Christ knew that the time had come for Him to depart out of the world, and go to His Father. And having loved His own that were in the world, He loved them unto the end. He was now in the shadow of the cross, and the pain was torturing His heart. He knew that He would be deserted in the hour of His betrayal. He knew that by the most humiliating process to which criminals were subjected He would be put to death. He knew the ingratitude and cruelty of those He had come to save. He knew how great the sacrifice that He must make, and for how many it would be in vain. Knowing all that was before Him, He might naturally have been overwhelmed with the thought of His own humiliation and suffering. But He looked upon the twelve, who had been with Him as His own, and who, after His shame and sorrow and painful usage were over, would be left to struggle in the world. His thoughts of what He Himself must suffer were ever connected with His disciples. He did not think of Himself. His care for them was uppermost in His mind.” The Desire of Ages, 643
- He knew
- He would be betrayed
- He would be deserted
- He would be humiliated and shamed
- He would be treated with ingratitude and cruelty
- He would be rejected
- The Pharisees and Sadducees were plotting His death
- The sacrifice He was making would, for some, be in vain
- He must bear the weight of the grief of ages alone
- The terrible effects of transgressing God’s law
- He would be separated from His Father
- The time had come that Satan’s power over the world should be contested
“The Son of God, heaven’s glorious Commander, was touched with pity for the fallen race. His heart was moved with infinite compassion as the woes of the lost world rose up before Him. But divine love had conceived a plan whereby man might be redeemed. The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In all the universe, there was but One who could, in behalf of man, satisfy its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression. None but Christ could redeem fallen man from the curse of the law, and bring him again into harmony with heaven. Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and the Son. Christ would reach to the depths of misery to rescue the ruined race.
“By His death, Christ would ransom many, and would destroy him who had the power of death.” The Signs of the Times, November 4, 1908
Thank You, Jesus. You knew the personal cost and still You died to be our Saviour, rose from the grave to give us hope, and returned to heaven to be our Mediator.