It is a section of the Bible that has long amazed me. “I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel” (Romans 9:3,4).

Do you get what the apostle Paul wished to do? If it were at all possible, he wanted to trade places with Jews. Eternal places. Hell instead of heaven.

Paul had been raised in Judaism and took his faith very seriously. As an adult, Paul took his animosity toward Jesus of Nazareth and his followers very seriously as well.

But then the risen Lord Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. God changed Paul’s heart. Out was unbelief, with hell as its eternal destination. In was faith in Jesus Christ, with heaven as Paul’s home.

That was a wonderful, gracious turn of events for Paul, but the apostle could not stop thinking about Jews who were still traveling on the road to eternal destruction.

So in Romans chapter 9, we see the full extent of Paul’s concern for the people who were not trusting in Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah. If it were possible, he was willing to trade eternal places with them—his heaven for their hell.

I don’t know about you, but that shocks me. And it leads me to conduct some self-examination.

Would I be willing to give up my life for family members, for friends, for complete strangers? After all, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). I could see God moving me to exercise that greater love for others because I know what to expect when life on this earth ends. Jesus has promised me an eternal place in his presence.

But what about the next step? What about imitating Paul’s desire? Would I be willing to trade my promised place in heaven with others and suffer their hell instead? I don’t know about you, but I am nowhere close to a yes answer to that question. I cannot fathom trading different eternal places with someone else.

Then again, I do not have to dwell on that possibility. That kind of eternal exchange is impossible. “No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough” (Psalm 49:7,8).

But it was not impossible for Jesus. The Lord did what Paul only could have wished, but Jesus did it in a much different way. Jesus did not go to hell and suffer so people could enjoy heaven. On the cross, Jesus suffered what amounts to being in hell: He was abandoned by God and punished for sin.

What makes that truly remarkable is that Jesus carried out “greater love” not for friends but for enemies. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son” (Romans 5:8-10).

For a time, Jesus traded places with sinners like you and me. He came to earth so we could go to heaven. He became poor so we could become spiritually rich. He took on our sin so we could be clothed in his righteousness.

No, we cannot trade eternal places with unbelievers. What we can do is share the good news of Jesus with them. Then, through the work of the Holy Spirit, they can have a place alongside us in heaven.

James Pope | FIC Editor

Author: James Pope
Volume 112, Number 03
Issue: March 2025