The Greatest Volunteer

When Jesus said to them “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. (John 18:5)

Hello again. Grace and peace to you. Thank you for visiting. My sabbatical to wait on the Lord to see what He might have for my life has led me into areas of my life that by His grace have been cleansed and dismissed. He's led me full circle to my joy of sharing Christ and His willing work in our lives. I cannot keep silent concerning the things of the LORD (Jeremiah 20:9).

When I was a senior in high school I was told by many veterans, “If you're ever in the military never draw attention to yourself and never volunteer!” I got their point that to volunteer meant hardship and headache.

For years when I read the gospel accounts of Christ's arrest I believed He had no say in the matter. But recently I have come to understand that when arrested by the Romans and guards of the High Priest, Jesus surrendered voluntarily. In fact through His entire trial and crucifixion every second He had all power and control to stop it and bring devastating punishment on his accusers. But He voluntarily chose to endure it.

At His arrest His power and authority were immediately demonstrated by pushing those men to the ground. At that moment He told Peter He could call twelve legions of angels to save Him (Matthew 26:53). It is to be remembered one angel of the LORD went through the army of the Assyrians besieging Jerusalem and in one night and killed 185,000 of those attacking Jerusalem (2nd Kings 19:35). Think of what twelve legions could have done to the Earth!

Jesus said He had come at His Father's request to accomplish His will of redemption (John 12:49, Hebrews 10:7). In fact, this was the determined will of His Father before the Earth was created (Revelation 13:8). That means after His arrest He allowed everything done to Him to satisfy God's wrath against my sins and yours if we would only believe in Him (Luke 23:42,43, Acts 16:31). Everything He has done was for this purpose. Before His kingdom could come sin had to be dealt with first.

All Jesus did leading to the shedding of His blood on the cross was voluntary (Hebrews 12:2). Someone rarely would die for a righteous person but Christ died for all, the unrighteous and the righteous, for all have sinned (Romans 3:23). And He did it when He had all power and authority to say “No.” I'm glad He never listened to anyone who said, “Jesus, never volunteer for anything.” Because He did He bridged the gap for us to come approach God without the blood sacrifices commanded under the Law. He became the final blood sacrifice for us. He was the Greatest Volunteer in all history and I'm humbled and grateful that He did. Meditate on that today and let that fill you with wonder and to voluntarily take Him into your heart and mind. Blessings to you.

Ken