Jesus and the Cross

I have often thought about Jesus' reluctance to go to the cross. We all know of him praying, "Father, not my will, but yours be done." and that's all we ever think about it. I want to challenge you to look a little deeper into the gospels.

In John 2, Mary is telling him to do a miracle, to which he responds, “Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.” I interpret this to mean, "Mom, it's not time to start the series of events that lead me to my death!" Jesus, in my opinion, was taking every step he could to avoid the cross. He knew that once word got out, he was on a path that had no turning back.

And even though he had done many miracles, in Matthew 8, he told the leper “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Could he have been trying to slow the progress to the cross?

I imagine that at some point, Jesus became accepting of his fate, although he did this a couple of more times. The crowds were too great and the publicity too much for him to "keep it on the down low."

But still, his mission remained. It was a suicide mission, but like all suicide missions, the great suffering and death for one or a few, means benefit to countless others. That doesn't mean the person has to like it or doesn't want to find another way of accomplishing the task, but they see the potential good in their sacrifice and go forward.

It came to a head in the Garden of Gethsemane where he poured out his anguish and fear of the task ahead, and also felt the pain of the sin he would have to bear.

And so I present my thesis to you. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading.