“He left the splendor of Heaven, knowing His destiny, was a lonely hill called Golgotha, where He suffered for you and for me.” That’s a line in one of my favorite spiritual songs entitled, “If That Isn’t Love.”
He didn’t have to do it. And, to be honest, I wonder at times why He did come. There is something about the torture of eternal damnation that we are not comprehending. Something about Hell that would not let Love sit idly by and do nothing. Something about being eternally separated from God the Father that caused Jesus to “leave the splendor of Heaven.”
Have you ever wondered what is so horrific about dying without Christ that would motivate the One whom we know as “Jesus,” to voluntarily submit Himself to the agony of the Cross? Admittedly, there is something “out there” waiting to consume our souls that is dreadful and gruesome beyond description, for Jesus would not have submitted Himself to the frailties of mankind and eventually to the Cross unless it were so.
At times, even Jesus’ reaction to certain events seems to give us a “hint” of the magnitude of vileness in the “spiritual host of wickedness in heavenly places” (cf Eph. 6:12). Even He, as the Son of God “groaned in the spirit and was troubled” (John 11:33). When the trigger was pulled that initiated the events that would lead to the cross, Jesus said, “Now My soul is troubled…” (John 12:27). What do you suppose it was that was “troubling” the soul of the Son of God? Jesus knew He would eventually win the battle, but victory wasn’t going to be cheap or easy. His purpose for going to the Cross was to “purchase His church with His own blood” (Acts 20:28), in order that all the saved could be added to it (Acts 2:47).
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The cost, the precision, the organization throughout history, the integrity and the commitment necessary to bring into existence an institution whereby men could be saved is beyond description. It is truly sad to realize that what Jesus considered worthy enough to die for, mankind hardly gives it a second thought. People will often verbalize the importance of the church, but their speech, action, and lives exposes their true inner feelings about the importance of the church, and the spreading of the gospel that populates it. People can often fool preachers and other Christians, but the Bible informs us that God knows what’s in the heart (1Sam. 16:7; John 2:25).
Since God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), He knows there will be a “few” (Matt. 7:13-14), who will come to a knowledge of the Truth about the importance of the church, and its necessity to being saved. It was for these “few” that Jesus left the splendor of Heaven. Are you one of the few?
–Toby Miller
