by Roger Alcaraz
Last year, our college ministry tabled at UCSD during Triton Day. It’s an event where all of the school clubs get to advertise to the incoming students. Coincidentally, our church was right next to the Atheist Club. And I was curious what the club does since it centers around a non-belief, but I found out they like to watch debates, specifically those against Christianity. And after talking with them, I came to the conclusion that this club wouldn’t have been started apart from Christianity because their main focus wasn’t to attack God in general but to attack Christ. The atheist club should have more accurately been named, the Anti-Christian Club.
But this is nothing new. People have always hated Jesus since the time of his ministry. While he was on Earth, the Jewish leaders saw Jesus as a threat to their power and tried to get rid of him. They tried various tactics, but eventually realized that the only way to get rid of Jesus was to kill Him. So they devised a plan and this eventually led to his death on the cross.
While on the cross, spectators had the opportunity to hurl insults and even taunt Jesus. Luke 23:35 gives the following account: “And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!’”
The claim was, “He saved others; let him save himself.” So the question then is, why didn’t Jesus save himself? In other words, what kept Jesus from coming down from the cross?
Was It the Nails?
Some would argue that the reason he couldn’t save himself was because Jesus was just a man, like any other. So of course he couldn’t save himself, he didn’t have the power to. But Scripture tells us the opposite. Jesus did the impossible and he did it with plenty of witnesses.
He once told the storm to be still and the winds immediately obeyed his words. Later, 5,000 of his followers got hungry, so Jesus took a small amount of bread and fish and multiplied them to be able to feed them all. On multiple occasions, Jesus visited crowded funerals and raised the dead. Other times he gave sight to the blind, healed the leper, and commanded paralytics to walk and they would instantly obey. Jesus was so popular that people came from all over Israel to be healed. Even Romans were coming to him, believing he had amazing power. And his power extended over spirits as even demons obeyed his every word and even trembled at his mere presence.
Clearly, Jesus proved himself to be a powerful man, capable of controlling spirits, nature, even life itself. The clearest explanation for this is that he is God incarnate. All this is to say that we’re dealing with someone who, if he wanted to, could have easily pulled himself off the cross. So again I ask, what kept him there?
Was It Our Sin?
Maybe you’ve heard before that it was our sin that nailed him to the cross and kept him there. And I think there is an element of truth behind that statement. What is true is that Jesus’ death on the cross was necessary for salvation. We have all sinned and deserve death. But God has allowed for someone to stand in our place. And Jesus Christ is the only acceptable sacrifice that can remove God’s wrath from coming to us because he alone is perfect.
And so it’s true–if we had not sinned, then there would be no need for Christ to die, so it is really our sin that nailed him to the cross. But here is where the answer falls short of answering the question, “What kept Jesus on the cross?” God was never obligated to save anyone. He could have looked at sinful humanity and decided to simply condemn us. This would have been the easier option for him. And he would have been perfectly just to do so.
In fact, 2 Peter 2:4 tell us that this is what God did with the angels. It says, “God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell.” That could have been us. So then, Jesus certainly was powerful enough to remove himself from the cross, and God was under no obligation to save mankind. Then why didn’t he save himself? Why did he instead say, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing?” as he continued to bear the wrath of sin?
It Was Love
Before Jesus was handed over to be crucified, knowing he only had a few hours left, he fervently prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matt 26:39). It’s here where we begin to see why Jesus went and stayed on the cross. It’s because God the Son, loved God the Father. Jesus submitted to not his own will, but to the will of the Father and obeyed him to the point of death, even death on a cross.
In John 10:18, Jesus talks about his impending death, saying, “This charge I have received from my Father.” Thus Jesus was commanded by the Father to die on behalf of humanity. And the reason for Christ’s obedience was his love. Later, while Jesus is speaking again on his imminent death, he says, “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father” (John 14:31).
Perhaps it’s expected that the Son loves the Father, but amazingly, mankind is also the recipient of Christ’s great love. Romans 5:8 is one of my favorite passages of the whole Bible because it speaks of the superior nature of God’s love. It reads, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Incredible! God loves sinners! Which tells you that God’s love is not something we earn or could ever deserve. We might think that God should love us because we’re used to thinking of ourselves as lovable, good people. But in God’s eyes, we are sinners. Even so, the good news of it all is that he still loves us. The good news is that his love has nothing to do with anything we have done, but it has everything to do with who God is. God is love. He is the very definition of love.
This is ultimately what kept Jesus from saving himself: his love for the Father, and his love for sinners. And so he provided a way of salvation by paying the ultimate sacrifice. Praise Jesus Christ for his love!