“They … crucified the Lord of Glory” 1Corinthians 2:8 KJV
“They… crucified the Lord of glory” 1Corinthians 2:8 NASB
“And killed the Prince of Life” Acts 3:15 KJV
“But put to death the Prince of life Acts 3:15 NASB
The precision and accuracy of the Holy Scriptures are some of the many proofs of its divine origin. In the two Scriptures cited above, note the care which the Spirit of God employed in His description of Calvary.
The One Who is the Prince of Life, the very author of life, was deemed unworthy of life and was “killed” by wicked men.
But what of “the Lord of Glory?” It does not state that He was killed but rather crucified. Here the emphasis is not on the life/killed contrast. The One Who embodied all glory, was worthy of all glory, was given the place of utmost shame and dishonor which men could devise.
Crucifixion was not only one of the most painful forms of death which our evil hearts could devise, it was also one of the most shameful. The victim was suspended on a cross, impaled by nails, in an open and accessible place for public entertainment.
Even the most insensitive of souls reading the Gospel accounts with their economy of words and lack of interjected emotion cannot help but be moved and impressed by the “reproach, shame, and dishonor” which the Lord Jesus experienced when suspended on the tree.
Thus, the Spirit of God is emphasizing to us that the One Who reigned over life was judged unworthy of life and deserving of death; the One Who deserved all glory was deemed worthy of shame.
Two contrasting insights are afforded by this. There is the display of the human heart. All our wisdom, judgment, and values combined to make this awful determination. So dark is the human heart, so bent our wisdom, and so cold our hearts, that we awarded death to the One Who is the giver of life. We exposed to shame and dishonor, the only Man Who ever displayed in Himself all that reflected glory.
But in contrast, think of the second insight. Consider the grace of the Lord Jesus, that He permitted all this; He not only permitted it but knew about it before coming. In the abundance of His grace and the unfathomable depths of His love, He allowed men to crucify Him and to exhibit Him on a cross. He allowed men to attempt to take His life (ultimately, He gave His life) and in their reckoning to kill Him. “Such love surpassing human thought …”
I think nothing so summarizes this as well as the inspired writer’s words in Hebrews 12:3, “He endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself.”
Consider
Can you think of other similar statements that contain great contrasts between what He was and deserved over against what He received?