Fighting to the End
for a Fuller Salvation
Jesus declares twice—before the high priest Caiaphas and the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate—that He is the Christ and Davidic Messiah. God had painstakingly prepared the Israelite nation for two thousand years to embrace the Messiah, sending prophet after prophet to lead the people to repentance, and cultivate a soil for the “root of Jesse” to grow—to be honored, followed worldwide, and even politically empowered on the “throne of David” during his lifetime, so that “the government [would] rest on His shoulders.”
Why would God go to such trouble in preparing the Israelites, invest so much in them, subject Himself to so much anguish because of them, if all He wanted was for them to reject Jesus and for Him to shed his blood?
When Jesus was being questioned by Pilate, the procurator’s wife sent a message to her husband to tell him of a dream of Jesus she had had that troubled her greatly. She pleaded with Pilate to release Jesus. The Gospels do not suggest that this dream was from the Evil One. Quite the opposite.
Even at this late hour, then, God was pulling out all the stops to get Jesus off the hook of the crucifixion.
Later that day, nailed to the cross, his life draining away, Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). If the shedding of Jesus’ blood was God’s entire will, Jesus would not have needed to ask God to forgive his crucifiers.
If the executioners’ actions were part of a grand and godly plan, Jesus instead might have praised them, perhaps saying something like, “Father, thank you for these good men who are fulfilling Your holy and eternal will.” And His other words on the cross—“It is finished”—far from meaning “Salvation is accomplished,” translate simply as “The crucifixion is over”).
Jesus mourns the blindness and hatred that led to this pass and asks forgiveness for the terrible blunder his crucifiers are committing.
How This Helps Us Have a Real Relationship With the Real Jesus
When we see clearly that God and Jesus were terribly reluctant for Jesus to go the way of the cross (because of the much greater redemption that could have resulted through the total acceptance of Jesus by Israel at that time in history), we comprehend the enormity of the tragic choice they had to make.
We come to share their profound sorrow over having to settle for only a partial victory over Satan, and for having to leave humankind hanging for another two thousand years until the Second Coming of Christ, whose era we are presently in.
Spiritual Exercises
● Reflect on the difficult decision faced by God the Father and Jesus regarding the crucifixion. Spend time meditating on the passages describing Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-44). Consider the weight of the decision faced by both Jesus and God the Father, the potential for a different outcome, and the profound sorrow that accompanied the choice made. Pray for understanding and compassion for both Jesus and God the Father.
● Pray for the full realization of God’s Kingdom on earth, despite the delay caused by the crucifixion. Let your imagination run free as to how Jesus, with Israel and its leaders fully behind Him for Roman and world evangelism, could have gained an ever-widening sphere of political and economic influence that could have eventually (perhaps generations later?) achieved the Kingdom of God on earth.
● Dedicate time to praying for the continued building of God’s Kingdom on earth, acknowledging that the crucifixion did not fully achieve Jesus’ initial vision. Pray for the grace to participate in the ongoing work of bringing about a world characterized by love, compassion, and peace. Pray to discover and follow the Returning Lord when He appears on earth in these “last days.”