Biblical Vignette of a Peacemaker: Abigail

by Pastor Paul Wolff

Jesus said, “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” Matthew 5:9

In my previous blog article (Blessed are the Peacemakers) I examined the Beatitude where Jesus blesses peacemakers. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) In this article I want to give a short examination of a Biblical example of a peacemaker in action.

In 1 Samuel 25 we are told the story of Abigail and David. As the story begins, Abigail is the wife of a rich man named Nabal, who belongs to the tribe of Judah (same as David), and owns large flocks of sheep and goats. David is not yet King of Israel because Saul is still alive. David is already a very successful General in Israel’s army, and he has with him a group of 600 soldiers who are experienced in battle, and have been very successful in defeating Israel’s enemies with the help of God. 

Saul had been pursuing David with the intent of killing him out of envy for the success God gave him – though David’s victories in battle benefited Israel as a whole, and Saul ought to have praised God for giving David victory over Saul’s enemies, but King Saul had turned away from God and was jealous of David and wanted to kill him. David had just had the first of their face-to-face encounters where David could have easily killed Saul (and David’s men encouraged him to do so), but David would not murder God’s anointed King, and he showed Saul that he was not his enemy. King Saul was contrite and admitted that he had treated David badly and blessed him, and he and David parted with a truce. King Saul’s truces, however, were typically short-lived, and his attitude could change with the slightest demonic temptation to envy. So David retreated deep into the territory of the tribe of Judah. Saul was king over a united Israel, including Judah, but David still felt safer in the territory of his own tribe, among his people. Abigail had nothing to do with this peacemaking. David did that himself, but it shows the state of mind that David was in when he was provoked by Nabal.

I think it is likely that David did not go to his family home in Bethlehem because if Saul fell into a murderous rage again that would be the first place he might go to look for David. So he went several miles West, and camped out near the area where Nabal’s flocks were grazing. It was in the Spring or early Summer, and the time for sheep shearing was approaching. That is a big event for shepherds because that is when the shepherd earns most of his money for the year. Sheep shearing is to the shepherd what harvest time is for the crop farmer. David knew about such things because his family also owned flocks (see Psalm 23). David sent some of his young men as messengers to Nabal asking if he and his men could join in his feast. David told them to remind Nabal that he suffered no losses while his shepherds and David’s men were out in the fields together, and he told his men to greet Nabal with the message, “Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.” (1 Samuel 25:6)

When Jesus entered the City of David for the last time before His death, He did not come as a conquering hero, but as a humble servant of God who would offer His innocent life to rescue sinners.

David’s threefold message of peace to Nabal reminds me of when Jesus sent out the 72 he told them, “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.” (Luke 10:5-6) What this means is that when Christ’s disciples came in peace, peaceful people would greet them in the same way. If their peaceful greeting was returned with hostility, then they were to leave and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.” (Luke 10:11) 

David expected a gracious welcome from Nabal because David was the great hero of the tribe of Judah. David has slain the giant Philistine warrior, Goliath, several years earlier. He was one of Israel’s top warriors, at least equal or possibly greater than King Saul’s son, Jonathan. Also, David’s army had spent a fair amount of time in the fields with Nabal’s shepherds, and David was confident that his well-disciplined soldiers had unfailingly obeyed his orders not to take any animals from Nabal’s flocks for a midnight barbecued mutton party.

Nabal responded to David’s request by saying, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” This was a rude response, and not in the spirit of peace which David’s men made their request. Obviously, Nabal knew who David was and where he was from, but he refused to acknowledge the truth. Nabal also made some false accusations against David. He had not broken away from King Saul. It was Saul who turned against his most successful and faithful general (who was also his son-in-law) and tried to kill him out of envy.

