SOMEONE ELSE IS PUNISHED

There was once a movie called The Last Emperor. A young child was anointed as the last emperor of China and lived a life of luxury with 1,000 servants at his command.

He was once asked by his brother, "What happens when you do wrong?"

"When I do wrong, someone else is punished." Then he demonstrated by breaking a jar and one of his servants was beaten.

In Christianity, Jesus reverses that ancient pattern so that when the servant(us) makes a mistake, the king is punished. Instead of being condemned eternally for our sin nature, Jesus is condemned instead.