What does "he made him to be sin who knew no sin" mean in 2 Corinthians 5:21?

Paul says that for their sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him they might become the righteousness of God. The statement connects Christ’s sinlessness with God’s saving action and its result. See 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Passage context

In 2 Corinthians 5:18–21, Paul says the initiative belongs to God, who restored relationship with himself through Jesus Christ and then entrusted Paul’s team with a task and a message centered on reconciliation. He describes their role as representatives speaking on Christ’s behalf, urging the Corinthians to accept this restored relationship. This paragraph sits within Paul’s defense and explanation of his ministry, where he contrasts outward appearances with what God is doing through weakness and suffering. Just before, he says Christ’s love controls their actions and that a new creation reality reshapes how they view people (5:14–17).

Why it matters

Paul presents reconciliation as something God starts and carries out. God restores relationship “through Jesus Christ” (verse 18) and then entrusts Paul’s team with both a task (“ministry of reconciliation,” verse 18) and a message (“word of reconciliation,” verse 19).

Read carefully

A common mistake is to turn the wording into a slogan. The better reading keeps the phrase tied to the passage, the speaker, and the problem the book is addressing.

Keep reading

Start with 2 Corinthians 5:21, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.