And they that passed by railed on him, …Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. — Mark 15:29-31
I recently read through these verses in the book of Mark. The people of that day railed on Jesus, calling on Him to save Himself from the cross. The chief priests, Pharisees, and Roman soldiers all mocked Him. They truly believed He was helpless as they crucified Him.
As Jesus hung there on the cross, His mind was not on saving Himself. He most certainly could have saved Himself. There was absolutely nothing that was stopping Him from coming down from the cross that day. Instead, He stayed. It wasn’t because He was helpless. He stayed on the cross for me.
As they accused Jesus of being unable to save Himself, mocking Him for saving others, He was taking the punishment for my sin. The crowd thought it was a joke. They thought He was simply powerless. Little did they know this was the greatest display of God’s love and power to ever be experienced by mankind.
Jesus could have come down from the cross and performed a mighty miracle in front of those people that day. Could you imagine the history books had He come down from the cross that day? But He didn’t. He chose to stay on the cross, and He did it for me.
There’s not one single person reading this who has a different story. Jesus could have saved Himself from the cross, but He didn’t. He stayed, and He did it for you. For that, we can all be thankful and praise Him forever! If you have never accepted Him as Savior, today is a great day!
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