Himself He Cannot Save - Matthew 27:42

Matthew the apostle wrote concerning Jesus, “then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, You that destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save yourself. If you be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said”, and in chapter twenty-seven and verse forty-two of his book, Matthew wrote how, “He saved other; himself he cannot save” where we read:

He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel,

let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

The verse reads, “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, ...” Matthew began words, “He saved others” which means “Jesus rescued, kept safe and sound and preserved other people”; “himself” or “Jesus Himself” “he cannot save” which means “Jesus was not able to rescue, keep safe and sound and preserve His own self”. “If he be the King” or “whether Jesus is actually the leader of the people, prince, commander and lord of the land” “of Israel” which means “belonging to the family, descendants and nation of Israel”. Matthew shared how the “chief priests, the scribes and the elders” “taunted” Jesus by referring to the way He “saved” other people but was not able to “save” Himself from hanging on the cross.

The verse continues, “ … let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.” Matthew added the words, “let him now” or “allow and permit Jesus at that time and moment” “come down from the cross” or “descend from the well known instrument of most cruel and ignominious punishment, borrowed by the Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians; to it were affixed among the Romans, down to the time of Constantine the Great, the guiltiest criminals, particularly the basest slaves, robbers, the authors and abetters of insurrections, and occasionally in the provinces, at the arbitrary pleasure of the governors, upright and peaceable men also, and even Roman citizens themselves”, “and we will believe him” which means “and the chief priests, scribes and elders will trust, think to be true, be persuaded of and have confidence in Jesus”. Matthew shared how the “religious leaders” said they would believe in Jesus if He “descended” from the cross and prove He was the Messiah He claimed to be.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see how the “religious leaders” wanted Jesus to perform a miracle by “saving Himself” and coming down from the “cross”. Jesus did not comply with their request because if He did, all mankind would be condemned. If Jesus did not die on the cross, all “sin” would remain, and people would be forever lost without a relationship with God. It was true. Jesus could not “save Himself” because “mankind” would not have been “saved”, and those who are wise will carefully consider what Jesus did and yield their lives to Him when they realize “He stayed on the cross” for them.

Next time Matthew wrote how the religious leaders say, “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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