Most people do not know when they are going to die. There are times, though, when people do know. Maybe an illness that cannot be cured is tearing away at life. The sick person does not know the exact day, but there is a time frame and they know their time is running out. There are executions, and those are usually pretty much scheduled, so a person would know the exact time. However, right now at the time you are reading this, you do not know when you will die.

         But what if you did know? You knew when and where and how. What would you do? How would you react? Would you try to change the course of events? Would you try to mend fences or would you try to get even for past mistreatment? What would you do?

         Jesus knew. He knew when, He knew where, He knew who would do the killing. It was part of His mission. He also knew He would suffer terribly and He knew there would be those who acted as followers but who were just in it for whatever gain they could achieve. He knew Judas, one of the disciples, would betray Him. Jesus knew all of it. And Jesus had the power to change everything. He didn’t have to suffer. He didn’t have to die. With a word He could be back in heaven. With a mere thought He could have taken out His enemies. With a glance he could have destroyed the Romans and He could have become the greatest of all the kings ever.

         Starting in John 7 we enter into the last six months of the life of Jesus. We know this because we have the ability to look back. It is all recorded in Scripture and also much of it is recorded in Roman history. Jesus, on the other hand, was looking forward through time and was seeing how it would play out. Instead of fear, instead of anger, instead of sadness, Jesus stepped up His ministry. It was in those last six months we see some of the most memorable times. The woman taken in adultery, the blind man healed with the mud on his eyes, Lazarus raised from the dead. It was during this time that Jesus told the people that He was the light, that He and the Father were one, that He was the resurrection. As He got closer to His death, His life became more intense. He was not going to slow down. The Pharisees and the Sadducees became more and more angry with Him. They tried harder and harder to discredit Him. They attempted to turn the people away from Him. But Jesus kept at His ministry.

         Here we are, a mere six weeks from remembering His execution, recalling His burial and celebrating His Resurrection. Where are our minds as we near this all important time? Basketball, baseball, auctions, planting. Buying new equipment, planning vacations. Do we ever stop to think that as the time drew close, He was praying for us? He was seeing us and our struggles. He knew what was going on with us because He had a plan for us. Time as we know it has never had the same meaning for Jesus.

Think about it. The fifty odd years leading up to the completed union of the Yoke…..His plan. The Lord laid something on my heart a week ago about someone bringing a special message.….His plan. Our church helping out a mother and a father and their eight children this week…..His plan. As He went through His final days, HE KNEW!

 As He walked those dusty streets and felt the sun on His back, we were on His mind. As people failed to understand, He took comfort in knowing that His death would save millions. As the leaders of the Jews sought to take Him and kill Him, He knew that it would always be like this. That He and His followers would be hated and reviled. And still, He carried out His ministry to the end.

 If you knew you had six weeks to live, and you could prevent it and turn it all around, what would you do? Right around six weeks left in the life of Jesus, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. He knelt and spat on the dusty ground and made a mud paste from the spit and the dirt and rubbed it into the eyes of the blind man and then told him to wash it out. When he did so, he was able to see. If you had six weeks, would you be reaching out? Would you be lifting people up?

 “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong.” A child’s song. A simple little tune. Six weeks before the death, burial and Resurrection. Can we sing that little tune and really feel it? Jesus loves me!