Matthew 27:39-42 “And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.”
So, we have our Lord, the Son of God— God as man, the Second of the Trinity --hanging on the cross, bleeding and dying, paying for the sins of the world, fulfilling prophesy; and the self-proclaimed “authorities” of the day were taunting Him to “save thyself.” They that were to be the ones proclaiming the arrival of the Savior!
Still, even they saw and knew that He was the Christ. That fact had shaken them to the very core when their own vile wretchedness came to light in His presence, “He saved others,” they said, throwing down a huge Freudian slip by acknowledging His power, ability, and willingness to do so, then seek to save their lofty and prestigious positions, “Himself He cannot save.”
How evil, petty, and selfish these men were. But, here's the real problem.
Re-read the above passages, replacing “they” with “I.” In other words, we all have done our part to keep Christ on the cross. Not one human being has ever, on their own, been any more sanctified than the very people who drove the nails into His hands, or the crowd that celebrated the act. Here's where the difference comes in.
The chief priests and Pharisees could have accepted Jesus as their Savior, could even have hung out at the tomb to witness His resurrection. If they had been so worried that His disciples would steal His body to make it seem He had risen from the dead, they would have stood guard themselves. They did not want to know the truth.
Do you?
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