It hit me the other night that even in
dying, Jesus shows us how to live.
I was reading Jesus' words in Luke 9:22: The
Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief
priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
We mustn’t miss the way Jesus said these things. Because
they signal His willingness to submit, to cede control of His life and death to
others. The “action words” in the sentence—rejected…killed…raised—are
spoken in passive voice.
Active
voice means that the subject of the sentence
performs the action. Like “John threw
the ball.” But passive voice means that
the subject is “passive” – it is acted upon. “The ball was thrown.” The actions
– rejecting, killing, raising—were done
to Jesus.
You and I have a hard time giving up
control. Even when we know in our hearts that we are powerless to control
anything, still we try to maneuver and manage the process, direct and ordain
the outcome, of just about everything.
Imagine what it must have been like for
Jesus. He was in control. …by him
all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through
him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. Colossians 1:16-17.
Yet
He was rejected, killed, and raised. Total submission by Someone totally in
control. Total submission comes from total trust. Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit! Luke 23:46.
Living
as a Christian means living before God in passive voice—trusting and obeying,
but ceding control to Him. That’s how Jesus lived and died and rose again.
