I submit to you that Jesus faced double jeopardy in that he placed himself in harm's way twice, for our sake! Jesus was not guilty of any crime, He never sinned, He is the Lamb without spot or blemish. But there is evidence in the Bible that Jesus made the decision to face Calvary twice.
Let's look at the first instance which the Lamb, chosen from the foundation of the world, accepted the will of God and was sent here. Hebrews 12:1,2:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
This is an excellent passage in that we see what Jesus gave up in order to come to earth and be the propitiation for the sins of mankind. A literal translation of verse 2 is this " in view of joy lying before Him..." What joy is this speaking of? The word for "lying before" is a Greek word "prokeimenēs" which literally means the "destined joy" or the joy on the other side of the Calvary. With this joy before him, Jesus endured the cross. Let us understand this also, this decision was made in eternity and therefore, in order to endure the cross, Jesus had to be sent from His throne in heaven! He had to leave the angels falling prostrate before Him. He had to leave the constant praise and singing of the heavenly host. He had to leave the beauty of heaven and the presence of the Father and the Spirit to take on flesh and become the Lamb that would take away the sins of the world. He knew full well the agony he would face at the crucifixion and yet, He consented and, although being in the form of God, did not regard equality with God (the Father) a thing to be grasped, but He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant and was obedient to the point of death...even death on a cross (Philippians 2).
There was a second time that Jesus had a chance to remove himself from the line of fire. That time occurred when He was in human form here on earth. He was in a place called Gethsemane. He was under extreme duress as the crucifixion loomed. His sweat was like "great drops of blood". Luke 22:44 says that Jesus was in agony in Gethsemane. The word used for agony is "agonia" which is a word taken from the realm of athletics and competition. It is a word used to describe the feelings of an athlete before a contest. What it literally means is that Jesus was in the "fourth quarter" with seconds left on the clock. He could have dialed it in and called it quits. He asked God (the Father) to remove the cup but remembered that his food (sustenance) was to do the will of His father (John 4:32). Jesus once told the disciples that the reason that the Father was with Him was because he "ALWAYS" did what pleased Him (the Father) (John 8:29). What pleased God was to crush Jesus (Isaiah 53) as the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of man. This was the only way that mankind could be reconciled back to God!
We see here that, unlike man and the judicial system, Jesus had no problem facing double jeopardy! He did not try to avoid it, He embraced it. He faced it to do the will of the Father. The will of God is that none should perish but all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). The will of God is that "all would come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved" (1 Tim 2:4). While this is the will of God, unfortunately, all men are not obedient to God's will- but Jesus was. The one who knew no sin became sin on our behalf. The righteous died for the unrighteous. He knew what was coming, He momentarily left His seat in heaven, He endured the abuse of man and He drank the full cup of God's wrath...so that ANYONE WHO ACCEPTS HIS PAYMENT is forgiven for their sins! Thank you Jesus for deciding TWICE to go through with God's will. Thank you Jesus for being the Lamb and taking away the sins of the world. If you haven't told Jesus thank you for His payment for your sins, now is a good time to do so. Grace and peace.
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