Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written: Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

“Then I replied, "Just as God commanded the sign to be made by the brazen serpent, and yet He is blameless; even so, though a curse lies in the law against persons who are crucified, yet no curse lies on the Christ of God, by whom all that have committed things worthy of a curse are saved. For the whole human race will be found to be under a curse. For it is written in the law of Moses, 'Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them.' And no one has accurately done all, nor will you venture to deny this; but some more and some less than others have observed the ordinances enjoined. But if those who are under this law appear to be under a curse for not having observed all the requirements, how much more shall all the nations appear to be under a curse who practise idolatry, who seduce youths, and commit other crimes? If, then, the Father of all wished His Christ for the whole human family to take upon Him the curses of all, knowing that, after He had been crucified and was dead, He would raise Him up, why do you argue about Him, who submitted to suffer these things according to the Father's will, as if He were accursed, and do not rather bewail yourselves? For although His Father caused Him to suffer these things in behalf of the human family, yet you did not commit the deed as in obedience to the will of God. For you did not practise piety when you slew the prophets. And let none of you say: If His Father wished Him to suffer this, in order that by His stripes the human race might be healed, we have done no wrong. If, indeed, you repent of your sins, and recognise Him to be Christ, and observe His commandments, then you may assert this; for, as I have said before, remission of sins shall be yours. But if you curse Him and them that believe on Him, and, when you have the power, put them to death, how is it possible that requisition shall not be made of you, as of unrighteous and sinful men, altogether hard-hearted and without understanding, because you laid your hands on Him?"”

“And everywhere, when [referring to] the passion of our Lord, and to His human nature, and His subjection to death, he employs the name of Christ, as in that passage: "Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died." And again: "But now, in Christ, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." And again: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree." And again: "And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died;" indicating that the impassible Christ did not descend upon Jesus, but that He Himself, because He was Jesus Christ, suffered for us; He, who lay in the tomb, and rose again, who descended and ascended,-the Son of God having been made the Son of man, as the very name itself doth declare. For in the name of Christ is implied, He that anoints, He that is anointed, and the unction itself with which He is anointed. And it is the Father who anoints, but the Son who is anointed by the Spirit, who is the unction, as the Word declares by Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me,"-pointing out both the anointing Father, the anointed Son, and the unction, which is the Spirit.”

“Concerning the last step, plainly, of His passion you raise a doubt; affirming that the passion of the cross was not predicted with reference to Christ, and urging, besides, that it is not credible that God should have exposed His own Son to that kind of death; because Himself said, "Cursed is every one who shall have hung on a tree." But the reason of the case antecedently explains the sense of this malediction; for He says in Deuteronomy: "If, moreover, (a man) shall have been (involved) in some sin incurring the judgment of death, and shall die, and ye shall suspend him on a tree, his body shall not remain on the tree, but with burial ye shall bury him on the very day; because cursed by God is every one who shall have been suspended on a tree; and ye shall not defile the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee for (thy) lot.”

“In reality, the people were subject to another curse, which says, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in the things that are written in the book of the Law." To this curse, I say, people were subject, for no man had continued in, or was a keeper of, the whole Law; but Christ exchanged this curse for the other, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." As then both he who hanged on a tree, and he who transgresses the Law, is cursed, and as it was necessary for him who is about to relieve from a curse himself to be free from it, but to receive another instead of it, therefore Christ took upon Him such another, and thereby relieved us from the curse. It was like an innocent man's undertaking to die for another sentenced to death, and so rescuing him from punishment. For Christ took upon Him not the curse of transgression, but the other curse, in order to remove that of others. For, "He had done no violence neither was any deceit in His mouth." And as by dying He rescued from death those who were dying, so by taking upon Himself the curse, He delivered them from it.”

