No One Takes It from Me

In John 10 Jesus said, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself” (John 10:18). Again and again His enemies tried to stop Him, and they could not do it until His time had come.

At the edge of a hill. In His hometown of Nazareth, people became so angry at His words that they took Him to the edge of a hill to throw Him off. But Jesus walked right through the middle of them and went on His way (Luke 4:29-30).

No one laid a hand on Him. In Jerusalem the leaders wanted to arrest Him, “but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come” (John 7:30). His hour means the time His Father had planned for the cross.

In the temple. Another time Jesus taught in the temple, “and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come” (John 8:20).

Stones in their hands. When some people picked up stones to throw at Him, Jesus “hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by” (John 8:59).

He set His face. “When the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). He had already told the twelve that He would be killed and rise on the third day, and still He set His face to go to Jerusalem. To set your face means to make up your mind and not turn back. Nothing about the cross surprised Him. Jesus walked toward it on purpose.

For this purpose. When the cross was very close, Jesus said, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour” (John 12:27). It was hard for Him, and He still chose it.

Why He chose it. Jesus chose the cross because of us. “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). We could not save ourselves, so He came to save us.

A ransom. Paul wrote that Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:6). A ransom is a price paid to set someone free. Jesus paid it with His own life.

What we learn. Jesus was never trapped or caught by surprise. Every step He took toward the cross was His choice, made out of love.

What to do. The next time you think about the cross, remember that Jesus chose it for you. Thank Him for it today, in your own words.

Jesus did not only say He would lay down His life. He said, “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:18). Dying was not the end of His plan.

Raised on the third day. Jesus died, was buried, and “rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). He did exactly what He had told His friends He would do.

Death could not hold Him. Peter preached that God raised Jesus up, “having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Death had never met anyone like Jesus.

Isaiah saw it first. Long before, Isaiah wrote about God's Servant who would carry our sins and die. Then Isaiah said the Servant would live on and see the good His suffering had won (Isaiah 53:10-11).

Alive forevermore. Many years later the apostle John saw Jesus in a vision. Jesus told him not to be afraid. He said He was the One who had been dead and is now alive forever (Revelation 1:17-18).

The keys. Keys stand for authority. The risen Jesus holds the keys of Hades and of Death (Revelation 1:18), so death must answer to Him.

Because He lives. Jesus promised His friends, “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19). His rising is the promise that everyone who belongs to Him will live with Him forever.

A living Shepherd. A shepherd who stayed dead could not lead his sheep. Because Jesus took His life again, He still calls His sheep by name and goes before them (John 10:3-4). He is leading His people today.

Our sin was paid for. Jesus died for our sins, and He rose again. If He had stayed dead, we would still be lost. Because He lives, everyone who trusts Him is forgiven.

What we learn. Jesus chose to die, and He rose by the power of God. He is alive right now.

What to do. If you trust Jesus, you do not need to be afraid of death. Thank Him that He is alive, and tell a friend that Jesus rose from the dead.