I read this and couldn’t help thinking that this is far deeper than it sounds. Even I often say, “Jesus saved me,” without fully grasping the depth of what that truly means.
As a young Uni debater, I fell in love with a concept called the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Here’s the setup: Two prisoners are interrogated separately. If both stay silent, they get light sentences. If one betrays, the betrayer goes free while the other gets maximum time. If both betray, both get heavy sentences.
The rational move? Betray first. Don’t risk being the one left holding the bag. Protect yourself before trusting the other.
This logic runs everywhere, relationships, business, politics. The question is always: Who moves first? Who takes the risk? Who trusts without guarantee?
Normal human calculus says: “I’ll give if they give. I’ll trust if they prove trustworthy. I’ll sacrifice if I know it won’t be wasted.” We always want leverage. Assurance before vulnerability.
Then there’s Jesus Christ.
The Bible says He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Before creation. Before sin. Before humanity had a chance to reject or accept Him, the decision was made.
Think about that. God looked at the entire scope of human history, knowing we all have free will, knowing many would reject Him, knowing the cost, and still chose the Cross.
Christ was going to die anyway. Even if everyone rejected Him. Even if no one accepted. That was the risk He took. He didn’t wait. He didn’t hedge. He didn’t demand proof of loyalty.
He just died.
Normal human logic asks: “What if I die and they don’t accept it? Shouldn’t they prove themselves first?” Christ didn’t care for leverage. He moved first. Unconditionally and irrevocably.
He broke the dilemma.
That’s scandalous, at least in my eyes. Because the logic of self-preservation, the logic that governs how we negotiate, trust, and love, assumes vulnerability must be calculated. Christ obliterated that assumption. He gave first. Loved first. Died first.
Now the question isn’t, “Will God love me if I get it right?” The real question imo is: What do you do with a God who already went all in?
Gabriel Jesus gets it: “Jesus saved my life from the beginning, when I was born, I didn’t know it yet.”
Grace isn’t reactive. It isn’t conditional. It arrives before your awareness, before your response, before your yes.
That’s the scandal: He moved first, and He didn’t flinch.