DISCLAIMER: I’m exploring the gospel from a unique perspective and am aware that I might be way off from the truth as I explore, and if I am, please feel free to contact me at nldooley@timeforprovidence.com.

THOUGHT BUBBLE: If you read my previous post you’ll find something that even made me feel strange when writing it because no one other than God knows what the heck I was/am thinking and why, but explore this with me, and if what I write is unreasonable… scratch it. My goal is to learn as I go with the reader.

When I think about a world drowning in sin, I think about the story of Noah and the Ark because it was a world drown, in sin. But I see Noah and the Ark much more than yesterday’s story by how it connects to what’s coming to our world next, which is a world melted by intense heat (2 Peter 3). And if the Lord permits, we’ll explore that prophetic reality in writing eventually.

I’m going to approach our subject matter, a world drowning in sin, with a question derived from the gospel according to Luke chapter 22. The question I present is: Was there another way, a different way, than for Christ our Lord to go to the cross? 

I think at first glance, the immediate answer is… no (Luke 22:42); “yet not My will, but Yours be done.”, Jesus said. But then again, if there wasn’t another way, then why would Jesus say that? I think there would be no reason for Jesus to have said that if Jesus’ will was the same as His Father’s will. And if my observation is reasonable, how was Jesus’ will different from that of His Father’s will?

Here is where I, as your author, feel strange writing what I’m thinking, but bear with me. What I’m thinking is, “If my education serves me right, the primal instincts of mankind are what compel us as humans to survive…” And then I map that thought to when Jesus was at the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was a man no different than any other human man (other than of course being the Son of God and that’s not the point yet); Jesus experienced the will, primal instincts of man. And so I argue that the will of man is to survive by that of sacrifice or murder, meaning that while Jesus was under the curse of Mankind’s sin as the Lamb of God was also experiencing the instinct of Mankind’s sin to survive by requesting another way than the cross if there was another way.

An example might be like when Cain offered produce from the fruit of the ground and Abel offered a lamb from the firstborn of his flock (Genesis 4). Was there another way? The will of Mankind without faith in God is to survive, perhaps commit murder for sustainability apart from God; whereas Mankind’s faith in God with responsibility to survive, perhaps sacrifice self to believe God will save me to a new life with Him!

Now I’m not saying that Jesus was making request to be separated from God His Father, on the contrary; I think Jesus was expressing Himself as Adam—resembling the time when man was created in the image and likeness of God and placed in the garden with dominion—being expelled from the garden of Eden to survive, Adam listened to the voice of his wife and ate from the fruit that God commanded him not to eat from (“yet not My will…”). It sounds to me like Jesus is saying, “yet not the will of Adam, but Yours be done.”

I think Jesus experienced two natures, (1) the nature of Mankind and (2) the nature of God—God is love. The love of God overruled the sin of Mankind by the sacrifice of the Lamb. Jesus was compelled by the Spirit of God to the cross while simultaneously resisting the temptation of man to survive by offering these words, “…but Yours be done.” But Your will, Father, be done, not mine or any other will, but the Father’s will be done!

Jesus put the instinct or law of sin in Adam to death for the joy set before Him, enduring the cross for the salvation of the world. Looking at it another way, I think it’s safe to say that Jesus overcame the eternal consequence of man’s allegiance to do the devil’s will—even sweating blood—having suffered to provide our way of escape, the discipline of Holiness in Himself bought the world by His blood. I think the only other way would have been for God to destroy Mankind and start over with His Son, which sounds familiar, doesn’t it? (Moses).

I am concerned for the people of the world in denial about the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because to suppress the truth of the gospel is to generate unrighteousness of the devil for an inevitable judgment. It doesn’t have to be that way!

There would be no way for me to discern the truth about Christ without believing that the Son of God in the flesh of Jesus followed the will of His Heavenly Father by the help of the Holy Spirit, dying on the cross. For God so loved the world… (finish it). It’s Mankind’s freedom to regress in the darkness of Satan or to progress in the Light of God. Had not Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, my faith is in vain.

Do you remember when the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus after he was baptized, and then God spoke, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”? Jesus knew exactly why God called Him Son, and why God was pleased with Him. Mankind had no idea! But the mystery to Jesus Christ and the gospel is now revealed through faith in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit!