Objection: There Was Only One Curse (Singular) in Galatians 3:13, So Not Every Sickness Could Be a Curse

At least the objector realizes that Christ has redeemed us from the curse in Galatians 3:13, which is more than a lot of people know.

Paul quotes the end of Deuteronomy 27 (Deuteronomy 27:26) in Galatians 3:10, so we know that he refers to the “curse” in Deuteronomy 28 in this passage.  The one “curse” in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 contains a number of distinct curses, but this is not a contradiction at all.  These curses enumerate various sicknesses, and verse 61 of that passage states that any other sickness NOT specifically mentioned is also part of the curse for breaking the Law.  On the strength of verse 61, we can state confidently that EVERY sickness is a curse, because it is in a long list of things that the Lord refers to as curses in that chapter.

These were all things that would happen to you if you broke the Law, which is why Jesus had to be “made sick” (Isaiah 53:10) so that He could bear the parts of the curse that were possible to bear personally.  As is pointed out in this book, there is no question that Isaiah, Matthew and Peter agree that Jesus took our sicknesses (part of the punishment for sin) in His own body to free us from having to bear them.  That is what Paul means when he said that Jesus redeemed us from the curse, having been made a curse for us.

Even a quick reading of Deuteronomy 28 should make plain to you that the MANY curses in this chapter collectively fall under “the curse” for not keeping the Law.  (If you haven’t kept the whole Law, join the club!  That’s why Jesus had to be cursed in your place for YOUR breaking of the Law – to legally pay off your “curse debt” for sinning.)