"What Shall I Say? 'Father, save me from this hour?'" by Jenna Loo

It was Palm Sunday last week (really, I checked and double-checked), and the speaker delivered good sermon on the triumphal entry, which is when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. There were many good points in that sermon, but the one point that spoke to me was Jesus' words,

"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour?' No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" (John 12:27-28)

At that point, Jesus was at the height of his popularity. All the Jews were rejoicing at his entry into Jerusalem, waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna!" (save us, please). Everything seemed to be going well, but Jesus knew, and we know, that in just seven days the same crowd would be shouting "Crucify Him!".

Jesus would be betrayed by one of his closest friends, denied by his most ardent disciple, killed by some of the very people he probably healed. He would undergo excruciating pain - be punished when He was innocent, suffer the greatest injustice.

No wonder His heart was troubled.

This passage shook me - because look at what a 'cross' Jesus took up! It showed perfectly just what it means to live a life for God's glory. When we say, "Lord, we want to live for your glory," I think we sometimes don't know what we are saying. Are any of us capable of sacrificing so much? Are we willing to lose a friend, be betrayed, insulted, get hurt, lose our lives?

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27)

Jesus tells us to count the cost. He did, and he said, "Father, glorify your name!"