A third interpretation, the one
adopted here, views the reference to sin sacrificially. This interpretation was
generally accepted until the time of the Reformation and has a solid basis for
authenticity. Writing to the Romans, whom he had not evangelized, Pal uses the
word peri hamartias (“for sin”) when he refers to Christ being a sin
offering (8:3). In writing to the Corinthians, Paul uses the shorter hamartian
(“sin”) instead of peri hamartias, perhaps to contrast literally “sin”
and the “righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). IT can be supposed that
Paul had previously explained to the Corinthians how the sacrifice of the OT
describe the sacrifice of Christ. IN any case, it is reasonable to assume that
even the Greek-speaking Jews would easily under the significance of the phrase “God
made him . . . to be sin” in this sacrificial sense. Luther gives this
interpretation as well, saying that when Scripture calls Christ a “curse” or “sin”
it means that he became a sacrifice for the curse or a sacrifice for sin.
The interpretation of Christ as a
“sacrifice for sin” in 2 Corinthians 5:21 reflects the suffering Servant
theology of Isaiah 53. The idea is that Christ, who has no sin, is made an
offering for sin so that humans might be reconciled to God. The same is said of
the Suffering Servant: though he has done no wrong, his life is given as a sin
offering, and many shall be justified through a knowledge of him (Isaiah
53:9-11). (Vee Chandler, Victorious Substitution: Exploring the Nature of Salvation
and Christ’s Atoning Work [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf & Stock, 2025], 148-49)
