And now the Lord of glory was dying, a ransom for the race. In yielding up His precious life, Christ was not upheld by triumphant joy. All was oppressive gloom. It was not the dread of death that weighed upon Him. It was not the pain and ignominy of the cross that caused His inexpressible agony. Christ was the prince of sufferers; but His suffering was from a sense of the malignity of sin, a knowledge that 753 through familiarity with evil, man had become blinded to its enormity. Christ saw how deep is the hold of sin upon the human heart, how few would be willing to break from its power. He knew that without help from God, humanity must perish, and He saw multitudes perishing within reach of abundant help.

Og nu var herlighedens Herre ved at dø som løsesum for menneskeslægten. Da Kristus hengav sit dyrebare liv, blev han ikke opretholdt af sejrens glæde. Alt var som det dybeste mørke. Det var ikke frygten for døden, der tyngede ham. Det var ikke korsets pine og skam, der voldte hans usigelige sjælekval. Kristus var de lidendes konge; men hans lidelser stammede fra en fornemmelse af syndens ondskab, fra en viden om, at ved at gøre sig fortrolig med det onde var mennesket blevet forblindet for dets afskyelighed. Kristus så, hvor stærk et greb synden har om menneskehjertet, og hvor få der ville være villige til at bryde med dens magt. Han vidste, at uden Guds hjælp måtte menneskeslægten gå til grunde, og han så, hvordan mange gik til grunde, selv om hjælpen i rigt mål var inden for rækkevidde.