Mark 14:61-62

But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."

Jesus' answer shows me two things about what was going through His mind this final night before His crucifixion. First, He was looking past the cross to the glory on the other side. In the words of Hebrews 12:2, "for the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross, despising the shame." Instead of focusing on the river, He looked across to the other shore. Even though my "trials" don't even begin to compare with His, I need to remember His example and follow it often. I can't think of a better way to kill my tendencies of avoidance, procrastination, and self-protection.

Second, His words show me that He went to the cross deliberately, of His own choosing, not as a victim or a powerless pawn. Basically, He volunteered. Where do I see that? Well, to this point in the narrative, the Council hadn't found the necessary 2-3 witnesses whose testimony agreed and thus incriminated Jesus. So finally, in desperation, the high priest asked him outright: "Are you the Messiah?" And instead of merely remaining silent or limiting Himself to a simple "Yes," Jesus answered him with an unambiguous claim to be, not only the Messiah, but God Himself! Several of the phrases He used were specific OT references to deity: "I am... Son of Man... seated at the right hand of Power... coming with clouds of heaven" (cf. Ex 3:14, Dan 7:13-14, Ps 110:1).

This means Jesus ignored the chance of protection via due legal process. Instead, He chose to incriminate Himself. The conclusion is unavoidable: He chose the cross on purpose. I'm reminded all over again that He went to Calvary deliberately, not by accident, to satisfy His Father and to make me His brother.

This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

~ Keith Getty and Stuart Townend