There are a lot of people we could say they sent Jesus to the cross. Judas, for instance, betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver. A kiss on the cheek was the signal he gave to the band of soldiers who then whisked Jesus away for interrogation. Before Pontius Pilate, Jesus was questioned. “Are you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked.

After some discourse, Jesus stated, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” The conclusion of this conversation puts a spotlight on Pilate’s indifference to Jesus’s fate. And so, Jesus goes before the people.

Pilate confessed, “I find no guilt in Him.” But in accordance with the customs of the time, he asked the crowd, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” As recorded, the people cried out, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” As such, Barabbas the thief would go free, as the incarnation of God was subjected to death (John 18). So, whether it be Judas, Pilate, or the crowd who ultimately chose a criminal over Christ, these serve as examples of people who took part in Jesus’s crucifixion. And yet, there remains another player worth drawing our attention to.

We can’t ignore the reality that Jesus would have never been hung on the tree if God did not ordain it to be so. Indeed, it was God who allowed this excruciating death, and it all started before the foundation of the world. God sent His own Son to earth as a baby to live a perfect life only to die the most painful death imaginable. What kind of Father does this? If Judas, Pilate, and the crowd go down in history as people who betrayed and abandoned Jesus, what is to be said about the Supreme Being at the center of it all?

Some have put forth the argument that the God of love sending His own Son to the cross was nothing short of hypocritical and an act of “cosmic child abuse.” It’s interesting, however, because in order for God to have committed “cosmic child abuse,” He would have needed to have some evil selfish reason for crucifying Christ. Maybe one could argue that Jesus’s death was some form of abuse if God had no purpose behind it or if it didn’t accomplish anything. But when you really take the time to understand the circumstances, God is the only player on the field who didn’t sacrifice Jesus out of selfish ambition.

As stated, Judas sold Him out for 30 pieces of silver. Pilate couldn’t have cared less what happened to the “King of the Jews,” but likely didn’t want to aggravate the people. The crowd begged that Jesus be killed, largely because Jesus threatened their views of the world and of themselves. But what did God get out of subjecting Jesus to death? Well, here’s where the Good News comes in. The beauty of the gospel is that God sacrificed His Son for our sake. Surely, God ultimately gets the glory. But through Christ’s death, we get salvation. Indeed, through proper analysis, the only conclusion to be made is that God is the only one who sent Jesus to the cross selflessly.

In more ways than one, God delivering His Son marks the epitome of selflessness and love. He chose to provide a way for sinful people to be forgiven, despite the fact that we could never deserve it. He chose to lose all fellowship with Jesus so that we could have a seat at the table. He chose to sacrifice His one and only Son so that we could have eternal life. The others may have delivered Jesus selfishly, but not God. No, God is the only one who had something greater in mind since before the foundation of the world. Because before the foundation of the world, God already had this great plan established so that we could receive redemption.

However, if we are to sit around pointing fingers, we should really only have one pointed at ourselves. Many would rather ignore the biblical truth that we are the ones who sent Jesus to the cross. Referring to Adam, Romans 5:12 states, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Additionally, Romans 3:23 asserts, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Brothers and sisters in Christ, our sin sent Jesus to the cross. And yet, this only exemplifies God’s love all the more.

Look at all these people who sent Jesus to the cross out of selfishness, ignorance, and rebellion — including ourselves. We don’t deserve the gift that Christ’s death provided. How could we ever be worth enduring the agonizing pain Jesus suffered? To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t know what God sees in me, and maybe you feel the same way. But the point is this: He loves you, and He loves you enough to give up His Son’s life so that you could have life. Our sin may have delivered Jesus to death, but God’s love delivered us from death.

So, no, Christ’s crucifixion was far from an act of “cosmic child abuse.” Instead, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt the greatest, most magnificent and glorious act of love known to man. We see this in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” We see it in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” We see this in Romans 5:8: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

There are men and women who will go down in infamy as people who rejected and betrayed Christ. There will be even more who never understand the truth of the gospel and why God sent His Son. But for us in Christ, we know exactly what was accomplished at the cross. We know just how great our debt is. Yet we rejoice, because we also know that great love was at the heart of it all.

May we boisterously proclaim the same truth uttered by those who have come before us: “Jesus smiled upon my soul as a ray of heaven, and my supplications are swallowed up in praise.”