The Only Way - Luke 23
What an incredibly long day for Jesus! He had been up all night. He had endured the ridicule and mockery of soldiers and religious leaders. He had faced His executioners for hours on end. He had been beaten mercilessly. And then he walked through the streets of Jerusalem carrying a heavy wooden beam, leaving behind a trail of blood droplets. Until they nailed him to it and dropped the cross into the ground. Then and there Jesus agonized, bled and eventually died. What a welcome relief that last breath must have been to Him. It was over. The long terrifying ordeal was over.
As I read the words of Luke 23, it brought to my memory a recent conversation I had with a young friend. We were discussing the difficult situations GOD allows in our lives and the resulting positive changes that occur in us. And then he posed the question: Could GOD make these changes in another way? The implication being that we should not need to endure such tragedies because since GOD is so powerful, He should be able to facilitate the process of growth in us without so much pain.
And that was my question about the crucifixion: Couldn't GOD have saved humanity in a less painful way? Wasn't there something He could have done that was less stressful and yet still effective in saving mankind from his own undoing? Why the cruelty of an execution by nails?
But then again, I think about how ingrained self-centered thinking and living is. Freeing us from this kind of life requires more than a glancing blow. Getting us out of a life so completely enmeshed in itself calls for a striking blow deep in our souls. GOD'S desire for us was (& still is) to set us free from the bondage of self-focused living and give us the opportunity and ability to live in love.
No, there was no other way. Only something as powerful as Jesus' crucifixion was sufficient enough to do what GOD desired - salvation.