When I was recently reading the last words of Jesus on the
cross (in John’s gospel, chapter 19, verse 30), I came to a startling
realization - Even though I understand that Jesus came to earth to die for the
sins of man, according to the Father’s will, these words affected me most
profoundly. According to what I read, Jesus chose
the moment He would die, saying, “It is finished.” He then bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
We know He could have called a legion of angels to rescue
Him as He was tortured and hanged on the cross. We know He prayed to be spared
from the agony of death by crucifixion, yet He chose to hold in check the power
He had as the Son of God for our best good – forgiveness and the gift of
eternal life for those who believe in Him.
He did exercise His power while on the cross. He audibly
asked His Father to forgive those who crucified Him that day. He provided for
His mother in giving her into the care of the apostle John. He exercised His
authority to not only forgive, but to assure the repentant thief of a place in
Paradise. Seeing the words that tell me Jesus chose to release His spirit makes
it clear His death is an offering, a sacrifice deliberately made on our behalf.
We know this is true through reading and studying scripture, but seeing it so
plainly has impacted my thinking and made Christ’s love even more real to me. I
pray that contemplating these words will fill you with gratitude as it does
me. Doma
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