03/22/18 JESUS NEVER TRIED TO AVOID THE CROSS.
His struggle in the Garden was to escape impending death before He could get to the cross.
A brief statement concerning Jesus approach to the cross. I actually have an article that is over 17,000 words long, which explains why Jesus did not fear or try to escape or avoid the cross. Jesus never prayed for deliverance from the cross, He prayed that He would not die before the cross, because He had always been (ALWAYS) committed to going to the cross.
(see following article I wrote)
11/11/17 FOLLOW UP
As I have been reworking my article, which states that Jesus did not fear or try to avoid the cross, I had some other thoughts about it. (No, I have not changed my mind).
When Did Jesus Change His Mind BACK To Being A Willing Sacrifice? (of course, He didn't change it BACK, because He never changed it to begin with)
If it is true (which it is not) that Jesus, for whatever "reason," prayed and asked the Father to save Him from the cross, then when did He change His mind "back" to that of a willing sacrifice for sin?" I don't know of a passage where we are told that Jesus changed His mind BACK about dying on the cross. (Of course, neither do I know of a passage that tells us Jesus ever really wanted to avoid the cross.) But, if He did pray, asking the Father to spare Him the death on the cross, we have some more problems.
When Did Jesus Repent Of His REBELLION? (I know, this is absurd)
If Jesus changed His mind by not wanting to die on the cross (contrary to the eternal will and plan of God, and
contrary to His own commitment throughout all eternity as God the Son, and
contrary to His own testimony during His earthly ministry),
then when did Jesus repent of His desire to abandon the will of God? I know it is a stupid question, since it would indicate that Jesus was not a fit sacrifice for sin. Still, if we are going to say that Jesus was not of one mind with the Father on this issue, then we must know when He came back to the original plan.
So, Jesus Was Not Of One Mind With The Father? (don't blame me, I never said Jesus tried to avoid the cross)
Also, if Jesus did not change His mind BACK, so that He BECAME willing (again) to go to the cross, then He only went to the cross because it was the Father's will, rather than His own will. If this is true, then Jesus was obedient in action, but He was not in one accord with the Father. This of course is as absurd as the other false scenarios. It might be argued that Jesus was always WILLING to do the will of the Father, but He did not WANT to do the will of the Father. And I suppose this will not bother some folks, but it is not the understanding that I have concerning Jesus.
Actually, these thoughts were not even in my article (though they probably will be now). These are just some thoughts I had when I reread my previous post about Christ not wanting to go to the cross. I hope you don't judge my position based on these impromptu thoughts. I hope you will read my article when I post it. I believe I have some very good arguments, that should at least be considered.
By the way, I do understand that deeply dedicated Bible believers, who are much smarter than I am, may not agree with my viewpoint. I have actually had a very well respected and scholarly preacher in my pulpit one time who stated that Jesus prayed to avoid the cross. I do not think he even knew my position, or that he was being controversial. I just sat there and enjoyed the rest of his message. I was not worried about my congregation, because I knew that they had been given both sides of the argument. My posting is not meant to divide, but to inform and hopefully to enlighten.
