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Luke 23:34b-35
Luke 23:34b is a direct reference to Psalm 22:18 as the Roman guards gambled for the clothing of Jesus. In Luke 23:35 the onlooker’s question is that if Jesus can save others from sickness, disease, being blind, lame, or other various infirmities, then why can He not save Himself? The reason is that He came just for this reason – to die for our sins – to take all of this to the cross in a sacrifice to God in His innocence to bear our sins into death, that in His innocence would defeat death in itself and overcome the power of Satan and sin through His justified resurrection. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a), but Jesus had no sin and therefore was not subject to death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23b). Three days after this horrible event Jesus would rise from the dead in victory over death, Satan, and sin – all sin. If Jesus would have saved Himself from death on the cross, He would have only saved Himself, which is selfish, self-centered, and against His whole teaching of giving and loving others as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40; John 13:34-35). This is the mission that Jesus came to fulfill, and that is to save the world from sin that all who will believe in Him may have everlasting life (John 1:10-13; 3:16-17).
This is the question of salvation that must be asked to come to the realization of why Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified.
Jesus, being God in human form, felt the pain of man as He sweated drops of blood in the stressful preparation for the event of the cross (Luke 22:44). He could have saved Himself from this agony, but being the love of God, gave Himself to pay the price of sin for all man, that He would rise victorious and offer true life to all man as a result; He saved the world from sin!
Dear Lord,
Please speak to our hearts and open our eyes to the truth and reality of the event of the cross, that we would understand that salvation and eternal life in heaven with You is only found in believing in Jesus as we make the choice to put away the ways of the sinful nature of this world and put on a new life in Jesus – The Savior of the World! In Jesus name I pray, amen.