38. Could Christ actually have come down from the cross?

Christ had done many miracles, as when he healed the blind, stilled the storm and raised the dead. His remark to Peter (Matt. 26:53) that his Father would give him twelve legions of angels if he asked for deliv­erance, showed that he believed he could be delivered if he wished.

The only reason why he had no desire to come down from the cross was that love of the human race held him there. He knew that his voluntary sac­rifice was essential to the great atonement for the sins of the world. He had foreseen his own death on the cross and on several occasions had spoken of it.