Why Did God The Father Allow His Son To Suffer So Much?
Have you ever wondered why God the Father allowed His Son to suffer so much, even to die an excruciating death on the cross?
If God is good, why would He allow His Son to be hurt? What good father would ever allow his child to suffer like that?
I once understood this concept very well, at least I thought I did. And I have always felt that Christianity is unique out of all the other religions because it is only in Christianity where God Himself came down from heaven, became a human being and suffered even death to give us eternal life!
God With Us
It is easier to understand it that way. We know that Jesus is God. And His name is Emmanuel, which means God is with us.
But when I later reflected upon the Trinity, I had to think twice about this. Wait a minute! God is not only the Son, but He is the Father also.
If God is also the Father, how could He ever allow His own Son to make a sacrifice like that? While we can all agree that Jesus did it voluntarily, we are also taught that it was God the Father who sent Him to accomplish this mission of salvation for us.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” - John 3:16 (NABRE)
Does this mean that my previous concept of God coming down from heaven is incomplete because only the Second Person of the Trinity did that? What about the Father? Did He exempt Himself from pain? How could He remain in heaven while watching the suffering of His Son?