“Having set forth the harm inflicted by the law, and the law's defect in being unable to rescue man from it, here the Apostle consequently shows the power of Christ freeing us from that very harm. And first he shows how through Christ we are freed from that harm; second, how we also acquire help from Christ beyond this, at the place "that upon the Gentiles," etc. Concerning the first he does three things. For first he sets forth the authority of the liberation; second, the manner of the liberation, at the place "made for us," etc.; third, the prophetic testimony, at the place "for it is written," etc. He says therefore first: whoever kept the works of the law were under the curse, as has been said, and they could not be freed through the law. Therefore it was necessary to have someone who would free us, and this one was Christ. And therefore he says "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law," etc. Romans 8:3: "what was impossible for the law," etc., "God sending his own Son," namely Christ, etc. "He redeemed," I say, "us," namely the Jews, with his precious blood, Apocalypse 5:9: "you have redeemed us in blood," etc. Isaiah 43:1: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you," etc. "From the curse of the law," that is, from guilt and punishment. Below, chapter 4, verse 5: "that he might redeem those who were under the law"; Hosea 13:14: "I will redeem them from death." He sets forth the manner of the liberation when he says "made a curse for us." Here it should be noted that a curse is what is called an evil. And according to a twofold evil, a twofold curse can be spoken of, namely the curse of guilt and the curse of punishment. And in both ways this text can be read: in two ways he was made a curse for us. And first indeed concerning the evil of guilt. For Christ redeemed us from the evil of guilt. Hence just as he redeemed us from death by dying, so he redeemed us from the curse of guilt by being made a curse, namely of guilt — not indeed that there was any sin in him, "who committed no sin, nor deceit," etc., as is said in 1 Peter 2:22, but according to the opinion of men, and especially of the Jews who considered him a sinner. John 18:30: "If he were not an evildoer, we would not have handed him over to you." And therefore concerning this it is said in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "Him who knew no sin, he made to be sin for us." But he says "a curse," not "cursed," in order to show that the Jews considered him utterly wicked. Hence it is said in John 9:16: "This man is not from God," etc.; and John 10:33: "It is not for a good work that we stone you, but for sin and for blasphemy." And therefore he says "he was made a curse for us," in the abstract; as if to say: he was made the very curse itself. Second, it is explained concerning the evil of punishment. For Christ freed us from punishment by sustaining our punishment and death, which indeed came upon us from the very curse of sin. Insofar, therefore, as he took up this curse of sin by dying for us, he is said to have been made a curse for us. And it is similar to what is said in Romans 8:3: "God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh," that is, of mortal flesh. "Him who knew no sin," namely Christ, who committed no sin — God, namely the Father, "made to be sin for us," 2 Corinthians 5:21, that is, made him suffer the punishment of sin, namely when he was offered up on account of our sins. Consequently he sets forth the testimony of Scripture when he says "for it is written: cursed is everyone," etc. And this is Deuteronomy 27. Here it should be known, according to the Gloss, that in Deuteronomy, whence this word is taken, both in our texts and in the Hebrew codices it is found: "cursed by God is everyone," etc.; but that phrase, namely "by God," is not found in the ancient Hebrew volumes, whence it is believed that it was added by the Jews after the Lord's passion, for the disgrace of Christ. Now the authority can be explained concerning the evil of punishment and the evil of guilt. Concerning the evil of guilt thus: "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree," not because he hangs on a tree, but on account of the guilt for which he hangs. And in this way Christ was reckoned cursed while hanging on the cross, because he was punished especially by such a punishment. And according to this it is connected to what precedes. For the Lord commanded in Deuteronomy that whoever was hanged should be taken down in the evening; and the reason for this is that this punishment was more base and more ignominious than the others. He says therefore: he was truly made a curse for us, because the very death of the cross, which he sustained, suffices for a curse — explaining it in this way concerning the evil of guilt, but only in the estimation of the Jews, since it is written "cursed is everyone," etc. But concerning the evil of punishment it is explained thus: "cursed is everyone who," etc., because the punishment itself is the curse, namely that he died in this way. And explaining it in this way, he was truly cursed by God, because God ordained that he should sustain this punishment, in order to free us. Consequently, when he says "that upon the Gentiles the blessing," etc., he sets forth the hope which we acquire through Christ, beyond the fact that through him we are freed from the curse — as is said in Romans 5:16: "not as the offense, so also the gift"; rather it is much greater, namely because it frees from sin, and confers grace. First, then, he sets forth the fruit, and to whom it is given, saying "that upon the Gentiles the blessing of Abraham," etc.; as if to say: he was made a curse for us, not only that he might remove the curse, but that upon the Gentiles, who were not under the curse of the law, the blessing of Abraham might come to be, as promised in Genesis 22:18: "in your seed shall all nations be blessed," etc. And this blessing indeed was made to us, that is, was fulfilled, through Christ, who is of the seed of Abraham, to whom the promises were spoken, and to his seed, who is Christ, as is said below. And this blessing and fruit is that we might receive the promise of the Spirit, that is, the promises which the Holy Spirit makes in us, namely concerning eternal blessedness — who, given to us as a kind of pledge and guarantee, promises it to us, as is found in Ephesians 1:14 and 2 Corinthians chapter 6. And indeed it is given as a pledge for the sake of certainty. For a pledge is a certain sure promise concerning a thing to be received. Romans 5: "for you have not received the spirit of servitude," etc., and below: "if sons, then heirs also." Or "that we might receive the promise of the Spirit," that is, the Holy Spirit himself; as if to say: let us receive the promise made concerning the Holy Spirit to the seed of Abraham, Joel 2:28: "I will pour out of my spirit," etc.; because through the Holy Spirit we are joined to Christ, and are made the seed of Abraham, and worthy of the blessing. Second, he shows through what this fruit comes to us, saying "through faith," through which indeed we also acquire the eternal inheritance. Hebrews 9: "he who approaches God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him." Through faith also we acquire the Holy Spirit, because, as is said in Acts 5:32, "the Lord gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him," namely through faith.”

