II Corinthians 4:5-7
"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."
March 29th
"And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." Luke 9:51
Therefore the horrendous flogging; the last ounce of His physical strength staggering under the weight of the Cross (recently I heard someone had calculated it to have weighed 125 pounds); thereafter maybe close to 6 hours of indescribable torture-unto-death upon the Cross – while His life-blood was spilling away. "THE WHOLE BURNT OFFERING!!!" Partial suffering could not meet the requirements of the "whole burnt offering." Not only in the physical body, but mentally and emotionally as well – even to the extent that the Father's Face was blotted out before Him! ("My God, My God, WHY...?" – Matt. 27:46.) Because of His physical fitness, His mental calm and spiritual strength – Hell itself had to empty itself upon Him in order that He might accomplish the FULLNESS of the WHOLE burnt offering....
ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING He offered up for YOU and me! It was ALL, or nothing!
Your Father! My Father! Our Father! Can THAT be nothing to you?!? Is it asking too much? Is it expecting too much that NOW we should be sufficiently appreciative to LIVE ALL OUT for Him? Must we now be perpetually pampered? Must our every step be freely SELF-willed? Or is there some little iota of APPRECIATION of His horrendous suffering for us, which returns to Him a happy measure of surrendered service (in self-denial)??
A Study of John 17