He gave up his divine privileges. (Philippians 2:7)
The cross means total sacrifice. The richest, most complete, owner-of-everything-in-the-world man, who could have had anything and done anything and who could have delivered himself from his executioners, held nothing back. He gave his complete self for us. It was total. It wasn’t a matter of, “I’ve got plenty, so I’ll just give a whole bunch”, or “Am I not giving a HUGE gift? Wow!”, and after giving all that, we find out that he still had a bunch left over. No. It was total. Nothing in reserve. Nothing to lean back on in case this didn’t work out (or if Freddy didn’t repent and come to life). In the sports terminology, he left it all out on the field, but that’s hardly worth mentioning in comparison to what he went through.
Total giving of self was the kind of sacrifice he made. We think of sacrifice as perhaps doing without something at least for a while. Of course, a church practice during Lent is to “give up something.” Popular options seem to be dessert or chocolate or a favorite soft drink. That giving up of something helps the devotee to think about and focus on Jesus and His sacrifice. There’s nothing wrong with that. I even find humor in the little girl we know who announced she was giving up carrots for Lent!
I think we will admit that whatever we give up, whether it’s at Lent or in our daily lives, we can’t compare our actions to our Lord’s total sacrifice. His sacrifice of himself was the max he could give. It wasn’t “Let me find something to sacrifice; a lamb perhaps, or a goat, or an ox or bullocks! And I’ll do it up right! God the Father will be so happy with what I will offer!” No, he didn’t find something external. He sacrificed himself. Philippians 2 says regarding the privileged place and status which he could have held on to, that “He emptied himself”. The words of the old song come to mind, “He gave his life, what more could he give?”
This total sacrifice took place on an upright altar. No wriggling off that. He was held in place with nails and love. He demonstrated a non-coerced, freely-made decision for total self-sacrifice. That is, he gave every bit of himself for every one of us. He knew that no other sacrifice would do.
“Father, we are stunned to silence when we consider your Son’s total sacrifice for us!”
Freddy Boswell 