Could Jesus have saved Himself from the cross?

Yes. The chief priests said, 'He saved others; himself he cannot save' (Matthew 27:42), but they were wrong. He stayed on the cross to save them, and us.

The Incarnation and His Ridicule

Q: Was the mocking of Jesus foretold?

Yes. Isaiah wrote, 'He is despised and rejected of men' (Isaiah 53:3) and 'I hid not my face from shame and spitting' (Isaiah 50:6). Psalm 22:7 says, 'All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.' The Gospels record the soldiers' mock homage and the chief priests' taunt, 'He saved others; himself he cannot save' (Matthew 27:28-29, 42).

“God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). The eternal God took a body that could be struck, spat on and laughed at, and men did all three.

Foretold

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”
Isaiah 53:3

“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head” (Psalm 22:7). “I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (Isaiah 50:6).

Fulfilled

Soldiers put a scarlet robe and a crown of thorns on Him and mocked, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (Matthew 27:28-29). The chief priests said, “He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Matthew 27:42). They were wrong. He could have saved Himself. He stayed on the cross to save them.

Could I have been one of them?

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). The same city that cried “Hosanna” cried “Let him be crucified” (Matthew 21:9; 27:22). Peter, who loved Him, began “to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man” (Matthew 26:74). None of us stands above that crowd.

Now and then

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). One day “this corruptible must put on incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:53), and “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Then there will be nothing in us left to mock Him with.

The way back

About fifty days after Peter cursed and denied Him, he stood up and preached: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). The mercy that restored Peter is offered to anyone who has treated Him lightly.

The mercy that restored Peter is offered to you.

What must I do to be saved? → How to Receive the Holy Ghost →

A King James study of the mocking of Christ: God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16); the prophecies of His rejection and shame (Isaiah 50:6; 53:3; Psalm 22:7); the mockery at His trial and cross (Matthew 27:28-29, 42); the fickle crowd and Peter’s denial (Matthew 21:9; 26:74; 27:22; Jeremiah 17:9); seeing Him as He is (1 Corinthians 13:12; 15:53; 1 John 3:2); and the way back (Acts 2:38). Engraving: Gustave Doré, Christ Crowned with Thorns (1866), public domain.