Nabal’s response was exceedingly foolish in a couple of ways. First, it was practically suicidal to anger a man with an extremely successful and experienced army at his command. On the other hand, if Nabal had graciously granted David’s request, he would have made friends with the next King of Israel, and could have profited greatly from that friendship. Nabal might not have known that God had already anointed David to be the next King, but the blessing of Abraham was also in play here. God promised Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) This blessing wasn’t just that God liked Abraham, but it regarded the promise of the messiah, and it was passed down to Isaac, Israel, and Judah (out of Israel’s sons). A little while later God would affirm that the promise continued through David’s line (see 2 Samuel 7:8-16). So Nabal had inadvertently cursed himself by being so rude to David.

David’s response was immediate, and also a little over the top. Though David had made his request with a threefold greeting of peace, Nabal’s antagonistic response also antagonized David, so that his peaceful desire was replaced with a murderous one. He made a vow to kill Nabal and all the men associated with his household before the sun rose the next morning. He told his men to strap on their swords, and they all did. He then took 400 men with him to deal with Nabal, and left 200 to guard his camp and supplies. This was an overreaction, though David may have been on edge having been pursued by both the enemies of Israel and Israel’s king, and he likely was not in the mood to be insulted by someone from his own tribe. He had hoped that he was among friends, and he had treated them as such, and made a peaceful request to join in the feast. When he was so rudely rejected he became angry, and having an army at his right hand, he impulsively determined that he did not have to take that from Nabal. In his anger, David did not recognize that his anger and intentions were far out of bounds of the offense, but there was one person who did – Nabal’s wife, Abigail.

Somehow one of Nabal’s men heard about David’s intentions, and told Abigail that David was intent on killing Nabal and all of them, too. He also noted that Nabal “is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.” (v. 17) He told Abigail that David’s men “were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.” (v. 15-16)

Abigail quickly gathered some food that was prepared and set out to meet David’s army to try to turn away his murderous anger, though she did not tell her husband what she was doing. When she met David she humbled herself and fell at his feet, saying, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.” (v. 24) She first humbled herself calling herself David’s “servant” and accepting blame for the offense that her husband gave to David. Then she pleaded mercy for Nabal, admitting that he was a fool. Abigail told David that she was not there when his messengers came to Nabal. This was to suggest that the messengers would have received a warmer reception, had she heard David’s request, the proof of which was the supplies that she brought with her to David.

Abigail made peace with David when he intended murder. Painting of The Meeting of David and Abigail by Peter Paul Rubens seen at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Abigail then continued to reason with David, not pleading for the lives and well-being of her household and employees, but pleading for the sake of David himself. She said that the Lord (God) had thus far restrained David from “bloodguilt” (that is, guilt for shedding the blood of innocent people, or murder). She asked that he would accept the food she brought and forgive her tresspass (since she accepted the guilt of her husband). Then she said, “For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live.” (v. 28) She calls David her “lord” (since she humbled herself, saying she was David’s “servant”), and she noted that because David is “fighting the battles of the Lord (God)” then he should not be found guilty of murdering innocent people (such as Nabal’s workers, and possibly Nabal, himself). Abigail shows that she recognizes that God is with David in his battles, and he should keep himself pure for what lies ahead for him as the next king of Israel. 

Abigail then said, “If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord (meaning: David) shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.” (v. 29-31) Abigail calls David “my lord”, and recognizes that God has chosen David to be king (or “prince”) of Israel. David would be “prince” of Israel because God, Himself, was always Israel’s king, as long as they remained faithful to God. It is interesting that Abigail says that God will sling out David’s enemies as from the hollow of a sling. This, of course, is a reference to how David slew the Philistine warrior, Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17). She trusts in God to take care of David’s enemies, and reminds him to do the same, but she asks that David remember her household when God has blessed David, as she trusts that He will. In this, she shows great concern for David’s spiritual well-being as God’s chosen king, and that surely was a large reason why David’s heart was softened, and his murderous anger was dissipated. 

