The Law of God (10 Commandments) leave us helpless before a holy God that demands perfection in thought, word and deed.
We cannot help ourselves. Our good works don’t impress God and cannot pay for the ‘crimes’ we have comitted against His holy Law.
But God is rich in mercy and sent Jesus to fulfill the Law. He lived a perfect life in thought, word and deed. Jesus then went to the cross to suffer and die for the sins of the world.
This is the Great Exchange: Jesus took your sins and offers His righteousness. He lived the perfect life we were supposed to live and died the death we were supposed to die. Jesus took the punishment for our sins and gives us the reward for His perfection.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”. (2 Cor 5:21)
God looks at the cross and sees You, then looks at you and sees Jesus.
This… is the Great Exchange.