What if Jesus said no? - Today Can Be Different
The message of Good Friday is this – Jesus chose to die for you. He willingly gave His life to pay the price for the sins you have committed.
But what if Jesus hadn’t chosen to allow Himself to be nailed to a cross?
How would this have affected your life – not to mention your eternity?
In the garden of Gethsemane, just before Jesus was betrayed and arrested, He already knew every horrible detail of the torture He’d face in the coming hours.
Filled with dread, Jesus asked His Father to “remove this cup from Me.” He felt such anguish that He sweated drops of blood, a serious medical condition called hematidrosis, which occurs under extreme mental or physical stress.
The Amplified Bible supports this by saying Jesus was “[deeply distressed and anguished; almost to the point of death]” (Luke 22:44).
He knew there was no other way to demolish Satan’s control over God’s people. Because of His great love for us, He yielded to His Father, “… yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42 NASB).
What if Jesus had said no?What if He hadn’t surrendered to His Father’s will? What if He’d decided we weren’t that important to Him after all?
How different would our lives be today if God’s love had not planned for our salvation so long ago?
Imagine if Satan were left undefeated. Cruelty, selfishness, and every ugly sin would have abounded even more than we see today. Think Pottersville (only worse) in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where everyone began living for himself once Mr. Potter took over the town.
If Jesus hadn’t taken our sins upon Himself on the cross, despair, regret and shame would have prevailed. We’d have no hope for redemption.
How long would love have survived, especially sacrificial love?
Would light have eventually been swallowed up in darkness?
Would all human life have become totally devalued?
Thankfully, Jesus obeyed His Father’s will.
When He did, one of His own disciples betrayed Him. Soldiers jammed a crown of thorns on His head and placed a reed in His right hand as a mock scepter. “They spat on Him and took the reed and struck Him repeatedly on the head” (Matthew 27:30 AMP). After long hours of ridicule and torture, the soldiers led Jesus to an excruciatingly painful and gruesome death.
Jesus could have said, “Not Your will, but mine.”
But He didn’t, because we are, indeed, that important to Him.
What do you think?
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post. (Others might also benefit from your comment.)
- How different would your life be today if God’s love had not planned for your salvation so long ago?
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