Self-preservation or sacrifice?

Luke 22:63-65

“The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to him.”

I marvel at Jesus. Can you imagine having all the power in the universe but letting yourself be mocked, beaten, and insulted? For me, that’s hard to imagine. Even though he had angel armies at his disposal, Jesus allowed himself to be mistreated by sinful men. Why?

Well, he knew that it had to happen like this. It was his Father’s will that he suffer and die for the sin of the whole world. Yes, while it’s true that what Jesus experienced physically—at the hands of these sinful men—was awful and unpleasant, what he experienced spiritually was a million times worse. You see, on the cross, Jesus felt the full weight of man’s guilt over sin; he experienced God’s full wrath and the complete absence of his love. So again, I marvel at God. I marvel that he humbled himself to this extent: to be born of a virgin, suffer, and die. Jesus did these things so we could be forgiven of our sin and live forever. What a marvelous, gracious God we have, brothers and sisters!

Sr. Vicar V.