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,.... The Redeemer is Christ, the Son of God; who was appointed and called to this work by his Father, and which he himself agreed to; he was spoken of in prophecy under this character; he came as such, and has obtained eternal redemption, for which he was abundantly qualified; as man, he was a near kinsman, to whom the right of redemption belonged; and as God, he was able to accomplish it. The persons redeemed are "us", God's elect, both of Jews and Gentiles; a peculiar people, the people of Christ, whom the Father gave unto him; some out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation: the blessing obtained for them is redemption; a buying of them again, as the word signifies; they were his before by the Father's gift, and now he purchases them with the price of his own blood, and so delivers them "from the curse of the law"; its sentence of condemnation and death, and the execution of it; so that they shall never be hurt by it, he having delivered them from wrath to come, and redeemed from the second death, the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. The manner in which this was done was by being made a curse for us; the sense of which is, not only that he was like an accursed person, looked upon as such by the men of that wicked generation, who hid and turned away their faces from as an abominable execrable person, calling him a sinner, a Samaritan, and a devil; but was even accursed by the law; becoming the surety of his people, he was made under the law, stood in their legal place and stead and having the sins of them all imputed to him, and answerable for them, the law finding them on him, charges him with them, and curses him for them; yea, he was treated as such by the justice of God, even by his Father, who spared him not, awoke the sword of justice against him, and gave him up into his hands; delivered him up to death, even the accursed death of the cross, whereby it appeared that he was made a curse: "made", by the will, counsel, and determination of God, and not without his own will and free consent; for he freely laid down his life, and gave himself, and made his soul an offering for sin: for it is written. Deu 21:23, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree: it is in the Hebrew text, "he that is hanged": which is the very name the Jews (y) commonly call Christ by way of reproach; that is, "everyone that hangeth", as the apostle rightly renders it; which is always the sense of an indefinite phrase, unless a restriction is put: adding out of the same verse, "on the tree", by way of explanation; for which he cannot upon any account be found fault with, since it is manifest one hanged on a tree is meant, "who is accursed of God", or "the curse of God"; the curse of God, in vindicating his righteous law, was visibly on such a person; as it was on Christ, when he hung on the cross, in the room and stead of his people; for he was made a curse, not for himself, or for any sins of his own, but for us; in our room and stead, for our sins, and to make atonement for them: upon the whole, the Jew (z) has no reason to find fault as he does, either with the apostle's sense, or citation of this passage; for whether it be rendered "hangeth", or is "hanged", the sense is the same; and though the apostle leaves out the word "God", it is clear from what he says, that his meaning is, that the curse of God lighted upon Christ as the surety of his people, standing in their legal place and stead, in order to redeem them from the law and its curse; since he says, he was "made a curse" for them, which must be done by the Lord himself: and whereas the Jew objects, that it is impossible that anyone, even an Israelite, should be delivered from the curses of the law, but by the observance of it, this shows his ignorance of the law, which, in case of sin, requires a penalty, and which is its curse; and it is not future observance of the law will free from that: and as for the Gentiles, he says, to whom the law was not given, and who were never under it, they are free from the curses of it, without a redemption; but as this is to be, understood not of the ceremonial, but of the moral law, it is a mistake; the Gentiles are under the moral law, and being guilty of the violation of it, are liable to its curse; and cannot be delivered from it, but through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; by virtue of which, they have a part and portion in the blessings promised as follows. (y) Vid. Buxtorf. Lexic. Talmudie. col. 2596. (z) R. Isaac Chizzuk Emuna, par. 2. c. 89. p. 469.”

