What does a man on the way to his death think about? I suppose the answer varies with each person but for Jesus He was thinking about the will of the Father. He told His disciples “for this purpose I came to this hour” (John 12:27). Then He said to His Father, “Glorify Your name” (John 12:28). It was tearing at His heart and His soul was troubled, but He would not be deterred.

The truth is that something cataclysmic was under way. Jesus and what He calls “the ruler of this world” in John 12:31 were on a collision course. All of history was coming down to this moment. On Golgotha forces would collide and Jesus would die. In His death, however, the unthinkable, the unimaginable would take place and the ruler of this world would be cast out.

Jesus said that in His being lifted up onto a cross and expiring on that cross He would draw all men to Himself (see John 12:32). The possibilities of redemption would be once and for all forever ingrained into the very fiber of reality. Newton had it right:

Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too!

I believe it is important to recognize that it is to this reality Jesus calls His disciples. He said to them, and through them to us, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also” (John 12:26). Jesus did not run away from the approaching collision but ran right into it; and so must we. "Where I am, there My servant will be also.”