²“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.”

Jesus was not caught off guard by His crucifixion, despite the arrest, trial, and execution that was soon to take place. He had been predicting His assassination for some time; His opponents had every intention to eliminate Him early on in His public ministry (see Matt. 12:14). Jesus was not just an idealistic revolutionary or activist who inherently understood that His vision for a better world was about to crash down on the hard realities of life, as happens with so many moral idealists. Neither was He a depressed pessimist a and realist, who was good at reading the writing on the wall, resigning Himself to the inevitable, thinking He gave it His best shot and would at least be leaving the world a better place than He found it. No!

Our Lord was a teacher and a prophet, but He was more than that! Yes, we must study His tremendously profound moral teachings. And we do well to listen to His urgent message about reforming how we ought to live. But teachers and prophets are simply messengers; Jesus was more than that; He was and is the message. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

So, being the personification and epitome of truth, Jesus knew what was coming. After His death and resurrection, Peter made this point clear in his Pentecostal speech:

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” (Acts 2:22–23)

No, Jesus was not surprised, for He was privy to the plan God had formulated in eternity past. But He was also part of the plan—the central part. God’s cosmic purpose for solving the sin problem was etched into Jesus’ very purpose in entering the world as the incarnate God. It was predetermined; as God in the flesh, He was fully aware of the details down to the minutiae, even the timing (“after two days”).

Just as our Lord could see the future reality of His crucifixion, He can see our future reality, even to the minutiae and timing of events in our lives. To Him our tomorrow is as factual as our yesterday. Theologians call this His foreknowledge, but it is part of the larger concept of God’s omniscience, that is, that God is entirely all-knowing. We find it hard to wrap our minds around the concept, but contemplating it expands our appreciation of His eternal greatness.

Lord, when I think of Your infinite and amazing knowledge of all things to come, I rest secure concerning my future because I trust You. Therefore, I freely bow to You and submit to what You have planned for me.