Christ's Submission for Our Salvation

I used to not like Good Friday. I dodged it and really only attended service because it was “just what Christians do.” I found it too depressing, dark, and couldn’t wait until it had passed. Besides, wasn’t Easter supposed to be the focal point? Only one Good Friday service as a child sticks out as a sacred memory. The church sanctuary was dead silent except for the pounding of hammers hitting iron nails into huge 30 foot tall crosses. Every service attendee was give a 3" iron nail, a small piece of paper to write down some of our sins, and nail it to the cross before silently and somberly exiting the service. It was deeply memorable, and solidified the gravity of Good Friday in my heart. I still have an iron nail from that service in my keepsake box. As I've gotten older with my life winding its way through deep valleys and mountaintops and Jesus chiseling me to be more like Him, I have found increasing value in sitting silently to take effort to in the recognize, reflect, and rest in that sorrow. I believe that one absolutely must take time to absorb the power of great sorrow in order to fully comprehend, cherish, and celebrate great joy. So it is with the event elements of Holy Week, which include Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday, and Easter Sunday.

One piece of Jesus' crucifixion that is not as commonly honed in on and discussed is the emotional and mental sacrifice and the toll that the anticipatory Jesus experienced during His journey to the cross. I encourage you to do your own dive into Scripture to discern and dissect the stunning, sinless responses from our Lord. No human could ever respond and react in the pure manner that Christ did. His gentle and humble, and truthful response to every act that unfolded were yet another miraculous contribution to the multifaceted miracle of grace that unfolded that fateful day of death, which in the end, did not and never will prevail! The Lamb of God who is also at the same time the Good Shepherd laid down His life as the perfect and only acceptable sacrifice, but sacrifice means that it came with a cost.

“And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And He said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.’ And going a little farther, He fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14:33-36 (ESV)

The physiological impact of dread has a significant impact on a person as their body enters the fight-or-flight mode. Physiological expressions include intense and painful muscle tensions, high blood pressure, cold, clammy hands, tachycardia, rapid breathing leading to hyperventilation, nausea, forgetfulness due to a combination of blood flow to brain decreasing, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for rational thinking declining in functionality while the amygdala, which is the body's control of fight-or-flight response to external stimuli, increases in functionality, vision issues with pupil dilation, jitteriness and shaking, adrenaline and cortisol dumping into the bloodstream, intense sweating, which for Jesus, included the very rare occurrence of hematohidrosis (sweating blood), and SO much more unimaginable, extreme physical pain and discomfort...all while His mind was also drowning in utter anguish. For most people, the fearful anticipation of something only lasts for a brief period of time, then they are granted relief once the situation is over. For Jesus, the dread lasted days, and His relief would be found only in death. Yet, despite the dread of all of the horrific trauma that would unfold around His journey to Calvary, the amount of self control, humility, mercy, grace, forgiveness, gentleness, and pure, unconditional love He showed is jaw dropping, inimitable, and deserves quiet recognition, holy honor, and deep gratitude.

Below are just a few of the fear and reactions from our Lord that I identified during my Bible study over the past few days, but I encourage you to do your own study to deepen your awareness of what Jesus endured emotionally for your soul to be saved from the wages of sin, which is the penalty of death.

• Christ dreaded all of the events to come, yet entered a frequented garden and prayed to His Father and asked His closest friends, the disciples, to pray with Him.

• Christ dreaded being betrayed for a mere pile of coins by a man He had welcomed into His innermost circle, yet He answered the soldiers with truthfulness, “I am He” as they surrounded Him in the garden deamnding to know His identity.

• Christ dreaded being denied not once, but three times, by one of His most beloved, faithful disciples, Peter, yet He still loved Peter deeply before and after the betrayal.

• Christ dreaded the bantering words of Pilate, but still answered him with truth and confidence regarding His position as the King of kings.

• Christ dreaded the sheer exhaustion and depletion of every ounce of stamina from His body, yet still carried His cross up the hill of Golgotha before it was forced upon the back of a man named Simon.

• Christ dreaded his flesh being ripped from his body while likely crying out in piercing screams from the floggings, yet He stayed, letting the whips lash Him and the twisted thorny vines be pressed into His skull.

• Christ dreaded the nails being driven forcefully through His flesh and bone, yet used these scars to prove His divinity.

• Christ dreaded the humility of being stripped naked in the cold and mocked by the soldiers, yet He still used His faltering voice to pray, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

• Christ dreaded seeing His own mother weep at the foot of the cross before His death, yet He still told John to take care of her.

• Christ dreaded the sharp, taunting words of the criminal on the cross next to Him, but did not offer back a sharp reply and  replied to the other criminal, who had chided the taunting criminal, in mercy by welcoming Him into paradise.

• Christ dreaded the offering of nasty sour wine on a sponge as a final drink to fulfill the prophecy, yet still He broke bread and drank wine with His disciples at the Last Supper.

• Christ dreaded having His Father turn His face away from His only Son, yet said, “take this cup from Me, not My will, but Yours.”

The mental and emotional toll that Jesus endured is unfathomable and humbling, and should drive us to our knees at the feet of Christ in utmost gratitude in the same way He was driven to His knees in the garden. When Jesus cried out, “it is finished,” His submission birthed our salvation. A priceless cost for the souls of humanity - His beloved Imago Dei. Thank you, Jesus. May the King of kings' sacrifice be the catalyst to our own submission to His will!

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” ~ John 6:38-40 (ESV)