The Cross: A Sovereign Savior

Once again Jesus is the one asking the questions (vv. 19-24). In the first of numerous interrogations, Jesus turns the table on his interrogator:

“Why do you question me? Question those who heard what I told them. . . . If I have spoken wrongly, give evidence about the wrong; but if rightly, why do you hit me?” (vv. 21, 23)

Jesus is innocent, but he’s not a victim: a victim has no control over his circumstances. He reminds the high priest he taught openly in the synagogue and temple. What did Jesus teach? In the synagogue at Capernaum, he said, “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again” (6:35). In the temple he said,

“My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (10:27-28)

His message was the gospel. He came to die, and through his death he brings salvation to sinners who are cut off from God.

Peter denies Jesus and the rooster crows (18:25-27). Now we have the complete fulfillment of Jesus’s words to Peter in chapter 13. Everything Jesus said would happen has come to pass, and everything that’s come to pass gives us confidence in the sovereign control of Jesus.

John has been meticulously building the case that Jesus is sovereign over his own betrayal, trial, and death. The final piece of the puzzle is Jesus’s death—a topic Jesus addressed many times. Back in chapter 3, at the conclusion of his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus prophesied his death: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (3:14-15). Jesus makes reference to an account in Israel’s history when God sent poisonous serpents to punish the people. God then instructed Moses to craft a bronze serpent, place the serpent on a pole, and lift it up off the ground. Everyone who looked to the bronze serpent would be saved from death. Jesus uses this event as an illustration of his death. There are numerous similarities: people are dying, God intervenes, faith is required. But Jesus highlights another similarity: both means of rescue are “lifted up.” Jesus uses the same language in chapter 8. Describing his death, Jesus says, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he” (8:28). He says it even more explicitly in chapter 12: “‘As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate what kind of death he was about to die” (12:32-33). Why are the Romans involved in Jesus’s death? Why is Jesus brought before Pilate? Because Jesus chose to die by crucifixion. He prophesied beforehand he would be lifted up in death, and this night he stood before Pilate so that his prophecy would be fulfilled (18:28-32). Every decision had been orchestrated by Jesus, including the choice of a cross. He wrote every note of that evening’s symphony and conducted every measure in perfect harmony with his sovereign will.

In 1906, Albert Schweitzer published a book called The Quest for the Historical Jesus. In it he wrote,

There is silence all around. The Baptist appears, and cries: “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Soon after that comes Jesus, and in the knowledge that he is the coming Son of Man lays hold of the wheel of the world to set it moving on the last revolution which is to bring all ordinary history to a close. It refuses to turn, and he throws himself upon it. Then it does turn; and crushes him. . . . The wheel rolls onward, and the mangled body of the immeasurably great Man, who was strong enough to think of himself as the spiritual rule of mankind and to bend history to his purpose, is hanging upon it still. (Quoted in Hughes, John, 413–14)

Schweitzer viewed Jesus as a victim. Caught up in the swirling political climate, Jesus attempted to make himself great and tragically fell to his death. But on the contrary, in spite of the treachery of Judas, the blasphemy of the Jews, and the brutality of the Romans, Jesus will not allow us to see him as a helpless victim.

There’s also been a movement to view Jesus not as a helpless victim but as a courageous martyr. His death serves as a model of selfless love for all mankind and an example we should follow. Yes, Jesus was heroic. Yes, he suffered persecution and death. Yes, his death is an example. But we can’t look at him and see a courageous martyr. There’s only one proper way to view Jesus. Jesus is the sovereign Savior. His life is not taken from him. He lays it down willingly. We didn’t need a victim to die in our place. We didn’t need an example to show us how to die. We needed a rescuer who could save us from death. Rulers and authorities didn’t overcome Jesus. He voluntarily sacrificed himself to fulfill the eternal plan of God. The power and authority he demonstrated in calming the sea and raising the dead are also revealed in his arrest, trial, and death. At no point did Jesus lose control. Not a breath was taken or a word uttered that did not meet his sovereign approval.

When people are abused, we wrap our arms around them and cry. We empathize with their suffering and long for justice. When we think about their pain, our hearts hurt with them. We feel sorry for victims, but we don’t put our faith in them for salvation. Had Jesus simply been a victim of senseless violence, then the appropriate response to his story would be compassion, but when we consider the cross of Jesus, compassion isn’t enough.

When we hear accounts of great courage, we’re inspired to live courageously. The bold faith of martyrs stirs within me a desire to live with greater boldness for the sake of the gospel, but the death of Jesus on the cross should produce more than bravery.

Looking at the cross and seeing in it a call for pity or bravery fails to understand the depth of our problem. If the root of our problem was injustice, then Jesus’s dying as a victim could arouse our compassion and motivate us to fight for justice. If the root of our problem was fear, then Jesus’s dying as a martyr could inspire us to bravery in sharing the gospel. But the root of our problem is more serious and deadlier: sin has cut us off from God. We’ve rebelled against our Creator and received a sentence of death. Nothing we do can change our position. No amount of effort can repair our relationship with God. Something radical had to be done for us.

Jesus did just that on the cross. The perfect Son of God was born as a human baby, lived a sinless life, and then took upon himself our punishment. Because of his sacrifice, God has extended terms of peace. If we look at Jesus’s sacrifice and pity him or even resolve to die like him, then we call his sacrifice worthless and remain estranged from God. We must respond to his sacrifice by casting ourselves completely on him by taking refuge in him, not our own efforts. The call of the cross is not a call for empathy or bravery but for complete dependence on Jesus Christ.