“Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, ‘Who is it you want?’ ” (John 18:4).

Most of us tend to take life as it comes. We find ourselves in crises that we didn’t see coming and trust God to see us through the trials. We experience the smaller problems—like a flat tire, and sometimes encounter major ones—like unexpected illness. Some of our challenges are consequences of what we do and some are out of our control. In all those we know that God is with us and we ultimately can’t lose.

Jesus’ situation as He faced the Cross was totally different. He knew what was going to happen to Him and He bravely faced the situation head on. He wasn’t surprised by His trial and death. He saw them coming. That’s why He came in the first place—His purpose was to die for our sins and reconcile us to our heavenly Father.

Anyone who thinks Jesus was just a good man who became an unfortunate martyr has missed the point. He wasn’t unexpectedly executed at too early an age. He died on purpose. He knew what He was doing and why He was doing it. The only way we could ever live was by His dying the death we deserved. He did it in our place, for us. It’s no wonder that we worship Him.