SAVE THYSELF

"And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided Him, saying, He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He be Christ, the chosen of God.  And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him, and offering Him vinegar, and saying, If Thou be the king of the Jews, save Thyself…And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us." (Luke 23:35-39).

 

"And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself, and come down from the cross." (Mark 15:29, 30).

 

Oh, the wisdom and the depth of God's great love!  His plan for our redemption was such that it could not be comprehended by all the forces of evil.  To think that a virgin would conceive, and bear a Son, and that that Son would grow up to be the Savior of mankind and the only begotten Son of God is astonishing enough; but to think that God would allow His Son to be delivered into the hands of ungodly men, and permit Him to die at their hands is inconceivable.  Even Jesus' own disciples whom He tried to warn about His pending betrayal and death could not understand that their King would be sacrificed for their sins.  Their carnal minds were blinded by what seemed to make sense, and their emotions clouded the truth from their eyes. 

 

The prophets down through the ages had been very clear about what God planned to do, and how He planned to do it; but they were also very clear about the fact that man would not be able to grasp it intellectually.  Habakkuk had said very plainly, "Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you."  Isaiah, also, had stated, "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him."  How could the Lord's own disciples, therefore, reconcile the fact that the One Who could heal the sick, walk on the water, still the storms, and raise the dead, could not save Himself from the hands of His enemies. 

 

Jesus had tried to make His followers understand.  He said to them at one point, "Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again.  No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father." (John 10:17, 18).  Clearly, it was God's plan that Christ lay down His life so that He could, once and for all, win the ultimate victory over sin, the flesh, death, and the devil.  What a temptation it must have been for the Son of God to want to save Himself.  He did possess that power.  He could have proven His might by coming down from the cross and continuing His ministry.  He understood, though, that without the shedding of His blood, there could be no remission of sins; and the world would indeed have been lost.  Without death, there could be no life.

 

The cross of Christ represents the willing sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  Jesus chose to die that we might live.  Jesus said, "Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say?  Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.  Father, glorify Thy name."  In another place He said, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."  Jesus understood that it was absolutely necessary that He bear His cross.  It was the only way in which God could fulfill His plan, and be glorified.  Therefore, Jesus accepted God's will over His own, and chose to drink the cup that His Father gave Him to drink, trusting that His Father knew best.

 

We, too, have crosses to bear.  They can be very small, or very large.  They all have this in common, though: they hurt.  In order to bear them, a part of us must die.  They are not the trials that life forces on us, they are the ones that we are asked to bear, and willingly accept.  They are the opportunities that God gives us to deny our selfish nature, and, instead, bring glory to our Father.  We are very tempted to save ourselves in this life.  It is our nature.  It is the survival of the fittest.  We want to jump down from the cross, and leave it far behind us.  It is not God's way, however.  Just like our Master, we find that by bearing our cross, we minister life to the world because we show Jesus' death in a measure, and, at the same time, we find that we are comforted by the tender love of God.  It is by losing our selfish life that we learn to gain real spiritual life.  "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.  So then death worketh in us, but life in you." (2 Corinthians 4:8-12).

 

Keep in mind that wherever God requires us to die to self, He will also bring resurrection life.  He will minister life in some way through our death, and, at the same time, we will experience the resurrection life of Jesus Christ.  If that same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead dwells in you, it will also quicken you that you might know the abundant life that only Christ can give.  We are not in this world to save ourselves, but to save others by the example that we set for them in Christ.  We are meant to be a savor (flavor, fragrance, aroma) of Christ to the world.  Our lives are to point men to the Savior Who died for them.  If we are so busy saving ourselves, and climbing down from every cross that God gives us to bear, how can we do anyone else any good?  Peter tells us, "For as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin." (1 Peter 4:1).

 

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body, ye shall live."  (Romans 8:12, 13)

 

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it." (Luke 9:23).