The night is inky black and the air hangs still. Jesus says to Peter, James and John in Gethsemane, “My heart is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Jesus knows His hour has come, to suffer the pain and anguish of the cross. In His humaness, fear and anguish overwelm Him. He prays to His Father and pleads that this cup be taken from Him. Three times He prays this.

However, in the end He says, “My Father! If this cup can not be taken away unless I drink it, (if there is no other way) Your will be done.” (Math. 26:42)

Once He said this, with the Father’s help, He set His face like flint and was determined to do His Father’s will. (from Is. 50:7)

Then He turned to face His betrayers. The crowd who came for him with swords and clubs. And He asked them who they were searching for.

“Jesus the Nazarene,” they said.

“I AM HE”, Jesus said. And they all fell to the ground. (John 18:4-5)

Amazing! Just the name, I AM was enough to flatten the brave soldiers. Yet Jesus let them take Him.

Although this was not enough for Peter. Quickly he drew his sword and slashed off an ear of one of the soldiers. Ouch!

Jesus calmly told him to put his sword away.

Then Jesus said this, “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us and He WOULD SEND THEM INSTANTLY?” (Math. 26:53)

12 legions of angels is what the greek says. One legion is 6,000, so 12 legions would be 72,000 angels, at least, at Jesus’ disposal.

One word to the Father and his attackers, the religous leaders, all those against Jesus, possilby the whole nation, maybe the whole world would have been TOAST.

The power and the rescources Jesus had at His disposal was beyond our understanding.

Jesus asked His Father to take the cup of suffering from Him, yet He wasn’t forced to walk that road to the cross.

He was not ordered to come to earth, it was not manditory that he die, it was not required of Him to give His life.

Yet, voluntarily He held out His hands so they could tie them. Willingly turned His face and let them slap His cheek. Meekly He stood and let them spit in his face. Submissively He turned His back so they could whip it to shreds.

He suffered mightily, He was crushed, He willingly laid on that cross, so you and me could live eternally with Him. Thank You Jesus!

For without His sacrifice, all of mankind would have been doomed to eternity, forever and ever in utter darkness where there is knashing of teeth and every kind of evil.

That’s why He did it. It was the Father’s plan, there was no other way, His Father asked, but Jesus willingly let them lead Him to slaughter only and foremost because He loves us. Every one of us.

Let that sink in.

“He could have called ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set Him free.

He could have called ten thousand angels but he died alone for you and me.” (Ten Thousand Angels by Billy Henderson and Steven Dale Jones)

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