Jesus felt the tension of the the hour because:
- He was familiar with crucifixion. (In this passage and others he referenced crucifixion as his manner of death.
- He knew what the scriptures said about him as the Suffering Servant.
- This sacrifice had been made from before the foundation of the world.
Jesus felt the weight of the impending Cross and was troubled in his soul because of the following 4 things:
- He felt the weight of Suffering in the flesh.
- He felt the weight of Sin from all of Humanity being upon him.
- He felt the weight of Seperation from His Father.
- He felt the weight of the Silence of death.
Yet even with all the tension and weight he felt, his love for his Father and his love for you and me kept him moving toward the cross. Read the following verses, feeling his great love for you.
Isaiah 53:1-6 (KJV)
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? [2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. [3] He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4] Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. [5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
John 12:27-28 (NLT)
"Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, 'Father, save me from this hour'? But this is the very reason I came! [28] Father, bring glory to your name." Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, "I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again."
Isaiah 50:6-7 (KJV)
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. [7] For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
Isaiah 52:13-14 (NLT)
See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. [14] But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Psalm 22:14-15
"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death."
Note: Jesus knew what was facing him, but his complete love for His Father and for His people caused him to hold the course.
Hebrews 9:24-26 (ESV)
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our
behalf. [25] Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, [26] for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
The Cross will defy and defeat the enemy -once and for all.
Colossians 2:13-15 (ESV)
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, [14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. [15] He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
1 John 3:8 (NLT)
But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
John 12:29-50
[29] When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him. [30] Then Jesus told them, "The voice was for your benefit, not mine. [31] The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. [32] And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." [34] The crowd responded, "We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?" [35] Jesus replied, "My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. [36] Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light." After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them. [37] But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe one Him. [38] This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: "Lord, who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?" [39] But the people couldn't believe, for as Isaiah also said, [40] "The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts- so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them." [41] Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah's glory. [42] Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn't admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. [43] For they loved human praise more than the praise of God. [44] Jesus shouted to the crowds, "If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. [45] For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. [46] I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. [47] I will not judge those who hear me but don't obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. [48] But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. [49] I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. [50] And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say."
