Jesus died to please his heavenly Father
'Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief' (Isaiah 53.10).
'Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God' (Ephesians 5.2).
Jesus did not wrestle his angry Father to the floor of heaven and take the whip out of his hand. He did not force him to be merciful to humanity. His death was not the begrudging consent of God to be lenient to sinners. No, what Jesus did when he suffered and died was the Father's idea. It was a breathtaking strategy, conceived even before creation, as God saw and planned the history of the world. That is why the Bible speaks of God's 'purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began' (2 Timothy 1.9).
