“24 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. 25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. 26 And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27 And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. 28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. 29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross. 31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him” (Mark 15:24-32)?

     Self-preservation is instinctive. Self-sacrifice is a contradiction against our fallen natures. Few people would knowingly sacrifice their lives in order to save another person from death. Love is the factor that determines a person’s willingness to give his life to rescue the life of another. In fact, that is the Bible definition of love (agape).

“14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:14-17).

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

     This kind of love is the defining factor of true Christianity. This kind of love is the willingness to give our lives to the cause of bringing people to the saving knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and introduce them to the freedom of salvation by grace through faith in His finished work.

     When a believer gives his life for the cause of Christ, he sacrifices the ambitions he has for success, wealth or power to, instead, bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost, condemned and dying world. When a believer sacrifices his life, he sacrifices his recreation time to bring souls to Christ. He sacrifices financial security in order to invest in the ministry of his local church and in the lives of missionaries around the world. The synonym for love is SELF-SACRIFICE.

“26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28).

     A life is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months and years. A life is also measured in ambitions, hopes and dreams. Life is often measured by achievements. God measures our lives by our capacity to love. God does not measure the success of our lives by worldly successes but by what we attempt for Him by faith in love. Love will always cause us to reach beyond ourselves to meet another’s need often at the sacrifice of our own needs. Only then have we truly loved someone.

     Our love is measured by the amount of our lives we keep for ourselves compared to the amount of our lives we sacrifice for the benefit of others. Jesus “gave His life” (Matthew 20:28). Jesus became God’s ultimate synonym for love. According to Matthew 20:26-28, a Christian’s greatness is not measured by how many souls he wins to Christ. A Christian’s greatness is measured by how close the sacrifices of his life comes to the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ, not just in attitude or dedication, but in actual practice (“even as,” Matthew 20:28).

     The mockery of the crowd at the crucifixion of Jesus challenged Him to “save thyself” (Mark 15:30-31). Could Jesus have saved Himself? Could He have called a thousand angels to rescue Him from the Cross of Calvary? Could He have called fire down from Heaven to destroy His enemies and persecutors? Yes, He had the power and abilities to do that. However, the real question is, could He have done that and still have loved us?

     Christ could have saved Himself. Christ could have come down from the Cross. However, if Christ would have saved Himself, it would have meant defeat for God and condemnation for all of mankind. There would have been no victory had Christ come down from the Cross. The victory was won when Jesus came out of the grave. The payment for sin was paid on the Cross. The victory over sin and death was manifested through His resurrection from the dead.

“55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 15:55-57).

     Resurrection Sunday (what the world calls Easter) is every Christian’s spiritual 4th of July. It is a celebration of victory over the tyranny of sin and death. The final words of Christ on the Cross were, “It is finished” (John 19:3). Those words are every Christian’s Emancipation Proclamation. The prison doors of condemnation have been opened and Christ Jesus has made Himself the doorway to salvation and freedom.

 “9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:9-11).

     Mankind’s need predetermined the extreme self-sacrifice Christ would make in order to meet that need. If He would have saved Himself, all mankind would be eternally condemned to the eternal torments of a Christ-less Hell.

     Mankind’s need still predetermines the degree of self-sacrifice for all those who profess to be believers. If we save our lives for our own selfish pursuits of pleasure and success, rather then sacrifice our lives to a life of prayer, giving and ministry (evangelism/discipleship), the sacrifice of Christ will be wasted because we do not get the good news of His love to those who need it (the lost). When we do not sacrifice our lives to the cause of Christ, Christ’s sacrifice is wasted on everyone He saved us to take the message of the good news of death, burial and resurrection to. He died so you could have life. You are in this world “in His stead.”

“14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Corinthians 5:14-21).

     The word “constraineth” in II Corinthians 5:14 is from the Greek word sunecho (soon-ekh'-o). It means to be pressed on every side thereby compelling the person to certain acts or to a certain position. Perhaps a good illustration of the meaning of this word is a cattle chute. When we love people like Christ loves us, that love compels us not to live our lives unto ourselves, “but unto Him which died for” us. Self-sacrifice is not what we do to love someone. Self-sacrifice is what we do when we love someone. Love produces the fruit of self-sacrifice in the life of anyone. If the fruit of self-sacrifice is not evident outwardly, it is because love is not present inwardly.

     God has loved the world through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but He presently loves the world through the lives of His children. He has “given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” We are to minister “in Christ’s stead.” The love of God through the substitutionary death of Christ on the Cross of Calvary continues only when a believer ministers “in Christ’s stead.”

     The words “might be made” in II Corinthians 5:21 are from the Greek word ginomai (ghin'-om-ahee). It refers to the fact that Christ’s life (righteousness) might come into existence or to begin to exist once again through our lives as faithful Christians. Once saved, we become a continuation of the incarnation through the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. The abundant life Christ promised to those who receive Him is His life overflowing through our live as the fruit of being controlled by His indwelling Spirit (John 10:10).

     Christ saved us so that we can begin to be what Christ would have been in this world had He not died in our place. Because He died in our place, we are supposed to live in His “stead.” In an I-could-care-less-world, the overwhelming love Christ has exhibited to us compels us and impels us to care for the lost and for one another the way He cared for us. The love of Christ compels and impels us to extreme sacrifices to reach the world with His message of redemption so His love is not wasted. When we are unwilling to live our lives “in Christ’s stead,” we waste the love of Christ.

     The “chief priests” and the “scribes” mocked at Jesus with the words, “He saved others; himself he cannot save.” These mocking words of unbelief echo mankind’s ignorance. They echo the ignorance of a thousand generations. They echo mankind’s ignorance of sin and its consequences. They echo mankind’s ignorance of God’s hatred of self-righteousness. They echo mankind’s ignorance of God’s love and God’s purposes. They echo mankind’s ignorance of Who Jesus is and what He came to do. Jesus was born for Calvary.

“9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. 10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:9-13).

     The portion of Scripture is a sharp rebuke to the self-righteousness of the Pharisees who, instead of having compassion on sinners and leading them to a life of faith in the Promised One, held sinners in contempt and rejection. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ opened the door of faith. Through faith in His finished work of redemption, “whosoever will” has access to God’s free gift of salvation and to His throne of grace. Christ’s loving sacrifice is wasted on anyone who refuses to repent of sin and dead religious rituals. Believing the gospel means to trust only in what Christ has already accomplished on the Cross of Calvary and through His resurrection from the dead. Add anything to that and you nullify God’s grace and waste Christ’s work of love for you.

“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4).