On Easter day, Jesus’ crucifixion (and resurrection) will be
on our thoughts. We are accustomed to hearing about Jesus'
sacrifice for our sins so we forget this important truth: Jesus had a choice. His choice was
to redeem, or let mankind pay the price for Adam’s choice in the Garden of Eden.
Adam chose death, suffering, and sin over God. As of that result, Adam plunged
the entire world into this pattern of spiritual ruin. Mankind needed someone to intercede
which is why Jesus volunteered for the role as Savior of the world
(He chose to come to Earth in the form of a fragile, helpless baby just like
us.)
God believes in giving mankind choices to freely love Him
(or not). He does not force His will on us. In the same way, He
did not force His will for redeeming mankind on Jesus. He gave Him a choice. With all the power of God, Jesus
could have come down off the cross whenever He wanted to. Jesus did not have to hang there and suffer
while people insulted Him. Jesus did
not have to die.
That is what makes the crucifixion
so unique. Jesus could have left us in the mess we made for ourselves, but He
didn’t. Out of love, Jesus chose
to hang on that cross because of how much He loves us. Let this inspire you to
live a life worthy of His sacrifice. If you need to hear God tell you how much
He loves you in the midst of all the pressure and noise around you, here is
your reminder to understand clearly the message He wants you to know.
From the very beginning of time, Jesus sacrifice was the Father’s plan for mankind’s redemption. Jesus undertook this role before there was even a world to redeem. Then at the peak of history He was made in the flesh to complete this work once for all. No one took Jesus' life; He willing laid it down for us. The grace of God is more profound when you consider that Jesus could have backed out of this arrangement at any time. During His time on earth, Jesus could have said one word and God would have honored it, which is why he submitted to God and learned obedience through this type of suffering.
Jesus' suffering was more than the physical aspects of being crucified. His suffering far exceeded this because he had the entire weight of sin, sickness and death placed on him and then he was completely and totally separated from the presence of the Father. It took an act of obedience for a holy God to undergo this type of suffering. The price Jesus paid was extremely high. He was removed from the very essences of God the Father and literally became sin, the very thing he abhorred, so that we could be righteous in God's sight.
When looking at the accounts of Jesus in the Garden to Gethsemane right before his betrayal we see how the anticipation of being separated from God affected Jesus. Yet during the entire time he readily submitted to God's will in spite of what He was facing. Jesus knew that on request God would save him from this horrible death and from taking the weight of Adams choice on himself as mankind's representative. In the same way, He knew that God had chosen Jesus as the first and only way to redeem mankind. Jesus actively submitted to God's will and plan so that it would be finished.
Jesus completed everything that He was instructed to do. Jesus had a choice and He chose us. God offers this choice today. The work of salvation has been accomplished, and now is freely given to us as a gift through faith in Jesus. It is His desire that we accept this gift, but God does not make us choose him. He gives us the right to become children of God.
“Christ Himself
was like God in everything. He was equal with God. But he did not think that
being equal with God was something to be held on to. He gave up his place with
God and made himself nothing. He was born as a man and became like a servant.
And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to
God. He obeyed even when that caused his death—death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8, ICB)[i]
[i] Suggested by the
sermon “Sacrifice: Threads” (installment seven, final) Good Friday April 10,
2020, Pastor Jon Fulton, CenterPoint Church Westerville (All CenterPoint
churches are closed due to the Coronavirus, and are meeting online.)
Sources used:
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