“That effort was so cruel that he fell many times on the way to where he would be impaled!”
I doubt I can provide you an answer that will satisfy your intellectual curiosity, but I will point out that your assertion here is not from the Bible.
While it may be true that Jesus stumbled while carrying the cross, that idea does not come from the biblical record. It does say that a man named Simon was forced to carry Christ’s cross for Him, which could indicate He had fallen under the weight of it.
Additionally, I will point out that Christ endured 3 types of suffering: what was inflicted by people, what was inflicted by the Devil, and what was inflicted by God the Father.
I think what is more significant than the severity of suffering is Christ’s willingness to endure it voluntarily. He could have put an end to it any time He would have chosen to do so. Instead, He suffered sufficiently to pay for the sins of mankind, even if we are unable to comprehend how and why it must work this way.
Bkmk
That sounds more like a liberal point of view. Why should I have to work to get paid? Why should I study to pass a test - isn’t there an easier way to learn” Why? Why, Mommy? Why?
Perhaps God’s message was about personal responsibility and to demonstrate a bit of what we would deserve if we cold not accept His gift of redemption bey having His Son tortured and killed at the hands of sinners that sinners might be saved.
If life was supposed to be easy, then we wouldn’t have so many Snowflakes.
You could say answering your question is the whole purpose of Rutledge’s book, but it is a classic now on the level with John Stott’s THE CROSS OF CHRIST and a must read for all who serve the Lord in any type of ministry.
I have little experience when it comes to posting and I don’t know how to thank everyone for your responses other than individually?
I’m afraid that that would become robotic sounding after the first ten or so “Thank Yous” so I’m hoping that this post will be an appropriate way to do so?
“Thank You Everyone” for your thoughts and responses!