The real death into which Jesus baptised Himself on the cross is nothing other than man himself. Apart from Christ men exist altogether in an eternal state of death. They are completely insensitive in that death, and therefore unable to recognise and know their state. We could not feel or understand that we were dead, so we were unable to do anything about it; but He did know. He also knew He was the only one who could do anything about it. He knew exactly what was necessary and what it would mean for Him to expire into death, for He was alive, and except He knew He could go through with it He would not have endured it, nor entertained the thought of it. Knowing all this, He broke His heart for us — we who were too insensitive to know how it felt to Him that He should be as the sinner to His Father.
His heart did not break because of our lack of love to Him who loved us so much. He felt it of course; it counted and it was of great grief to Him, but the real cause of His heartbreak was what He had to become to the Father whom He loved. He was made and treated as the embodiment of all who did not know or love God, and what was worse, the representation of all who hated and blasphemed and rebelled against and undeified Him. So great was His love to His Father and us, that on behalf of each of us who did not even know enough to care, He completely submitted His whole being to God for eternity, and for a time submitted His body to the wishes of devils and men.
Surely we shall never fully understand all that was involved in Jesus' terrible time on the cross. Right from His birth the grim foreshadowlngs of the deadly tree progressively cast ever-deepening horrors over Him, threatening to engulf Him in unspeakable terrors. As eternity's most awful moment drew on He said, 'I have a baptism to be baptised with', and ever moved on toward the time when He must take the plunge. After all other considerations are taken into account, there is only one baptism worth experiencing and knowing and talking about — it is His. Apart from Him we are in death — dead; but He was and is Life — alive.
(From the book - The Anointing)
