Spiritual Strength For Each Day
“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).
The death of Jesus is an unfathomable event that can never be described in all its depth in human words. It was not a man who had a mortal, limited lifespan who died then, but He who alone possessed immortality. God died at that time in Jesus Christ. Eternal life died. As eternal life cannot actually die, for this would be a contradiction in itself, an even greater power must have been behind it. This power was love, the all-overpowering and conquering love of the Father and the Son. We read of this prophetically in Song of Solomon 8:6, “Love is strong as death.” When eternal life cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34), God was silent. Thus, the preaching of the cross is indeed for us who are saved the power of God, as 1 Corinthians 1:18 says.
For the world it is foolishness, however, for the natural man does not know what to make of a crucified Christ. Our Lord gave His life voluntarily. It was not taken from Him; this was clearly demonstrated when He first bowed His head, and then when He died.
