See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. (ESV)
He says it in such a
matter-of-fact way. “We are going to
Jerusalem. I am going to be
executed. Be sure to pack extra socks.” It is one thing to admire this from a
distance, but put yourself in the place of Jesus for a moment. Think about driving a few miles to a place
where you know people are lying in wait to kill you. Imagine the anxiety that would build into raw
fear as you got closer and closer.
I don’t know how He
did it. I have no idea how He suppressed
the natural, human desire for self-preservation. Yes, Jesus was God, but He was fully human,
too. He had to overcome the most basic
instinct to save His life in order to save ours. And He had to overcome it again and again, with
each and every step on the way to Jerusalem, knowing He could turn around at
any time.
He did it for you and
me. With each one of those steps, He
fought back the natural desire to go anywhere but Jerusalem. He willingly walked a slow, anxious journey
so that you and I could have immediate passage to a life we do not
deserve. Forget not knowing how He did
it. I cannot get my head around why.
Jesus, I really do
not get it. I cannot come close to
understanding the how and why of Your love.
When confronted by the enormity of it all, the only thing I can do is accept
it and say, “Thank You!”
Copyright © 2014 by Steven R. Perkins
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