THE LOVE OF JESUS!

In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves.
“He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!
Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross,
that we may see and believe.”  Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Mark 15:31-32

Have you noticed that sometimes people say one thing and mean another?
There are also times when a person says one thing and without realizing it,
their words say something that is true, but was not their intent.

For example, when the religious leaders mocked Jesus and challenged Him
to save Himself from the cross, they said ‘He could not save Himself’.
They knew He had healed others, but since He was staying on the cross,
they said that he could not save Himself.
In their minds, He was powerless to save Himself.

These were the right words, but with the wrong meaning.
What they said was correct, but it was not what they intended it to mean.
It’s true that Jesus could not save Himself…
IF….He was to fulfill His purpose as Savior of the world.
His death was necessary for man’s redemption.

However, Jesus was not powerless to save Himself, but He chose not to save Himself.
If He had saved Himself from death, then He could not have saved others, including us.
It was the love of Jesus that held Him to the cross (not the nails).

Through His suffering, death and resurrection,
He taught us to “take up the cross’, not to come down from one.

We should never forget that Jesus loved us so much that He chose to stay on the cross.
How much more could He have done to prove His love for us and His obedience to God?

Many people say the right words about Jesus but do not grasp the real meaning.
Do you?  Do you truly understand that Jesus had to stay on the cross?
If you have never received Jesus as your Savior, pray to do so now.
If you have received Him as your Savior,
thank Him for staying on the cross until His work on our behalf was finished!