Hebrews tells us that it was “for the joy that was set before him” that Jesus “endured the cross (12:2). The joy of being reconciled and reunited with His image-bearing-masterpieces-turned-enemies, who deserve wrath, not forgiveness, justice, not grace. Joy – for you – is what kept Jesus going. Through every slash of the whip, every pound of the nail, every agonizing breath, every shameful insult hurled from the mouths of His beloved enemies – it was for Jesus’s stubborn delight set before Him that He endured the cross. The ingenuity of the Persians, the barbaric fine-tuning of the Romans, the wood, spikes, hammers, splinters and crown of thorns picked from a garden are all woven into the tapestry of grace as the only fitting way to capture God’s love for His image bearers.
– Sprinkle, Preston; Charis: God’s Scandalous Grace for Us; David C. Cook Publishing; Colorado Springs, CO; Kindle version; copyright 2014; page 167-168