STEPS to the CROSS

Can you even imagine what this day held for Jesus as He walked His final footsteps to the cross? What did He pray? What did He sing?What did His heart feel like? What was His focus? What was He thinking? Doing? Being?

We don't have to imagine because Scripture tells us in His Word:

• He was being FAITHFUL to His Father's will and plan.


• He was doing the hardest thing that was required of Him and doing it with full obedience.


• He was thinking - not of Himself - but of you and me.


• His focus was on the Father's will being carried out.


• His heart was full of emotion, grief, turmoil... not because of the pain He was about to suffer - but for the separation from His Father that He must endure when He would bear our sins upon Himself and the Father must turn away from Him.


• He sang a hymn with His disciples.


• He prayed for Himself, His disciples, for all believers.


• His footsteps held the fulfilling plan of God's GRACE.

John 17 [selected]
Jesus Prays for Himself

1After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. 2For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. 4I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6"I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given Me comes from You. 8For I gave them the words you gave Me and they accepted them.
11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your Name—the Name You gave Me—so that they may be one as We are One.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

Luke 22 [selected]
14When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. 15And He said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
17After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

Mark 14 [selected]
23Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.
24"This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," He said to them. 25"I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."
26When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Gethsemane

32They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33He took Peter, James and John along with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," He said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."
35Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. 36"Abba, Father," He said, "everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will." [All Scripture emphasis added]

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May our hearts remember His footsteps and the unfolding GRACE they held on this day! May we bring praise with tears of JOY for all that JESUS-IS, WAS, and WILL BE!

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Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,

Stephanie
[In Flight]