The reason Jesus didn’t flee from those who wanted to kill Him is that He knew the time had come for Him to finish the work God had given Him to do. When Jesus cried, “It is finished!” from the cross, he wasn’t just saying His life was over (John 19:30); He was declaring that His God-given mission was now completed.

What was that mission? His mission was to bring us back to God. Our greatest problem is that we are separated from God — and the reason can be summarized in one word: sin. Sin isn’t just something we know is wrong (although it is that). Sin is far more devastating than that; sin is rebellion against God. When we sin, we’re telling God we don’t want anything to do with Him, and we treat Him like an enemy. The Bible says, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” (Colossians 1:21).

But God loves us and doesn’t want us to be separated from Him forever. He wants to be our friend — and that’s why Jesus Christ came into the world. He came to become the final and complete sacrifice for our sins, by dying on the cross for us. He was without sin, but all our sins were placed on Him, and He died in our place.

As we approach this Easter season, my prayer is that you will face your own need of God’s forgiveness, and open your heart and life to Christ. Don’t flee from God any longer, but discover the joy of being His friend — today and forever.