No man knows when his hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,

or birds are taken in a snare,

so men are trapped by evil times

 

Jesus may not have known exactly when His hour was, but I can assure you that He was not taken by surprise when that hour came. His life was not taken from Him unexpectedly. He was fully aware of why He came into this world and when the time came He had already laid down His life voluntarily.

 

Pilot asked Him, “Don’t you know that I have the power to crucify You and the power to let you go?” And Jesus told him, “You would have NO power over Me if it wasn’t given to you from above.” That kind of a response can only come from a man who has already counted the cost and made a transaction with God.

 

Have you counted the cost of following Him? Are you aware that the servant is not greater than the Master, and that if they hated Him they are going to hate you as well? If you are not mindful that there is an hour coming for you when you will drink from His cup, then you will be trapped by evil times that fall upon you unexpectedly. But if you reckon yourselves dead to sin and to this world now, then you will have the luxury of being generous with those whom God chooses to take your life.

 

Paul said, “I am determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Paul enjoyed immense favor with God because he had come to terms with Him at the place where Paul had nothing of his own to boast in. That place is the cross of Jesus. If we have anything at all to say that does not spring out of His cross we are attempting to steal some of God’s glory for ourselves.

 

We do not have to wait for men to come and take our lives. If we have been born of His Spirit, His nature enables us to lay our lives before Him every day we live on this earth. This was, is, and always will be His nature.