We sometimes sing a hymn titled “Ten Thousand Angels.” The chorus of the song was inspired by the account of Jesus’ arrest in Matthew 6:23. After Peter sliced off the ear of Malchus with a sword, Jesus reprimanded him by saying: “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

As songwriters tend to do, Ray Overholt took some poetic license to make a point when he turned that moment into a tune. Twelve legions in the Roman army actually added up to 72,000 in most cases, but Overholt drove home the point with a nice, round number: “He could have called ten-thousand angels.”

That phrase is a powerful reminder of exactly who Jesus was (and is) — the Son of God. But as we remember His sacrifice today, let’s just think about the first three words: “He could have.”

Jesus could have done a lot: of things:

• He could have stayed in Heaven as an equal of God. Instead, as we read in Philippians 2:6-8, He “emptied Himself by taking the form of a bondservant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.”
• Jesus could have kept maintained his rightful status over the angels. But He accepted His temporary place “for a little while lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:5-11).
• He could have lived a quiet, peaceful life as a carpenter, the trade He learned from His earthly father, Joseph (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). Instead, He gave that up for a nomadic ministry, with “nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:19-20), and was hounded by enemies for the last three years of his life.
• He could have commanded His servants to fight so He could avoid arrest. But as He told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this realm” (John 18:33-36).

Now that I’ve said all that, I’m going to contradict myself a bit. Because “He could have” is just a theoretical phrase.

While Jesus technically “could have” done all of that and more that we might glean from the scriptures, in practice He absolutely could NOT have done anything contrary to His Father’s will.

Jesus said so Himself, as He faced the agony of the cross in His final hours: “’My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39).

Or as songwriter Ray Overholt put it so memorably:

He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free
He could have called ten thousand angels
But He died alone for you and me

We gather around this table each week to remember that death. The bread represents His body; the fruit of the vine represents His innocent blood. As we partake of these emblems today, remember everything Jesus could have done. But He didn’t.

And we have the hope of salvation because of the obedient choices He made.

For more ideas to share at the Lord’s Supper, see “Christ Before Our Eyes: 52 Readings to Draw Closer to Christ at the Lord’s Supper” (advertisement), by Shane Scott.