Why Did Jesus Do It?
Why was Jesus willing to go through ridicule, rejection, abandonment, and suffer unfathomable pain just to keep His relationship with us? Why was God willing to sacrifice His only Begotten Son in order to provide a path for eternal love and an everlasting relationship between Him and His creation? It all comes down to LOVE. Agape love. (See different types of love below)
Agape is the type of love Jesus taught, commanded, and exemplified to us in every possible way. A way of loving each other that is difficult for humans to embrace because most hearts are unable to give such love. Being unable to give a sacrificial love often leads one to be unable to accept such devotion and love because the concept is so foreign to most people. However, the Trinity united in order to save the relationship between God and mankind so that eternal life together can be offered. The love God has for us is Agape love, and we are required to accept Jesus to give it to others.
3 KINDS OF LOVE
1. Eros refers to physical or sexual love. The word eros was commonly used in the Greek-speaking world of New Testament times. The word itself is not found in the pages of the New Testament. The concept of physical love, however—expressed in the context of marriage—is found and affirmed in the New Testament (see 1 Cor. 7:5; Heb. 13:4).
2. Philos means warm affection or friendship. Philos was commonly used with reference to friendships or family relationships. For example, it was used in Matthew 10:37 to indicate love for father and mother or son and daughter. Philos was the word used of Jesus’ love for His friend Lazarus (John 11:3,36) and His love for His disciple (John 20:2).
A related word, storgē, means “family devotion.” Storgē is not a common word in the New Testament. In Romans 12:10, it is compounded with philos (philostorgoi) and can be translated “devoted” (NASB) or “brotherly affection” (ESV).
3. Agapē is the sacrificial, unconditional love of God. In the New Testament, agapē is the highest form of love. But outside of the New Testament, the word was rarely used. Prior to New Testament times, agapē did not carry any special significance as a higher kind of love. Thus, it’s the New Testament understanding of the unique nature of God’s love—not the word’s usage in the Greek-speaking world of the first century—that gives the word agapē its special meaning.
Agapē is the word that describes God’s love in John 3:16, “God loved the world in this way …”. We are commanded to love God (Matt. 22:37) and love one another (John 13:34) with agapē love. Agapē is the word for love used in 1 Corinthians 13.
I loosely liken agape love to that a parent has for a child. A woman giving natural birth experiences extreme pain and suffering. During the birthing process, it feels like it’s tearing you in two and you won’t survive such pain. After the birthing process is over, a woman is normally overwhelmed with a type of love she has never felt before. Agape love. So, despite the most agonizing pain, a woman will do it again and again. She is willing to sacrifice her own body to disfigurement, possible death, and extraordinary suffering to give birth again. Why? Because each new birth brings new life, new hope, and new opportunities and prospects for the world!
Jesus suffered far beyond the pain of childbirth and would do it again for similar reasons. With each soul that is saved, God’s creation (ALL humanity) has a better chance of experiencing life as God has always intended. With Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, we have hope for an eternal relationship and life with the Father and Son. A forever relationship where there is no more pain, suffering, and anxiety. A perfect life of peace and fellowship in heaven.
Through The Word (Bible) and following the example that Jesus provided while incarnate on earth, there is hope that every soul, heart, and mind will return to The Father who created mankind for companionship. The Bible tells us that it is the Father’s wish that Jesus not lose even one whom the Father has given Him. John 6:39 “And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those He has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.” Jesus did IT so that we can be cleansed of sin and therefore be returned to the Father as He created us: seen as sinless, clean, and pure.
Through His sacrificial love, Jesus also taught us that there is NO SACRIFICE too big in order to bring others to God and to serve God’s planned purpose for our lives on earth. Many people, in their rebellious state, think that becoming subservient to God is an insult to their uniqueness and that selflessly serving others is a sacrifice far too big to make. Jesus and the Bible teach us that sacrificing freedom, choice (free will), and selfish needs IS the way to God. It is proof to God that you love Him more than you love yourself!
When a woman has a child, she has hopes for him/her. She hopes that they will live a good, humanitarian, and fulfilling life. The EXACT desires of God above. In order to live such a life, one needs a perfect example so they have someone to emulate. God, the Father and Jesus provided such an example when Jesus suffered every type of insult to man (emotional, spiritual, and physical) in order to prove that we are capable of such sacrifices if we keep our eyes on God and our hearts open to the Holy Spirit. In return, it is making this “sacrifice” to God that actually enables us to live the most peaceful, fulfilling, and happy life in its purest/truest form.
The joy we experience from emulating the sacrifices of Jesus proves to us that GIVING and loving completely and freely (giving agape love) is filling yourself and your life to the highest level possible. So, as you celebrate Easter and remember the living sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for your salvation, remember that living your life with the same love, devotion, and selflessness is how we honor what He did for us.
Agape love is why Jesus did it. Amen. ><>
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