December 16 - Messiah - Psalm 22:7-8
All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn; they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying: "He trusted in God that He would deliver Him; let Him deliver Him, if He delight in Him."
While some didn't appreciate Handel’s talent, composers we know well did. Haydn, upon hearing the Hallelujah Chorus exclaimed, “He is the master of us all.” Mozart said about Handel, “Handel understands effect better than any of us – when he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt … though he often saunters, in the manner of his time, this is always something there.” Beethoven said, “Handel is the greatest composer that ever lived … I would uncover my head and kneel down at his tomb.” J.S. Bach said, “[Handel] is the only person I would wish to see before I die, and the only person I would wish to be, were I not Bach.”
But, Jesus didn't do what they expected Him to do. He didn't call on God to deliver him; He committed His life into God’s hands, knowing that His sacrifice was necessary to offer salvation to those very same people who were mocking Him. Without this necessary step in the history of the world, nothing more could be accomplished for the Kingdom of God.
It would have been easy for those who were close to Jesus to be angry at His death … and especially to be angry at the manner in which He died. He had done nothing to deserve what He received at the hands of the soldiers. And there was no one among His friends and family who could possibly understand how necessary His death was for the salvation of the world.
God delivered us because of His sacrifice. We are the ones in whom God delights and has gone to great lengths to save.
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