At the end of our life, will others say of us, “mission accomplished!” For Jesus, the answer is unquestionably, yes! In the classic novel, “Tale of Two Cities”, by Charles Dickens, the character, Sydney Carton leads a relatively sad life as a lawyer who has a problem with alcohol and is in love with a woman he will never have. Charles Darnay, who is married to Lucy, who is the woman that Sydney loves, is in a hopeless situation in prison awaiting his execution by the guillotine. Sydney sneaks into the prison and selflessly changes places with the condemned Charles Darnay. Sydney loses his head, so that Charles Darnay may live. Many are so familiar with the events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus that they take what He did for granted. He accomplished what Sydney Carton did in this novel, but it wasn’t for just one man, but for everyone, for all eternity. Contrasting Adam and Jesus, we read in Romans 5:18, “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.”

Many will minimize what Jesus did, by saying, “well He was God, so of course He did what He did.” Concerning Jesus, we read in Philippians 2:6-8, “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Though Jesus was indeed 100% God, and 100% man, He emptied Himself of His divine powers and walked the earth as a man completely under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. When He healed it was as a Man under the power of the Holy Spirit. If we miss this point, we miss what He did. As a Man, He prayed to His Father, in the garden of Gethsemane, in Matthew 26:39, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” So, when we read of the events leading up to the cross: the beatings, the false accusations, the mocking’s, the spitting in His face, etc.; this was all being done to the Man, Jesus. Could He have stopped this at any time? Yes! After Peter, fought in the garden, Jesus tells Peter in Matthew 26:53, “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?”

As Jesus was up on the cross, we read in Mark 15:31-32, “Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Jesus could have definitely come off that cross to silence His accusers, but that would have been at the expense of our salvation. Jesus did not choose to defend Himself, instead, He chose to love us by dying for our sins. It’s hard to comprehend our perfect, sinless Savior enduring the jeers and mockery of the bystanders. But I believe at that moment, He didn’t see His accusers, instead He saw you and me, and the sea of humanity: past, present, and future whose hope hinged on this one singular event. So, may no one minimize what He accomplished by what He did, by dismissing His actions by saying, He was God. May no one just see Him on the cross as the mascot of the Christian faith. May we see our Savior, as the Man Jesus, who withstood the shame and the pain, out of love for us, the sea of sinful humanity, and who was able to say mission accomplished, when He said from the cross in John 19:30, “It is finished”. Thank you, Jesus!!!!