Jesus knows the end from the beginning, so He knew that what was going to happen to Him on the cross would be very terrible. This made Him pray in Matthew 26:39, saying, “…O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” The Bible recorded that while He was saying this prayer, His sweat was like blood. This tells us that He took that prayer very seriously. Yet, Jesus still decided to go through with the suffering.

Jesus did not lay down His life out of compulsion. He said clearly in John 10:18 that He laid down His life willingly. That statement is heavy, and it made me ask, “What kind of love will make a man surrender Himself to be humiliated and slaughtered like this?”

I saw the perfect answer to my question in John 15:13 which says:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

This is the greatest kind of love in the world. Jesus loves you more than anyone in the world can ever love you, and He showed it by laying down His life for you.

Again, I asked myself, “What will make a man surrender His life like this?” I saw the answer to this question in John 10:11-12. The Good Shepherd never deserts the sheep when He sees a wolf coming. He stays and protects the sheep from being devoured because of the love He has for the sheep. The devil is the wolf that tries to steal, kill and destroy, while Jesus is the Good Shepherd that laid down His life for you to have eternal life.

Jesus is the only genuine protection you can get from the claws of the wolf – the devil. If you believe in Him, and surrender your life to Him, the wolf will have no power over you because Jesus has already died for you. The wolf, however, is free to devour anyone that is not following Jesus or believers that stray away from Him.

Beloved, if you don’t want to be prey to the devil, give your life to Jesus Christ now. Commit to following Him and Him alone. He paid the ultimate price for you, and He is the only One that can lead you into everlasting life.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.