Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him…
John often refers to what Jesus knows. As we read John’s gospel account of Jesus’ ministry, it is easy to pick out the people who don’t “get” Jesus. They simply don’t know who Jesus is. But Jesus knows who they are. In fact, Jesus knows their hearts (John 2: 24-25).
There is an interesting illustration of what it means to “know” in the second chapter of John. The story is set in Cana at a wedding feast. The party has run out of wine, and Jesus’ mother, Mary, takes this minor crisis to her son. Jesus then changes the water into wine. In verse 9, it says, “… the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.”
The servants knew what had happened because they had filled the jars with water. They had seen the water poured into the cup given to the steward. They heard the steward declare that not only was the water actually wine, but it was “the best.” John distinguishes between what the servants know and what the steward knows. The steward does not know where the wine has come from. The servants do because they were there and they know what they have seen and heard.
Similarly, Jesus knows what is going to happen to him because he has already seen and heard what will be done. Please do not ask me how this works. I don’t know. I do know that God exists outside of time and that God is both the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. God’s ability to foretell what will happen with certainty and knowledge is one of the things that makes God God.
As Christians, we often marvel that Jesus would go to the cross knowing what would happen. Today, for a moment, let us just marvel at the fact that Jesus knows.
Food for Thought: What does it mean for you that Jesus knows everything about you. Not only what has happened to you in the past and what is happening now, but what will happen during every moment that remains of your life on earth?
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It gives me great confidence and security to know that He has it all under control. And it means I can trust His promises because He knows what will happen and His promises are based on truth and His character.
Rich, that is so true! His love is not conditional on what we do because he already knows. His love is conditional only on who He is and our response to Him.