Why Jesus did not come down from the cross and save himself?

Was Jesus truly powerless to come down from the cross?

Many people are even today repeating the same insults which the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders used to mock Jesus when he was hanging on the cross, “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He is the King of Israel! Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.” (Matthew 27:42-44). They are ignorant of the very purpose Jesus came to accomplish.

Why did Jesus ignore peoples’ insult?

1. Jesus was not a sinner and therefore He did not need to be saved

(2 Corinthians 5:21,”For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us.”

2. Jesus came to save the sinners like us

We sinners need a Savior. Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost,” Matthew 1:21, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

3. If Jesus did not die and rise from the dead, He cannot defeat Satan, sin and death and we cannot be saved

1 Corinthians 15:3-9, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of all the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

1 Corinthians 15: 12-20, “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is our faith. More than that we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. …v.17, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. …v20, But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

4. Jesus came to do the will of God and glorify Him

God sent Jesus to do His will and He was obeying God and not responding to the public insult.
John 5:30,“…I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” John 8:49-50, “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.”

Conclusion

Jesus did not come to save Himself. He came to save you and me from our sins. Unless He dies and arise from the dead He cannot defeat Satan, sin and death. After His death He rose from the dead on the third day. He is the Living Savior and not a dead man. He has gone back to God from where He came from. He will come back again. Whether we are dead or alive, we will see Him one day in His resurrected form. If He did not die we will have no hope of eternal life.

Philippians 2:8-11, “And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Dear friend, Jesus was following God’s One and Only Blueprint to save us from our sins. He was not following the plan of the crowd to save Him from the cross.
Only the resurrected Living Christ could keep His eternal promises. A dead man will not be able to keep his promises once he dies. That is the main difference.

Think of this. Which is more powerful? Coming down from the cross or rising up from the dead? Jesus proved Almighty in both cases. He saved us as well as Himself.

If you are one of those who rejected Jesus Christ because He did not come down from the cross to prove that He has the power to save Himself and us, then take heart. He was there dying on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins so that we could be saved.

After reading this you may be saying: Now I understand the reason why Jesus did not come down from the cross to please the crowd.
I sincerely want to receive Jesus Christ as my only Savior and Lord and follow Him hereafter.
If that is your desire, here is how you could receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.