Jesus: The Divine Bridge Between God and Humanity

When humanity becomes unholy due to sin, it moves away from the Garden of Love, originally the Garden of Eden, where God resides. God yearns to reunite with humanity according to His holiness. To bridge the gap between Himself and humanity, God sent Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, to the world. Jesus willingly accepted the path of Calvary to create a separation between humanity and sin, much like the irreversible divide between East and West. His journey of Calvary is the path of redemption, leading to the Garden of Love (Heaven).

(1) Jesus' Final Moment:

Jesus realized His final hour was approaching. As the time drew near, He became deeply distressed, anticipating the agony He would soon face. After the Last Supper, He instructed His disciples to pray while He went alone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He prayed, saying:

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42, NIV)

(2) God's Wish in the Garden of Gethsemane:

Do you know how God responded to Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane? It may seem that God didn't respond. But let me tell you that God's silence was, in fact, His response! Jesus deciphered God's response in His silence and then, under intense anguish, emerged from the Garden of Gethsemane to carry the cross. Can you imagine God's response to Jesus now? The response was hidden in His silence: 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him.' This may sound unusual, but it's the reality. As a result, Jesus' sweat was like drops of blood; therefore, an angel was sent by His Father to console Him, as recorded in Scripture:

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:43-44)

After praying, Jesus discerned God's response in His silence: 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him.' He then silently exited the Garden of Gethsemane and approached the crowd carrying torches, who had gathered to seize Him. Jesus, aware of the events that would unfold, intentionally asked them, as recorded in Scripture:

'Who is it you want?' (John 18:4, NIV)

In response, the torch-bearing mob, armed with swords and sticks, replied, as recorded in Scripture:

‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ (John 18:5, NIV)

In response, Jesus, to fulfill God's sacred desire hidden in His silence - 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him' - meaning to bear humanity's cross, surrendered Himself to the arrogant crowd, saying, as recorded in Scripture:

‘I am he.’ (John 18:5, NIV)

It is essential to understand that prior to this, Jesus would often separate Himself from the crowd, discerning their ill intentions. As a result, they could not harm Him, as evidenced by the following Scriptures:

At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 7:30, NIV)

At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. (John 8:59, NIV)

So from that day on they plotted to take his life. Therefore, Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. (John 11:53-54, NIV)

Before His time had come, Jesus would heal the sick and preach, then strictly instruct them not to disclose anything, as recorded in Scripture:

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matthew 8:3-4,NIV)

Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. (Mark 5:42-43¸NIV)

Until the appointed time, when God’s desire- ‘Crucify Him, Crucify Him’ – was not disclosed, Jesus protected Himself and remained hidden from those who intended to harm Him. As recorded in Scripture:

Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.” (Luke 22:53, NIV)

But at the appointed time, Jesus discerned God's wishes - 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him' - and willingly surrendered Himself to the mob holding torches and sticks in their hands, as recorded in Scripture:

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) (John 18:5, NIV)

(3) The unholy wishes of Pontius Pilate and the mob outside his court:

At the appointed time, Jesus willingly surrendered Himself to fulfill His Father's sacred desire – 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him' - to the mob holding torches and sticks. Then, He was presented before Pontius Pilate's court. The mob outside the court chanted their unholy desire: 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him,' as recorded in Scripture:

“Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” (John 19:15, NIV)

But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. (Luke 23:23, NIV)

Pontius Pilate, amidst the unholy desire of the mob outside his court - 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him' - passed a decree to crucify the Owner of the heavenly throne, Jesus Christ, and to release the notorious Barabbas, who was serving his sentence, in order to save his own worldly throne, as recorded in Scripture:

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. (John 19:16, NIV)

The mob outside Pontius Pilate's court, driven by their unholy desire - 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him' - prepared a wooden cross to crucify Jesus. They placed the heavy cross on Jesus' shoulder and pushed Him toward Calvary. It is regrettable that the mob imposed their own cross on Jesus, rather than the cross God had ordained for Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. By doing so, the mob committed sin, as their cross was not aligned with God's holy desire. Humanity must submit to Jesus' cross according to God's will, not their own desires.

Therefore, we will explore the cross in detail in our next article.

To be Continued…..

==> Stay tuned for our next article, where we'll uncover how 'The Formation of the Cross’ that transforms our faith journey.

Amen!

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