When I have been asked, mostly by my children, what superpower I would want if I could just pick one, my first response tends to be, “to see my future,” followed by the more rational choice where I then say, “to fly!” If I knew what was ahead of me, I would know how to plan, and what not to take for granted. I would know what to really enjoy and what to not get worked up over. But, if I think deeper into this idea, knowing what lies ahead could create a world of worry and sadness. Knowing the things I must bear, or the circumstances I would want to change or control, I am suddenly convinced that not knowing and walking in faith through whatever comes, would be the easier of the two.
Jesus, in the last days leading up to His crucifixion, knew the cup He had to drink and the pain He had to endure. Jesus had the superpower I thought I always wanted, but in His upside down way chose to live differently. By knowing what laid upon His shoulders, Jesus still chose to live His life for others, not reflecting fear, but the Father and His bigger purpose. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27). Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen on that Good Friday, yet He chose not to look upon Himself, but to us, which I find incomprehensible. Although troubled, He still washed the disciples’ feet. Even knowing who would betray Him, Jesus got on His knee and put Judas above Himself. He poured His love out, before He poured it all out. Jesus, knowing it all, still chose to think of others before His anguish. In His last days He was still teaching, He was still ministering, and still doing the will of His Father.
The final day before Jesus was arrested, we find Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was still left with a choice in that final moment. In His flesh, the decision could have been to turn away, yet we see Him on the ground crying out, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”(Luke 22:42). He asked for a way out, but the Father’s will was above it all. Choosing the Father’s will before His own brought so much anguish and suffering, He sweat blood from His brow. “..and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (John 22:44). It can be easy to think Jesus willingly, without reservation, went to the cross, but we must remember that moment in the garden. It was a garden where sin entered the world, and it was a garden where Jesus made the choice to take that sin upon Himself and cast it as far as the east is from the west.
In every choice the Jesus made, knowing the future, and knowing the price He had to pay, He did it all with us in mind. In the garden, did He know the extent of the gift He was about to give? A gift so wide, so deep, so unfathomable, that forever the world was changed. Jesus, in His choice to carry on His purpose, is the key for all of us to spend eternity on streets of gold in Heaven. During this Holy Week, let us take time to seek the face of Jesus. Let us take time to praise Him, to adore Him, to draw close to Him. In all the choices that Jesus made, He always chose us. Choose Him today with unhindered hearts and thanksgiving.
Emily Rodewald 