Jesus Saves Us

Milton's illustrative writing puts faces and characteristics to people, beings, and things that I never would have thought. I especially find interesting, his depiction, in Book Three, of God deciding that Jesus would be our savior. In The Bible, we learn that God sent His son to the Earth to serve as the perfect sacrifice to break our bondage from sin and allow us to enter into eternal life with God. In book three we read about this situation from a more detailed manner, almost as if we're hearing God's thought process.

"...God again declares that grace cannot be extended towards Man without the satisfaction of divine justice. Man hath offended the majesty of God by aspiring to godhead and therefore, with all his progeny devoted to death, must die unless someone can be found sufficient to answer for his offense and undergo his punishment. The son of God freely offers himself a ransom for man. The father accepts him, ordains His incarnation, pronounces his exaltation over all names is Heaven and Earth...(55)"

It's as if God proposes the problem - not being able to extend grace to man yet, then tells us why -  man desires to godhead, and then God explains what must be done - either man must be destroyed, or some sufficient sacrifice must endure man's punishment. In Milton's portrayal of this scene, I am able to picture Jesus sitting in the same room as God, worshipping him, and upon arrival of this dilemma, volunteering himself as a sacrifice, knowing that he is the only hope for man. I then picture God saying okay, agreeing to His son's "suggestion" and then preparing to send His son off to battle. The battle being Jesus living, fully human on Earth.

I really enjoy these depictions because I feel as though it gives us a look inside the mind of God as he plans things. However, I know that God is all knowing and doesn't take time to think things through as we have to because He already knows what is going to happen. Regardless of that , it is still an interesting perspective into how God works.

I commented on Eva's!