Matthew 27:50

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.”

People sometimes talk like Jesus was some kind of victim when He died on that cross over 2,000 years ago. Those darn Jews…the corrupt Romans…the arrogant religious leaders…they killed the Savior of the World! The bottom line is this: they didn’t kill Him because they couldn’t. Jesus holds the keys to death and Hades (Rev. 1:18) and it was His decision to give up His spirit…not theirs.

Most evangelicals can tell you the day they “got saved” or were “born again” or “came to the Lord” or “gave their life to Christ”…but I like to ask a different question: do you remember the day you got over it?

Christ came here deliberately. He taught deliberately. He identified individuals to interact with deliberately. He came against the religious leaders deliberately. He drove out demons, healed the sick, and fed the hungry deliberately. He was turned over deliberately, tried deliberately, sentenced deliberately, crucified deliberately and even “gave up his spirit” deliberately. He did what needed to be done because of His infinite love for us, and THAT is what the Gospel is all about.

Jesus Christ was no helpless victim carried away by the sins of the world. He was a conquering hero who rode headlong into battle, rescued the damsel in distress, destroyed the enemy, and carried His prize back to Paradise on His white horse.

Jesus “gave up his spirit” for you. Have you given Him anything in return?