David’s first response to Abigail was to first bless God, who sent her to meet him and to turn away his wrath. This is the proper response of all God’s people. Just as Abigail spoke of God’s blessings to David, so he puts God first in his response to her gracious words. Next, David blesses Abigail for her wisdom, kindness and discretion to make amends for Nabal’s self-destructive rudeness. He also tells her his intentions were to kill all the men and boys in Nabal’s household, but he seems pleased that no one had to die by his hand. David then dismisses her in peace, and assures her that he has received the gifts she brought in peace as she intended. David had sent his men in peace, but that peace was returned with strife, and that caused anger and strife in David, and in his men, too. However, in the midst of great danger and strife, Abigail returned that peace to David and his army, and their peace was restored, too. David assures her that he has graciously received her gifts, has forgiven the offense, and will bring no harm to her household.

Though David was a warrior from a young age, his hands were innocent of murder when he became king of Israel, with the help of the peacemaking efforts of Abigail.

While all this was going on, Nabal was feasting like a king, and was drunk. If David had come and found him like this he would have had very little resistance when he killed Nabal and all his men. This also shows that Nabal had more than enough to share with his neighbor, David. Nabal was not a king, and it was foolish of him to act as if he were. When Abigail came home she did not immediately tell her husband what she had done to save his life. She waited until the next morning when he was sober. When he heard the full story of what happened the Scripture says his heart “died within him and became like stone” and ten days later God struck him dead. Though God spared David from the “bloodguilt” of murder through the kind, peacemaking actions of Abigail, He avenged the offense Himself and struck Nabal dead. This reminds us that God said “Vengeance is mine” (Deuteronomy 32:35, also quoted by St. Paul in Romans 12:19). We should not seek revenge personally, but leave it to God, and to God’s appointed representatives. The government may use capital punishment for the crime of murder, and in doing so are acting on God’s behalf – as long as the government does so in a lawful way, and does not prosecute innocent people. (See Genesis 9:6)

When David heard that Nabal was dead he first blessed God who avenged the insult, and, through the intervention of Abigail, had kept David from wrongdoing in response. Then he sent for Abigail and asked her to become his wife. She was again very humble as a servant, and she accepted his proposal. David, as a godly man, recognized the value of Abigail as a peacemaker. Though David already had several wives at this time, and that would cause him trouble in the future, though that is a story for another time. Abigail was not the cause of David’s troubles, and she is someone that all God-fearing people can admire for her faith in God and her work to make peace and save her household from being murdered.

The Sovereignty of God

by Pastor Paul Wolff

The Crown of Life from Zion Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio

The Sovereignty of God is the Biblical teaching that God rules as King and there is no one above Him that He must answer to. This is one of the key attributes of God as the Holy Scriptures clearly show in many passages. One example of this is Deuteronomy 10:17 which says, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” However, though God is Sovereign, that is NOT His primary attribute. God’s primary attribute is His mercy, for which all Christians are eternally grateful.

The teachings of Calvinism hold that God is sovereign above all else, and His sovereignty never gives way to any of His other attributes. This leads Calvinists into false teachings such as double predestination, which wrongly says that God predestines some people to salvation and others to damnation. They rationalize that if God is sovereign above all else, then He determines all things that happen, both good and bad. As a result of this false teaching, Calvinists end up with a god who is essentially evil, because he is responsible for evil. This is one reason why many Calvinists end up as atheists. This teaching of Calvinism overlooks one glaringly obvious teaching of Scripture, and is refuted on nearly every page of the Bible, which I will do below.

Opposite to many of the teachings of Calvinism are the teachings of Arminianism, which holds that man has free will. In practice this means that they essentially believe man is sovereign. This is so obviously false that it would be laughable if it didn’t lead so many people to their destruction. If sinful man has free will then he can do as he wills, and therefore has this power over God. This is so easy to prove wrong that I have already refuted this in the first paragraph above in the Deuteronomy passage where God rules over all other gods and lords (including the willful Christian). Arminianism leads people to atheism (or the worship of one’s self as god) even more quickly than Calvinism. (If you wonder how both Calvinism and its opposite can both be wrong see my article, “Heresies and Half-Truths”).

Although God’s sovereignty is one of the main attributes ascribed to Him in Holy Scripture, it isn’t His primary attribute. This is to say that although God is sovereign, He doesn’t exert His sovereignty to the exclusion of all His other attributes. It is easy to show this, and I can do it with just one word: Jesus.

