When they had crucified him…the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” (Matthew 27:35, 41–43, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “He saved others.” By His crucifixion, He was saving “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.” (Revelation 7:9, NIV 1984). They had missed the point entirely.
“But he can’t save himself!” Indeed, He could have. “I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” (John 10:17–18, NIV 1984). But if He had not laid down His life, there would be no “great multitude.”
“Let God rescue Him now, and we will believe in him.“ Now, was not what was in the plan. Jesus had told them ahead of time what would happen. “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:39–40, NIV 1984). Proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was indeed “the Son of God!” For, God did “not abandon [Him] to the grave, nor [did He] let [His] Holy One see decay. (Psalm 16:10, NIV 1984).
My Advice – Are “[we] are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not [in the tomb]; He has risen, just as He said.” (Matthew 28:5–6, NIV 1984.” Coming down from the cross would have been easy but would have accomplished nothing. But rising from the dead, now that’s something else entirely. And it accomplished everything. The only logical thing to do now is to “believe in Him.”
The Brew Is A Musing 