Untitled?, by Tim Buckley

Paul comments in 1 Corinthians 1:18 that "I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God." So it was then, so it is today, as we can see above in Tim Buckley's painting. I suspect, with much sadness, that more people today acquired their ideas about Jesus from Dan Brown or South Park than from the Bible.

This painting does raise a question though: "If Jesus is God, why did He allow the crucifixion to happen?" Certainly He would have the power to come down from the cross if He is God, wouldn't He? The religious leaders at the time apparently asked the same question: "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." (Matthew 27:42) What can we say then? Was Jesus powerless to prevent His crucifixion?

Before His crucifixion Jesus said "No one can take my life from me. I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right to lay it down when I want to and also the power to take it again." (John 10:8) Paul explains in another one of his letters that "Though [Jesus] was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross." (Philippians 2:6-8)

Jesus gave up His life voluntarily. He could have come down from the cross at any moment He wanted. But instead, he took the punishment that we all deserve. That's grace: "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:6-8) The supposed religious leaders of the time said "Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him." but instead we believe in Him because He didn't come down.

In Whitney Houston's hit 1985 song "The Greatest Love of All", she sings "Learning to love yourself. It is the greatest love of all." I must disagree. Selfish love is not the greatest love of all. Instead, Jesus demonstrates the greatest love to perfection by His sacrifice when he pays the price for us all. Jesus paid a debt He didn't owe to satisfy a debt we couldn't pay. There is nothing we must do to earn His love; we only must accept His offer of love, forgiveness and grace that He has already made to us. And once we give our lives to Him, we are assured that "neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

Go deeper:

• Want the real Jesus story in 5mins or less? Click here. (with plenty of links for more info)
• Jesus: True or False? Doubters Welcome
• For skeptics: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?