A Question Jesus Asked

“Is there no other way we can solve this dilemma?”

Clearly Jesus was not looking forward to the excruciating pain he was about to undergo. But he knew there was a serious cosmic predicament that He had to address.

“Is there no other way we can solve this problem?” Although we have no record of Jesus speaking these exact words in the garden of Gethsemane, it seems to be the point of his prayers to the Father. In agony he prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”(Matt 26:39b)

Jesus knew the excruciating physical and spiritual pain he was about to undergo, which could not have been portrayed any more graphically than it was in the movie. Clearly he was not looking forward to it. But he knew there was a job to be done. What job? And why was there no other way to do it?

Who did Jesus think he was? And why should I care?
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Evidently there was something that motivated Jesus to be willing to go through the torture of the crucifixion. There is a line in an ancient text about Jesus that says, “for the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Heb. 12:2). What could that “joy set before him” be?

Could it be that when Jesus was being spit upon, brutally beaten and whipped, he submitted because it was the only way we would be able to come into a relationship with God? Could it be that when the Romans ripped his flesh open with a flagrum, he willingly endured it in our place? Could it be that when the soldiers mockingly placed a crown of thorns on his head, he tolerated it so that we would not spend eternity alienated from God?

Maybe you noticed that when it came time for Jesus to be nailed to the cross, the soldiers did not have to lift him into position. Instead, he crawled – slowly, in agony, but willingly – up onto the cross by himself. Jesus deliberately chose to endure the cross, the spikes, and the excruciating pain, to pay a price that we could not pay.

As horrible as the crucifixion was, there was something even more torturous that Jesus underwent on the cross than the physical punishment. Consider what the scriptures tell us:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5: 21)

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3: 18a)

Jesus willingly took upon himself the sins of the entire world. The evil that we bring into this world, the evil of every human being who has ever lived or who ever will live, was all put upon Jesus. And the wrath that a righteous and just God must pour out upon evil and sin was poured out upon Jesus while he hung on that cross. Hanging between heaven and earth, forsaken by humankind, Jesus now also experienced the forsakenness of God.

This may not seem like much to us at first glance, but when we realize that the scriptures teach that the result of our sin is separation from God, it means that Jesus experienced the separation that is due the billions of humans who will ever live. As horrific as the physical torture was, this spiritual torture was more likely even worse for Jesus. He endured it because there was no other way for humanity to be reconciled to God.

The early writings about Jesus were called ‘gospels,’ which means good news. Clearly this is really good news. Jesus paid the penalty for each of our sins so that we can be forgiven and come into the presence God. There was no other way for the basic human dilemma to be solved. There was no other way that human beings could be reconciled to God.

You can be reconciled to God today through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.