This especially strikes me as I consider the petty and cruel mockery of the passersby, the religious leaders, and those being crucified with Jesus. Each group mockingly called on Him to come down from the cross and save Himself. They obviously assumed He was helpless and, therefore, assumed that all of the fuss about this man had been clearly and grossly exaggerated. Consider the leaders' snide remark: "He saved others, but he can't save himself! Let this 'Christ', this 'King of the Jews', come down from the cross. Then we'll see and believe!"
"He can't save Himself."
You see, they made the terrible mistake of assuming that because He didn't save Himself it meant He couldn't save Himself. How little they understood about love! Behold the incredible love of Jesus: He who was able to save Himself was unwilling to do it! His humble and gentle devotion to His Father's will and our eternal good compelled Him to remain fixed to the tree of His own suffering, death and accursedness.
Jesus' power was far greater than the power I have, but God has entrusted to me a measure of power in this world. My decisions have an effect and make an impact. Under the training of my Master-Rabbi, I can learn to wield that power gently and lovingly. I can learn to use my strength in ways that benefit others, even if it means I will be hurt or lose out. I can choose to not act, even when acting would be beneficial to my own interests. I can remain in a place of suffering and loss if I am convinced that doing so will please God and benefit people.
Does choosing to withhold power make someone weak? Quite to the contrary, godly strength must choose to hold back for the sake of bringing life. Imagine if God always did things just because He could. Would any of us still be here? Consider that Jesus could have commanded over twelve legions of angels to rescue Him (Matthew 26:53) or His followers to prevent His arrest (John 18:36). He didn't. Just like He didn't come down from the cross and save himself.
How are you using your power in your relationships or in your position at home, work, church, etc? Are you learning from Jesus to act and not act according to love? May it ever be so for disciples of Jesus so that the world may see the life-giving love of Jesus on display in us! Amen.