God humbled Himself to be born of the Virgin Mary

The life of Jesus shows us that God’s sovereignty is not His primary attribute. From the moment of His incarnation at His conception, Jesus humbled Himself to live as one of the people He created. This is so beautifully described by Saint Paul in Philippians 2:5-8, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” Though Jesus was (and is) the sovereign God, He did not exert His sovereignty during His earthly ministry. If He had, He wouldn’t have been born in Bethlehem, and He certainly wouldn’t have been caught dead (so to speak) lying in a manger. And speaking of being caught dead, if Jesus had been sovereign above all else, He certainly wouldn’t have been caught dead (literally) nailed to a cross. But then He would have had to exert His sovereignty to condemn us all for our rebellion against Him, and there would be no forgiveness or salvation for anyone.

Jesus humbled Himself and did not succumb to the temptation to rule on earth as king. (See Luke 4:1-13)

Both in His life, and in His death, Jesus shows that His primary attribute is His mercy. Though Jesus is, and was, the almighty sovereign God, He set aside His mighty power and authority in order to win forgiveness and salvation for us poor helpless sinners. Jesus said, “my kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36) and He lived that out from His conception to His death. Jesus did this on account of His mercy, so that He could save us from our sin. Christ’s death on the cross is not a sign of His weakness, but of His humbleness and love for the people He created. (See my article: “The Humble God”)

Saint Paul describes Christ’s humility when he writes that “(Christ) is the image of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:15) This means that because Jesus is God incarnate as a man, He does exactly what God the Father or the Holy Spirit would do because He is One God with the Father and the Spirit. So God is not ashamed to humble Himself because Jesus is not ashamed to humble Himself and show mercy. Jesus Himself taught, “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Not only is Jesus merciful, but He delights in being a servant for the sake of His beloved people in order to save us from the consequences of our sin.

What this means for Christians is that since the Son of God humbled Himself, we, too, ought to live humble lives. There is much admonition in the Scriptures for Christians to be humble. This is, in part, because we are God’s creation, and all people should humbly recognize God’s rule as our King and creator. But Christians especially ought to be humble in recognition of the humbleness of the almighty, sovereign God as we see how He acts through Jesus. God does not force anyone to believe in Him, so He does not exercise His sovereignty in that way also, but to all who believe in Him He rescues from sin and gives eternal life.

Jesus humbled Himself to save you from your sins (Window from Holy Cross Lutheran Church Detroit, Michigan)

If God always acted in a sovereign way then He would never let adulterers and other sexual sinners harass Christians as they now boldly do here in New Sodom (formerly, the United States of America). Don’t get me wrong, I do not mind so much being called a bigot and hateful, especially since I know it isn’t even close to being true, and I certainly do not equate that with persecution. Though I know that such rhetoric is only a small step away from full-blown hate and the kind of persecution that ends in murder. I am aware that although we are likely to head in that direction (and sooner rather than later), we aren’t quite there yet.

Likewise, if Christ always acted according to His sovereignty, he would not let His children be tortured by Muslim Jihadhists (for example) nor crucified, nor beheaded. Muslims take this as weakness on Christ’s part, but even there it is mercy. Jesus died for the sins of the most murderous Jihadhist, and will forgive any and all who repent of their sins and look to Him for Salvation.

Not only is Christ a God who does not ask His followers to become murderers to gain a spot in Paradise, but He Himself paid the price to redeem the worst murderer and idolater. Jesus offers salvation as a free gift to all who trust in Him as their savior from sin. Jesus uses His sovereign power to rescue us from death and to give us eternal life. He doesn’t use His power to prevent the temporal death which must come to all sinners. This is why Christian martyrs are willing to forgive their murderers. Christians know that not only did Jesus pay the price to redeem us from sin and death, but He also has the power to restore us to life everlasting without sin, and He has promised to give eternal life to all who believe in Him.

