39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
February 17, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today: Multitudes mock Jesus; Matthew 27:39-43; Mark 15:29-32; Luke 23:35-37
On Wednesday nights at the church I attend we have a self-help group running for people who have co-dependency issues. One thing that I have learned from them is that a person can not help themselves get out of their addictions. Nor can you help anyone else out of their addictions. If you try, you run the risk of becoming codependent and having an addiction to trying to fix them.
The only way one can come out of those addictions to recognize that they can not do it in their own strength. As I have gone through this program, I have had to say that I am powerless in myself, that I can not break the chains. However, if I turn acknowledge that I have the problem, and turn to God for help (a higher power as some organizations say), then God can help me through the problems. To put it bluntly, I can not save myself.
ESV: Mark 15:31. So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, He saved others; he cannot save himself.
Here is a man who could save Himself. Jesus had not only the power to come off that cross, but since He had not sinned, He should not have been up there and had the right to do so. If He had done so I would still be in my co-dependent state. I could not save my self, I had to have God do it for me by having His Son die for me. For years I tried to do things in my own power, until I realized that I could never do it for myself, I had to have help.
Read for next time: Robbers mock Jesus; Matthew 27:44, Mark 15:32; Luke 23:39
