Was the Crucifixion of Christ a Sign of Strength or Weakness?

(2 Corinthians 13:4) “For He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. Likewise, we are weak in Him, but we will live with Him by the power of God toward you.” What is meant by these words? Was Christ crucified due to weakness in His character or will? Was Christ stripped of His will and so weak that humans crucified Him against His will? The crucifixion of Christ is the pinnacle of strength. Without that strength, Satan and the satanic thought would not still be fighting against the cross and denying Christ’s crucifixion to this day. Some believe that when the Jews and Romans participated in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, He was crucified because He was weak and unable to defend or save Himself, and therefore, they argue that He could not be God incarnate. The truth is that such thinking reveals someone who has not taken the time to search the Scriptures for the reason behind the crucifixion of Christ. Christ Himself, on multiple occasions, declared that He was going to the cross of His own free will: Christ said with His blessed lips (before the crucifixion) to the Jews: “For this reason, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father” (John 10:17-18). He also mentioned this to His disciples: “From that time on, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Matthew 16:21) (see also Mark 8:31 and Luke 9:22). If Christ had wanted to avoid the cross, He could have done so freely and had ample time to escape. But the opposite is true, as Scripture tells us that Jesus (glory be to Him) “knew all that was coming upon Him” and confronted the chief priests and soldiers who came to arrest Him before the crucifixion (John 18:4). It was no surprise to Him, nor was it beyond His complete and absolute will. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed: “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). This shows that He fully submitted His will to align with the will of God the Father to accomplish full redemption. Even though He (as a human) loved life and did not desire death, He went to the cross in full agreement, subjecting His will and desires to the will of the Father. This provides sufficient response to anyone who might think Christ went to death because He despised life, failed in His mission, or for any reason that would drive a person to a desperate, suicidal act. Christ said in many instances that He came into the world for the cross: “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. Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (John 12:27-28). We see that Christ accepted this mission willingly and proceeded with full submission: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5–11). Therefore, we see Christ before the cross, and during the crucifixion itself while He was hanging on the cross, was challenged by people to prove His power and divinity by coming down from the cross (Matthew 27:40). However, this was not merely the voice of the people but the voice of Satan, who had always tried to dissuade Christ from going to the cross (Matthew 4:3,6; Luke 4:3,7; Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33). The cross of Christ was not a sign of weakness, but of total humility. The cross was foretold clearly in the Old Testament prophecies and fully realized in the New Testament. It was always before the eyes of our Lord Jesus Christ (glory be to Him). This is why the cross is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). While the message of the cross may seem like foolishness and weakness to those who are perishing, to us who are saved by Christ’s redemptive work, it is the power of God for salvation (1 Corinthians 1:18).