… and gave himself for me.
Summary: Knowing that Jesus gave himself for us only has meaning if we know we need him.
I suspect these five words, “and gave himself for me,” don’t have much meaning unless you’ve ever found yourself in a bind. If you don’t know you need Jesus, you might not think you’re in a “bind,” but you are in a sad place nonetheless.
The human mind has a marvelous capacity for insulating itself from unpleasant things. One of the more common mechanisms is our ability to rationalize. Do you want something you shouldn’t have? Rationalization is the means to justify taking what we want. Do you have more than you should have? Rationalization can help us think of reasons why we deserve to keep what we have. (People have been known to use this trick at tax time. After all, why should the government get all that money?)
Another technique the mind uses is the mental closet, sometimes called our “blind spot.” If we are confronted with an unpleasant fact about ourselves, life is much nicer if we can put the fact in our mental closet and forget about it. Out of sight, out of mind!
For many of us, tricks like these are sufficient to keep us happy, or at least we think we’re happy. Then, one day, something happens. Like a balloon popping, the closet door spills open, and all our rationalizations tumble down. Reality bites.
Standing in the cold light of day, vulnerable, hurting, and alone, we are confronted with the ugly truth about who and what we are. It is then that we discover our need for a shepherd. Someone who can pull us out of the mud of our machinations and extract us from the briars of our ethical lapses.
Somehow, when we find ourselves needing help, we can sense our need goes deeper than paying our court fines or mending broken bones. Deep inside, there is an awareness of a broken soul. A soul that needs its Father.
Jesus understands. He came to find us and to bring us home to be with him. Jesus came, ready to do whatever was needed to rescue us. If by some chance, we had become enslaved by the devil, he came prepared to buy us back. He was willing to pay any price, even if that meant trading his life for ours.
And that is how I came to be writing these words. He gave himself for me.
Application: Remember what Jesus saved you from. It is part of your testimony.
Food for Thought: How much of himself did Jesus give for us?
There is a saying that Jesus gave us Himself voluntarily and vicariously (Isaiah 53: 5 – 6; John 10: 18; Philippians 2: 6 – 8). It is a way to say that He willingly gave us everything that we needed. He gave us His all. From His Incarnation to His life to His death to His resurrection to His ascension to always interceding on our behalf today (Romans 8: 34; Hebrews 7: 25), Jesus was all in as our Savior and Intermediary.
Thank you, Rich.
Excellent reference verses! (I’ve linked your verses here.)
I like the way you worded your comment. “He gave us everything we needed.” And then you add, “He gave us His all.”
That is another way of saying we needed all of him.
Well said!
Jeff,
Thanks for the verses. I really appreciate your effort.
🙂
You are welcome, Paul!
How much of himself did Jesus give for us?
Agree with Rich.
In His love, as a member of the Holy Trinity, Jesus has and continues to give all He is to the creation, salvation, instruction and preservation of the faithful as He confined Himself to flesh, served His people and gave Himself as “The Sacrifice” for the sins of all mankind. Today believers minister, serve others, both in and outside the church in the presence of Christ.
Genesis 1:26, Mark 1:9–11, Matthew 5-7, 2 Corinthians 5:19-20
Thank you, Ron.
You write, “He confined Himself to flesh, served His people and gave Himself as ‘The Sacrifice’ for the sins of all mankind.”
That provides a good description of Jesus gave us; his flesh and himself.
Had lunch with Tim the other day and had a wonderful time. Tim, if you see this, thanks again brother. Let’s catch up again soon.
Hi Kenji!
Thanks for stopping by Three Minute Bible!
Blessings!
Thanks kenji. I’m glad to give myself to glorify our God and draw others to His word. Thank you Jeff for allowing me to use TMB as a little plug into God’s word.