Often in the church, we focus on the fact that Jesus came so that the whole world could be saved. While this is one of the most important truths in the Christian faith we often focus too much on the what and miss the significance of the how. We often breeze past what Jesus really did for us. Jesus did not simply come and offer salvation to the world as we so often make it sound. The process was much more involved and required much of our Lord.
First and foremost to understand what Jesus did for us we must understand who He is. Jesus is not just a member of the godhead. He is God in the flesh both fully man and fully God. As we read in Scripture all the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwelled in Him. We also read that He made the decision to humble Himself and step down from His position to enter our world. All in order to rescue us from the punishment of our sinful nature
Colossians 2:9 (ESV)
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
Colossians 1:15 (ESV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Philippians 2:5–7 (ESV)
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
God came into our world not to just show us the way but to be the way. He came in order to offer Himself up as the sacrifice for our sins. So that we could be made right with Him. Making it so we could be forgiven of every sin we have ever committed. No longer forced to face judgment and the eternal perils of hell. Jesus lived a perfect life and then offered Himself up to face the punishment we all deserved for the sinful lives we have lived.
John 3:16–17 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
1 John 2:2 (ESV)
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Hebrews 9:12–14 (ESV)
12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
The Bible clearly shows that all people deserve the punishment of hell for the sinful lives they have lived. Lives against God and His word. As Paul wrote we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death and that’s where we were headed without Christ. But all praise be to God that we do not have to pay for our past faults when we place our trust in Christ. Because He took the punishment we deserve so we could partake of the reward He deserves. Jesus was the only person to ever live free of any sin and was worthy of Heaven alone. But He chose to face head-on all the pain, suffering, and death that we deserved. So that He could make it possible for us to be saved and receive life everlasting.
Romans 3:22–24 (ESV)
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Romans 6:23 (ESV)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The accounts of what took place on the cross and the events leading up to it are gruesome. They can be hard to read or imagine and are even harder to watch be acted out on film. But every account and example we have most likely pales in comparison to what Jesus actually faced for us. He was ridiculed, beaten, spat on, and nailed to a cross where He was forced to die a slow excruciating death.
John 19:1–3 (ESV)
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.
John 19:16–18 (ESV)
16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
Guilty of nothing He faced the worst punishments imaginable for you and me. Making it so anyone who placed their faith in Him could be cleansed by His blood. So that all people could have another option in life and be able to spend eternity in the peace and security of Heaven with Him. Most shocking is that no good act performed by any man brought on Jesus’s willingness to do all this. No this all started from the love of God for a broken people. So while we were yet lost in sin God made a way for us to be saved.
Romans 5:8 (ESV)
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
As we have established Jesus was fully God, but that didn’t diminish any of the pain He felt. As He was also fully man. We are able to see the man of Christ submit to the deity. Willing to face all the pain and suffering He knew laid ahead. Jesus was able to feel everything fully just as we do. It was His humanity that made Him not only the perfect sacrifice but also the perfect high priest. Able to fully understand all His people faced. So His death on the cross was just as excruciatingly painful for Him as it would be for us.
Luke 22:42–44 (ESV)
42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Hebrews 4:14–15 (ESV)
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
From the very beginning of His life, Jesus knew all that He would face. As well, as the extreme pain that awaited Him at the end and He still continued forward despite this knowledge. While His death was necessary for us to receive salvation it must be understood that He didn’t have to die. No one would have been able to take Jesus’s life had he not willingly gave it up. We know this to be true as He once passed through the angry crowd because it was not yet His time. He also stated that His life was His own to lay down. Even when the crowds came with Judas to capture Him all He had to say was “I Am He” to cause them to fall back flat on the ground.
Luke 4:29–30 (ESV)
29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.
John 10:17–18 (ESV)
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
John 18:4–6 (ESV)
4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
What Jesus really did for us was willingly lay down His life. Willingly step into our world knowing all the pain it would bring upon Him. Pain that He never deserved to face. He was worthy to revive a grand entrance into our world, be praised by all people, and live a royal life as the King of Kings. But instead, He chose to face all that we truly deserve in order to give us a better option. An option that allows us to experience blessings we simply are not worthy to receive. Jesus came into our world and faced hell so we wouldn’t have to.
This is what Jesus really did for us and it goes far beyond simply offering salvation. He took all the bad so He could offer us greater things. Let us never forget what kind of punishment and pain we deserve but don’t have to face. The whips, thorns, punches, nails, and suffocating death that was taken for us. All because of the love, mercy, and grace of a God willing to humble Himself in order to bless His people. Jesus did so much more than offer salvation to the world. In that, He gave a sinful word the ability to be treated as sinless. Praise the Lord that we no longer have to face eternal suffering but get to experience peace forevermore because of what He did for us.
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