When it was time for Jesus to return to Jerusalem to die for our sins, He and His twelve disciples walked toward Jerusalem. As they walked back to Jerusalem, Jesus reminded them of his death and resurrection, "Listen, we are going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will sentence Him to die and hand him over to the Romans. They will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him with a whip, and kill Him, but after three days He will rise again." (Mark 10:32-34). Jesus knew exactly what would happen to Him in Jerusalem, yet instead of saving His life by not going to Jerusalem, He went to Jerusalem to suffer and die for our sins.
Jesus knew it was time for Him to sacrifice His life to pay the penalty of our sins so that we may be forgiven and receive eternal life. The penalty of our sins was so severe that there was only one solution to our sins: the life of our Lord Jesus. It is difficult to imagine and understand how God, the Creator of the universe, and everything in it, including human beings, would take up a human body and suffer and die for the human beings He created. With all the miracles He had done, He healed the sick, cast out demons, raised people from the dead, and calmed the storm in the sea of Galilee, and with all the powerful angels that He created, including Lucifer, who rebelled against Him because he wanted to be God, could easily avoid His death in Jerusalem. However, He did not choose to save His life but to give His life away for us because He loves us dearly.
God would do anything to save us from our sins. If death was the solution, He would gladly die for our sins. Although He allowed death to overcome Him, death could not hold Him forever, so He arose from the dead on the third day. So with His death and resurrection, His salvation for anyone who believes in Him is completed. The most precious treasure that He ever created in all His creation is us, and God will do anything to get His precious treasure back to Himself.
Ask yourself these questions: Why did Jesus choose to return to Jerusalem, knowing that He would be arrested and killed? How can I be forgiven and saved from my sins? How should I live my life knowing that God loves me so much?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for loving me so much that you would do anything to save me from my sins. I am so grateful for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross. You could have abandoned me from my sins and received your eternal punishment, yet Lord Jesus, You took the punishment of my sins upon yourself and died for them that I may be forgiven and receive eternal life. I praise and thank you for everything you have done in my life. In Your name Jesus, I pray. Amen.