The Incarnation of God

by Pastor Paul Wolff

The Incarnation of God in Jesus is one of the greatest mysteries in all of history. Yet, we ought to remember that whenever the Holy Scriptures speak of a mystery it is something that has been revealed to us in Jesus. It is not that all our questions are answered, but the great mysteries are no longer hidden, but are revealed in Jesus.

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” (Hebrews 1:1-3)

When the Angel Gabriel said to the virgin, Mary, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus…” God was then incarnate in a microscopic single celled person, Jesus. He was still God, but He humbled Himself and from the moment of His conception He lived a life just like the rest of us, except without sin.

It should be little wonder that “the world did not recognize Him” (John 1:10) because in His humility Jesus did not use His Divine power until his ministry began. Jesus had to learn who He was, and why He came to earth to live as one of His beloved creatures. And yet, even though Jesus had to learn and grow like any other child, He still lived the sinless life according to His nature. Even though Mary and Joseph surely sinned against Him (how could they not?), and even though His siblings: James, Joseph, Judas, Simon, and his sisters (Mark 6:3); surely sinned against Him, yet Jesus never sinned against them, nor against God, the Father.

Window from Trinity Lutheran Church, Herscher, Illinois

It is a good exercise to consider all that Jesus sacrificed in order to save us. Though we cannot know all that Jesus sacrificed, the better idea we have of what He sacrificed, the better we can appreciate what He did to save us from our sin and death.

Pastor Jared Melius of Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, Denver, Colorado, has some great insight into Luke 2:41-52 (Issues Etc. audio link) which shows just how much Jesus gave up to win our salvation. This story is not about Christ’s Nativity, but it happened when He was 12 years old. Sometimes this event is described as the boy Jesus teaching in the temple, but that is not the way Luke records the event. Pastor Melius’ brilliant insight is that although Mary and Joseph regularly went to Jerusalem for the Passover this may have been Jesus’ first time there since He was 40 days old (Luke 2:22-ff). Jesus did not come to teach, but to learn, as Luke makes a point of saying how Jesus grew as a child.

Since it was the Passover celebration, Jesus likely asked questions about the sacrifice of the passover lamb, and how it saved God’s people from the plague of death, and how the death of the lamb related to the promised messiah. He learned from the Scriptures that God’s messiah would sacrifice His life like a passover lamb to save all people from their sins. In His state of humility, Jesus had to learn that it was the will of God, the Father, that He would give up His life to save sinners from the consequences of their sins. And yet, Jesus did not once turn away from the path that God, the Father, had placed before Him.

The Holy Scriptures were not written only for us sinners, that we may believe in Christ as our savior, but they were also written for Jesus, so that He might also know what He had to do in obedience to God to win our salvation. Jesus, too, had to trust in God’s Word, and obey God as a man, even though it meant great suffering and torment for Him. Out of His love for God and for us sinners, Jesus obeyed His Father and was obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-11)!

May Christ bless you and your family through the Christmas Season and throughout the whole year as you contemplate God’s incarnation, and all that Jesus did to save you from sin and death!

The Humble God

The angel said to [the shepherds], “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)

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A “humble God” sounds like an oxymoron, especially when the Holy Scriptures describe God as omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. How can God be humble when He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere? Yet, Jesus shows us that God is humble. God does not use His power for His own benefit. Instead He uses His power in a loving way to benefit us – if we will have it.

Many people mistake the humility of God for weakness. This is understandable, but it is a mistake. It is a mistake to think that the true God is weak because one day (soon) each of us will have to stand before God and answer for the sin we have committed against Him. If we imagine that we are stronger than God or greater than Him in any way then we are more likely to reject His solution for our sin.

It is understandable to mistake the humility of God for weakness because when sinful people create false gods, they exaggerate their “powers” so as to make them seem more impressive and frightening. The more powerful a god you seem to have on your side, then the more you can intimidate others to treat you favorably (or otherwise succumb to your wishes). False gods, however, have to be hyped up with hyperbole. They don’t have anything else speaking in their favor, especially the truth.

