Paul states, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh”
Easter Word Studies
Paul seems to make contradictory statements about the concept of curse
as it relates to Jesus. On the one hand he says that “no one speaking
by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed [
anathema]’ ” (1 Corinthians 12:3).1 On the other hand he speaks of Christ “having become a curse [
katara]
for us” (Galatians 3:13). The two Greek words are synonyms;
consequently, one cannot resolve the apparent contradiction by
appealing to the fact different words are used.