"Trust me about the tree"
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." (Matthew 26:39 NLT)
This thing began in a garden with Adam & ends in a garden with Jesus. Adam sinned against God & Jesus restores that relationship via obedience to God. God told Adam, "Trust me about the tree" but he rebelled. God told Jesus, "Trust me about the tree" & he obeyed (Keller). Jesus is the true & better Adam that gave his life for the restoration of sinners to God.
Jesus is wrestling with the enormity of the cross. Not only the physical suffering but especially the spiritual suffering.
I'm not sure the weight can be accurately calculated. Jesus is about to come face to face with the wrath of God for the sins of the entire world. And not just those that are living at that time. He is paying the debt for those that lived before & those that will live in the future.
When I think about all the sin I've even committed in my life, it seems impossible to number. Thousands of sins committed. Thousands of times I've rebelled against God. And I'm just one person.
And Jesus not only carried sin but he literally became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). How could he not have been filled with sorrow unto death? The wrath of God against sin for the entirety of human history past, present, & future fell on Jesus in one moment at the cross. This is what Jesus endured for us.
Words cannot explain the humility this brings. His suffering was deeper & wider than any human being has ever suffered & he did it for rebels. Imperfect but saved rebels.
What a Savior.
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