Jesus, as a person, as a man, in His human part, was our neighbor. He told us that the greatest commandment was to love God above all things, and the second commandment was to love one’s neighbor as oneself.
Jesus, as man, was our neighbor; He made Himself equal to human life and became human. If He was our neighbor, He loved people in the same way that He loved Himself. Jesus loved His neighbor and valued the life of each person; this means that He also valued His own life. Just as He would not give anyone over to sacrifice, neither would He sacrifice Himself. And He did not want to; He asked God to take the cup away.
The One who allowed the sacrifice of Christ was God. The cross does not represent Jesus’ love for the world; rather, the cross represents God’s love for the world and Jesus’ love for God. Jesus not only revealed the law; He lived it to its utmost: He loved God in such a way that He gave His life for Him.
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” — Matthew 22:36–40
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” — John 3:16
Fragments of an awakened soul 