“Christ hath redeemed us - Εξηγορασεν· Hath bought us with a price; viz. his blood, or life. Being made a curse for us - Being made an atonement for our sins; for whatever was offered as an atonement for sin was considered as bearing the punishment due to sin, and the person who suffered for transgression was considered as bearing the curse in his body; therefore, in the same day in which a criminal was executed it was ordered that his body should be buried, that the land might not be polluted, because he that was hanged, which was the case with every heinous culprit, was considered accursed of God, Deu 21:22, Deu 21:23; hence the necessity of removing the accursed Thing out of sight.”

“Abrupt exclamation, as he breaks away impatiently from those who would involve us again in the curse of the law, by seeking justification in it, to "Christ," who "has redeemed us from its curse." The "us" refers primarily to the Jews, to whom the law principally appertained, in contrast to "the Gentiles" (Gal 3:14; compare Gal 4:3-4). But it is not restricted solely to the Jews, as ALFORD thinks; for these are the representative people of the world at large, and their "law" is the embodiment of what God requires of the whole world. The curse of its non-fulfilment affects the Gentiles through the Jews; for the law represents that righteousness which God requires of all, and which, since the Jews failed to fulfil, the Gentiles are equally unable to fulfil. Gal 3:10, "As many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse," refers plainly, not to the Jews only, but to all, even Gentiles (as the Galatians), who seek justification by the law. The Jews' law represents the universal law which condemned the Gentiles, though with less clear consciousness on their part (Rom. 2:1-29). The revelation of God's "wrath" by the law of conscience, in some degree prepared the Gentiles for appreciating redemption through Christ when revealed. The curse had to be removed from off the heathen, too, as well as the Jews, in order that the blessing, through Abraham, might flow to them. Accordingly, the "we," in "that we might receive the promise of the Spirit," plainly refers to both Jews and Gentiles. redeemed us--bought us off from our former bondage (Gal 4:5), and "from the curse" under which all lie who trust to the law and the works of the law for justification. The Gentile Galatians, by putting themselves under the law, were involving themselves in the curse from which Christ has redeemed the Jews primarily, and through them the Gentiles. The ransom price He paid was His own precious blood (Pe1 1:18-19; compare Mat 20:28; Act 20:28; Co1 6:20; Co1 7:23; Ti1 2:6; Pe2 2:1; Rev 5:9). being made--Greek, "having become." a curse for us--Having become what we were, in our behalf, "a curse," that we might cease to be a curse. Not merely accursed (in the concrete), but a curse in the abstract, bearing the universal curse of the whole human race. So Co2 5:21, "Sin for us," not sinful, but bearing the whole sin of our race, regarded as one vast aggregate of sin. See Note there. "Anathema" means "set apart to God," to His glory, but to the person's own destruction. "Curse," an execration. written-- (Deu 21:23). Christ's bearing the particular curse of hanging on the tree, is a sample of the "general" curse which He representatively bore. Not that the Jews put to death malefactors by hanging; but after having put them to death otherwise, in order to brand them with peculiar ignominy, they hung the bodies on a tree, and such malefactors were accursed by the law (compare Act 5:30; Act 10:39). God's providence ordered it so that to fulfil the prophecy of the curse and other prophecies, Jesus should be crucified, and so hang on the tree, though that death was not a Jewish mode of execution. The Jews accordingly, in contempt, call Him Tolvi, "the hanged one," and Christians, "worshippers of the hanged one"; and make it their great objection that He died the accursed death [TRYPHO, in Justin Martyr, p. 249] (Pe1 2:24). Hung between heaven and earth as though unworthy of either!”