I woke up this morning with Jesus on my mind. I am worried for Him.

Leave it to me to turn Palm Sunday into my own anxiety spree for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

I want to be there for Him. I want to defend Him.

I imagine what it would have been like to be in His place, to have known all that was coming: the betrayal, the trial, the beating. 

Did He know how the crowd would mock Him, how they would spit in His face, He who knew no sin?

Did He know He would wear a crown of thorns, pressed into his head, rivulets of blood streaking his face and neck?

Did He know what it would be like to feel the hammering of the nails into His flesh and bone?

Did He know when He cried out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” that the crowd would still treat Him like a carnival magician about to perform an encore:

“The rest said ‘Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him’.”

Matthew 27:49

Had I been there, I’m afraid I would have been like Peter. He had done some planning for the worst case scenario.

Why else would he have been carrying a sword?

And he got the chance to use it. 

While all four Gospels mention the ear incident in the Garden of Gethsemane, only John specifically names Peter:

“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)”

John 18:10

We even get the servant’s name. Don’t you love details? 

Most of us anxious people do. We want to know all the parts of the story. We especially like to skip ahead and read the last chapter.

We also see both the forest and the trees, which makes us great at logistics and planning. But we go off the rails when we start imagining that behind every tree is a hungry grizzly bear, and once we get through this forest, there will be another one that is far worse.

We are masters at borrowing from tomorrow’s troubles.

That is something Jesus never did and He commands us never to do it either:

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Matthew 6:44

We know the rest of the story. Jesus also knew it then, knew all that He would suffer. 

Being fully God, how could He not know?

But being fully human, He sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane knowing what was coming.

It is why He went to Jerusalem.

It is why He was even born at all.

He knew it all from the start, and He did it anyway.

Worst case scenarios don’t deter Jesus. You don’t have to worry whether He can handle your problems or not. He already knows the rest of your story.

Let Jesus do what He does best and lay down your sword.

It was never yours to carry anyway.