I don’t think our minds are capable of imagining what must have been going through the mind of Jesus during the last few days leading up to the crucifixion. At this point, did He fully understand what was about to happen? In the Garden of Gethsemane, He seems to know how horrible it will be because He asks the Father if there is any other way for Him to accomplish the mission that brought Him to earth cloaked in flesh. The kiss of betrayal must have hurt coming from one who had been with Him almost non-stop for three years. The denial from the man He had chosen to be the leader of this band of disciples once He ascended back to heaven, although He knew it would happen, must have stung. The disappointment He must have felt towards the religious leaders who rejected Him, even though they knew the prophecies concerning His coming, must have been heartbreaking. And I also think He had thoughts of what those who did accept Him would face in the years to come. They would experience the same mockery, hatred, and persecution He faced, many of them giving their lives so that the Gospel could be preached all over the world.

My mind can grasp these things to a point, but then my emotions will carry them no further. All of this had to happen, but it didn’t have to happen. If only Adam and Eve had listened and obeyed, this would not have been necessary, but it was. And because it was, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…”

What do you think Jesus was thinking just a couple of days before the crucifixion?