The One who secured our justification has not withdrawn into distance. He has passed through the heavens, and He remains our great High Priest.

A Priest Who Understands

Hebrews insists that Christ is not unable to sympathise with our weaknesses. He was tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin. That does not mean He merely observed temptation. He felt its weight. He endured its pressure. He knows the pull of suffering, hunger, rejection, and weariness.

Yet He did so without yielding. His sinlessness does not distance Him from us. It qualifies Him to help us. He understands the battle better than we do, because He endured it to the end.

This is not sentimental empathy. It is holy sympathy grounded in real experience.

A Throne of Grace

The language is striking. We are invited to draw near to a throne. A throne speaks of authority and rule. Yet it is called a throne of grace. Power and mercy meet in the same place.

Left to ourselves, we would hesitate. Sinners do not naturally approach thrones. But our Priest stands there for us. His finished sacrifice has opened the way. The curtain is torn. The access is real.

We are not summoned to earn favour. We are invited to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Confidence, Not Carelessness

The confidence Hebrews speaks of is not flippancy. It is settled assurance. We come boldly because Christ stands faithfully. Our confidence rests not in our consistency, but in His priestly work.

There will be days when prayer feels thin. Days when sin clings closely. Days when suffering presses hard. On those days especially, we are told to draw near.

The throne has not changed its character. It remains a throne of grace.

Holding Fast

The writer joins two exhortations together. Hold fast your confession. Draw near with confidence. Perseverance and prayer belong together. We cling to Christ publicly and privately.

We do not hold fast by strength of will alone. We hold fast because our Priest holds us. He intercedes. He represents. He sustains.

Look up, then, to the One who has passed through the heavens. He is not distant. He is not indifferent. He is your great High Priest. And His throne is still a throne of grace.