I really enjoyed reading the passage when Jesus was seeking God’s approval to die on earth to take the blame for the sin of humanity at the beginning of book 11. “Let me interpret for him, me his advocate and propitiation, all his works on me, my merit those shall perfect, and for thee my death shall pay. Accept me, and in me from these receive the smell of peace toward mankind” (Milton, 253). Milton described Jesus speaking so humbly, like it was not in his power to make the final say by using words that we use when we are asking for permission from our parents like “let me or accept me.” In the Bible, we are not given any specific commentary of how this conversation might have gone. As far as I know, God allowed Jesus to come to die for us, but I do not know of any proof in scripture that Jesus suggested the idea, volunteered, or even wanted to die for us. I know he was willing and did not object to it obviously. But in Milton’s personal interpretation of this father son conversation, Jesus is attempting to eagerly and beautifully talk God into allowing Him to die for us. Even if this is not at all how it happened in Heaven, it made my heart feel happy. I do not know if to Milton this was the reason God allowed us grace, meaning that this conversation between Jesus and God was the deciding factor behind God choosing to show us grace and allowing us the choice to choose redemption. Milton beautifully depicted a Jesus character that was not in full control in this passage. In my head, I view Him as almost always the powerful bold decision maker, and I do not maybe give enough credence to His “God the Son” role which Milton in my opinion did a spectacular job portraying by how precisely he worded Jesus’ pitch to God. The format sounded in a way like how I would beg in high school to go out with my friends. I would repeatedly mention the positives of me spending time with my friends, but I would kind of brush over the fact that I had not spent time studying for my test that was the next day. Jesus did not dwell at all on the pain and suffering it would cause Him to physically die on the cross, but he repeatedly mentioned that Him dying would bring those who chose to repent from their sins and love God, eternal “joy and bliss.”
I commented on Moriah Nelson and Madison Flower’s blog
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