Galatians 3:10-14

Please read the passage first.

Paul continues his second argument, part two of the argument, only this time from a negative perspective. In verse 10, for him, Deuteronomy 27:26, makes the argument that everyone who relies upon the works of the Law is under a curse. Quite likely, the meaning is that even if someone could obey the Law in in its entirety, one would still be under a curse. He will make the reason for this clear in verse 11, where he refers to Habakkuk 2:4, which says that the “righteous,” those who are right with God, will live by faith. He contrasts this in verse 12 with reference to Leviticus 18:5, which says that those who obey the Law will live. His point is that Law demands a way of life that it cannot produce. For Paul, the way of life that was open to those who perfectly obeyed the Law is now closed. We find the reason for this in verse 13, where Christ fulfills another Scripture, this time Deuteronomy 21:23. In that passage, anyone who hangs upon a tree is cursed. Joshua 10:26-27 has five Canaanite kings hung, and then taken down by sundown. Paul has experienced the full “curse” of the Law, so that human beings now have the faith open to them. Christ has “redeemed” or “ransomed” those under the Law in this way. The reference is to a form of slavery from which humanity has been redeemed. Luther and Barth emphasize that in the crucifixion, the innocent one, Christ, took upon himself the sin of Paul, the readers of this letter, and every person in the world. In line with Adam, we justly receive punishment, for we are guilty. Christ was not. He was not a sinful man, of course, but he bore the weight of sin. He bore this weight during his life, as he was considered to be unstable (beside himself in Mark 3:21), received rejection from his family, was judged as a friend of sinners, a deceiver in John 7:12, and a blasphemer in Matthew 9:2 and 26:26. Pannenberg stresses that this passage is among many that show Jesus as the representative of humanity. For him, giving one’s life vicariously for society is a special case in human history. In this case, then, because of who Jesus is, he has vicariously given his life for humanity, in every time and place.

In verse 14, the Spirit becomes the pledge of the final appearing of Christ, of the redemption and perfecting of the world reconciled in Christ. He is the assistance that we need to move toward this final goal.