Well… Jesus did not come to show power in the sense we often think about power and popularity; he came in the weakness of human flesh to serve. The cross was the ultimate example of selfless sacrifice and humiliation.

 

What strikes me as I read the Gethsemane narrative today is the gravity of what Jesus is going to carry. Let me paraphrase what I’m hearing....

 

Daddy (the literal translation for Abba), you can do anything—whatever you want. If you wanted to remove the punishment for sin in some other way… you could do it! You could eliminate the suffering from me daddy! But if you chose to do it this way then I will accept it. 

 

God the Father had chosen to use the most excruciating torture at that time to pass on the punishment for sins to his Son. 

 

Thank you Jesus for taking my sins and for accepting the punishment I deserve.