Jesus: Did He always know His mission of the cross?
When was it that Jesus became aware of His mission to die on a cross for the sins of the world? All the prophets wrote about it, but there’s no evidence that any of them understood what was being said. Here’s an example of that—
Isaiah 53:4-8
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.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. [Emphasis added]
When did Jesus become aware of the truth about this and other passages about it? As they say, hindsight is 20/20 on this. We know now what this was all about, but they certainly didn’t then.
1 Corinthians 2:8
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. [Emphasis added]
It was the apostle Paul who later received the revelation that provided a full explanation of it.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For he [God the Father] hath made him [Jesus of Nazareth] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [Emphasis added]
Did Jesus know about this as a young boy or was it only at the end of His earthly life that He came to know and understand what He’d come to accomplish on the cross? As always, we’ll go to the Scriptures for our answer.
We first need to realize that Jesus was the God/man. He was like no other human being. He was undiminished deity and true humanity in one person. That’s why He’s spoken of today as the unique person of the universe. This means He was truly God but also truly man all in one person. That tends to be beyond our comprehension but that’s what the Scriptures tell us. Therefore, understand it or not, that’s what we’re to know and believe because it is the truth.
John 14:6-11
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. [Emphasis added]
Jesus was not half God and half man; He was 100% of each. Again, that’s hard for us to comprehend, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem; because He is God He has always been—He is eternal. We are told that like all of us, He grew up over a period of time. The biblical record is clear about this.
Luke 2:40-52
40 And the child grew, and waxed strong [PROKOPTO = advanced or grew] in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
Such is always at the heart of learning.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. [Emphasis added]
Like all infants He had to learn to walk, talk and more. Again, though He was God personified, He was still true humanity. He had to grow up much as we did, learning every day until He was prepared to begin His public ministry at thirty years of age.
Luke 3:23
23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, [Emphasis added]
We also know He began to follow the trade of His foster father, Joseph, in carpentry. For that reason, his neighbors were accustomed to referring to Him as Jesus, “the carpenter, the son of Mary.”
Mark 6:3
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. [Emphasis added]
We also know from this statement that although Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus, she wasn’t one for long. Furthermore, his whole family, at least for a time, refused to accept the fact that He was their Messiah and Savior.
There are numerous passages of Scripture that many centuries before His birth prophetically spoke of Him. Here’s an example of that—
Isaiah 50:4-6
4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
6 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. [Emphasis added]
There are over three hundred such passages that speak of various aspects of His birth, life, death, and resurrection. We even learn from the writer of Hebrews that from the standpoint of His humanity He was tempted to sin just as we are.
Hebrews 4:15
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. [Emphasis added]
The apostle Paul sums this situation up for us very well—
Philippians 2:5-8
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Meaning He didn’t believe He was taking or claiming an attribute that didn’t belong to Him.
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. [Emphasis added]
From a very early age He went to the synagogue to learn all He could about the Scriptures. Just as we should be faithful to do, He wanted to learn everything He could about how the Scriptures related to Him. Ultimately, He became Israel’s main spiritual teacher. Those around Him were always astonished at what He knew.
There finally came a day when young Jesus saw the cross in His future. As He studied the Scriptures and prayed to His Father, this became increasingly clear to Him. He had begun to see Himself in those Old Testament verses that talked about Him as the Messiah suffering and dying [Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and others].
There’s no record in the Bible that tells us that He spent His childhood fearing His coming death on a cross. What we do read is that in the later years of His life He began to speak more and more of His coming death. Scripture is clear that He had trouble facing it, as we would expect of anyone. The pain of it all would be no less for Him because He was the Son of God.
Matthew 26:37-39
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. [Emphasis added]
Mark 14:33-36
33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. [Emphasis added]
This was always His desire—that the will of His Father would be done. But the heart of His prayer was that He’d have the strength to go through with it all.
Now let’s look at Luke’s comments about all this.
Luke 22:39-44
39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. [Emphasis added]
Here we see that He realizes He’s about to experience the full wrath of His heavenly Father. His soul will be offered as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, those who would ultimately accept Him as their Savior as well as the majority that would not. He knew all this was just a few hours away.
1 John 2:2
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. [Emphasis added]
No one would be left out.
1 John 4:14
14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. [Emphasis added]
This is not some vague or easily misunderstood truth of Scripture.
1 Timothy 2:5-6
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. [Emphasis added]
This doesn’t mean everyone will be saved; it just means everyone CAN be saved.
For more information about His sacrifice for all, please see my article about it—
Jesus Christ: For whom did He die?
Conclusion—
As with us, Jesus had to learn of all this one step at a time. He did not always know about His mission of going to the cross of Calvary to die for the sins of the world and be resurrected on the third day. As we noted, Jesus was 100% true humanity and 100% God. The Bible is not clear about what and when Jesus knew about His work on the cross and resurrection. We just know it happened and we’re extremely blessed because it did. What a marvelous story this is! It truly is the greatest story ever told.
John 1:1 & 14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. [Emphasis added]
Again, 1 Timothy 2:5-6
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. [Emphasis added]
No, the Bible is not clear just how much spiritual understanding Jesus had as a child and into adulthood. But there are things we DO know about all this from the Bible. He, a human like us, grew every which way we do. There was both physical growth and spiritual growth. He definitely came to have a profound understanding of the Scriptures even by the age of twelve. Then many years later just moments before His arrest He had a clear grasp of His Father’s will that He performed perfectly. We all can demonstrate our gratefulness by the life we as believers choose to live.
Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you [those who’ve accepted His provision for their salvation] therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. [Emphasis added]
