It’s hard to imagine giving up your life for someone, but in this torturous and humiliating way, it’s even harder. Why would Jesus do this for us?
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
That’s the reason: love.
There are so many reasons in our lives to fight against God’s plans; they can be painful and hard, they can be boring or take forever, but they are aways good. Jesus recognized this, and even though, humanly, he didn’t want it, he knew it was for the greater good of all of us.
There are numerous reasons why Peter wants nothing to do with Jesus during this dark time. And there is always a litany of reasons for us to reject Jesus on a daily basis.
I think we can separate ourselves from bible stories and think “How could those people do that? How could all those people want Jesus to die?”
The thing that strikes me most in this moment with Judas is that Jesus died for him, too. He died for all of us, no matter the sins we’ve committed
This is the moment Jesus could have said no. He could have asked God to let it happen another way, choose another man, pick another method. But more than wanting to be free from the “cup of suffering” he was about to endure, he wanted God’s will to be done.
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