Jesus had nothing to prove to anyone, and He didn’t try – though many tried to tempt Him to prove Himself. Jesus was (and is) the same almighty God who created the earth, the universe, and everything that exists (except Himself, of course). Jesus didn’t have to prove Himself because Jesus is God. This would remain true even if no one had ever believed Him. So Jesus lived a humble life from beginning to end, simply living His own life so that through His life and death He would win salvation for us.


The humble life of Jesus began with His conception which was, at first, known only to His mother, Mary. By the time Jesus was born only a handful of people knew that God was soon to be born as a baby boy, including Mary and Joseph, and Mary’s elderly cousins, Zechariah and Elizabeth. Thus, when the holy family traveled to Bethlehem for the Imperial Census, no one made any room for the baby Son of God, and He spent His first night after His birth sleeping in a manger, where the livestock would ordinarily have been feeding. No other god on earth would be caught dead lying in a manger, but there was Jesus.
Jesus didn’t come to impress us, or to threaten us, or to “put the fear of God” into us. Though He could rightly have done any of these things, Jesus instead came to save us from the punishment required for our sins. Jesus lived an ordinary, humble life just like any other human being, even though He is God in the flesh.


The humility of Jesus is also shown when He went to be baptized by John, the son of Zechariah. John had been preparing the people to receive Christ by preaching repentance and baptizing for forgiveness of sins. He had truthfully told the people that he was unworthy to untie the shoelaces of the Christ who was soon to be revealed to them. Though God had sent him to preach and baptize in this manner, even John was surprised when Jesus came to be baptized, too.

The baptism of John was for sinners. Jesus was holy and innocent and pure, and had no sin. It could only make Jesus “dirty” to be baptized in the same baptism as the worst sinners. But Jesus didn’t come to earth just to remain “clean” and pure as if He were only here as an example for us to show us that it could be done. That would surely have condemned us because we are unable to undo what has already been done.

I have heard a saying, “For something to become clean, something else must become dirty.” You can’t make something clean with a dirty cloth or dirty water, for example, and our sin makes us filthy dirty inside and out. Jesus came to earth to “fulfill all righteousness” for our benefit, but He also came to “get dirty” with the guilt of our sin so that He could cleanse us from that same sin. So Jesus again humbled himself and insisted that He be baptized like a sinner. Jesus didn’t gain anything for Himself by doing this, but He gained amazing things for us, including full forgiveness of our sins, reconciliation with God, and the hope of everlasting life in paradise. To do this for us it cost Jesus a tremendous amount of shame and suffering and death, but that is what love does – love causes one to care more about others than about one’s self.


This leads us to the final humiliation of Jesus. Once Jesus had taken the guilt of mankind’s sins upon Himself and had completed the work of proclaiming the Gospel and preparing the Apostles to continue His work after He ascended into heaven, then He had to destroy our sins and the death curse that came along with them. Jesus did this by letting sinners do to Him what they wanted. What all sinners want to do God is to kill Him, so they killed Jesus.

Now, understand that it does no good to assign blame either to the Jews or to the Gentile Romans for the death of Jesus. They are both guilty. Jesus knew this, too, but He didn’t assign blame to them, but instead asked God the Father to forgive both Jews and Gentiles, which is to say, all people. We all are guilty of the death of Jesus, but that is only fitting because Jesus died for us all so that everyone who trusts in Jesus to save them from sin and death has been forgiven and will live with Jesus forever.

We ought to be glad that God is humble. If God were not humble and merciful, but only a righteous, all-powerful God, then He would have to use His power to punish all sinners for their sins. No other god would humble himself like Jesus did, but then no false god has any answer for sin except to pile more requirements upon us to try harder to accomplish the impossible task of saving ourselves. Jesus was not ashamed to humble himself. Jesus had nothing to prove, but He had much to accomplish. Jesus dirtied His body and soul with our sin so that He could wash us clean and rescue us from death. This He accomplished, and for this we (humbly) worship and praise Christ Jesus our savior.

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Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

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For more on this topic see: The Sovereignty of God