Jesus said, “Now, my heart is troubled. And what shall I say, ‘Father save me from this hour?’”

You know the feeling?

It was a couple days before Good Friday. As best as I can tell, this is part of the last speech that Jesus gives, the end of his public teaching. In the next 72 hours or so, he’ll shift from public teacher to private teacher, then to private victim, then to public spectacle.

It’s a big shift.

Jesus wasn’t walking around during the time of Pilate simply to be seen, to give autographs and wise sayings, to touch babies and bodies. The things about Jesus that people thought were cool, and still do, weren’t what Jesus was here for.

Jesus had just said, “it’s time for the son of man to be glorified.” For Jesus to accomplish the work that he and only he had come to do.

But even though it was what he came to do, his heart was still troubled. He was on the edge of really hard work, when the glory he was entitled to would be completely abandoned. The influence that he’d acquired in his walking around would evaporate. His authority would be set aside, completely abandoned in his embrace of responsibility for the deeds and misdeeds of everyone.

Who wouldn’t pause in honest consideration of the pain, of the impending physical, emotional, and spiritual work?

But it wasn’t a very long pause I don’t think. I think that he asks the question, knowing the answer, plunging headlong into the answer: “No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Sometimes I suggest applications for you and me as we read texts. In this case, there’s not a, “we should be like Jesus.” Instead, I’m in awe of his honesty.