When Jesus was on the cross, suffering and dying, what was He thinking? When He said “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” did He really want to forgive them, or was He just saying that for posterity, while inwardly He secretly hated them for putting Him through all of that? On the cross, did He regret His suffering and hate having to be there? What was He thinking when He drew His dying breath? Of course we don’t exactly know, but we know this:
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:2, NASB).
On the cross, joy was set before Him. He was thinking of His future with us. At that moment, grace was there. He really wanted to justify us, He understood what He was doing. He wasn’t primarily angry or upset or vengeful. He was thinking of His love for us, of His future with us. He was determined to do whatever it took to make that joy happen. That is what He was thinking. He was thinking of me and you.