If You Are the Son of God… Come Down

There’s a moment in the gospels that’s always stuck with me. While Jesus was on the cross, some in the crowd shouted, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross, and then we will believe.”

Now, as a Christian, I do believe Jesus absolutely had the power to step down right then and there. But he didn’t. And I’ve always wondered... why not? Wouldn’t that have been the ultimate way to prove his divinity? Why not silence all the doubters in one powerful move?

The more I think about it, the more I realize there was a greater lesson in him staying on the cross. To come down would’ve been to give in to their test, to meet their demands, rather than fulfilling the true purpose he was sent for. It wasn’t about proving himself in the way the world expected... it was about obedience, sacrifice, and love. It reminds me of how Scripture tells us not to put God to the test. Faith isn’t about God jumping through hoops for us, it’s about trusting even when things don’t make sense in the moment.

And let’s be real... most of the people in that crowd didn’t know the whole story like we do now. They didn’t know about the resurrection that was coming. They didn’t know that in just a short time, everything would change forever.

I think all of us wrestle with “why” questions like that, not just about the Bible but about life in general. Why do people we love get taken too soon? Why does suffering exist? Why did my mom, who passed away in 2016, have to leave in the way she did? I’ve had plenty of questions I’ve wanted to ask God face to face.

But over time I’ve come to believe that when we finally are in God’s presence, those questions won’t matter anymore. The moment we’re filled with his love and surrounded by the glory of heaven, the pain and confusion of this world won’t even cross our minds. Like an old gospel song says, “Here today, gone tomorrow, and this life won’t even be a memory.” That line used to sound a little harsh to me, but now I think I get it. Once we’re there, all the struggles and the “why’s” won’t matter because we’ll finally understand.

So while I may never fully know why Jesus didn’t come down off the cross when the crowd dared him to, I do know this: it wasn’t weakness, it was strength. It was love. And one day, when we’re face to face with him, we won’t need to ask why... because we’ll already know.

“…and saying, ‘You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, [and] come down from the cross!’ Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.’”

Matthew 27:40–42 (NABRE, see also Mark 15:29–32; Luke 23:35)