Jesus fully understood His purpose, and He realized that His death meant opening the door to salvation for millions who would come to receive Him as Savior and Lord. If He’d refused that cross, we would still be stumbling in darkness, striving for a perfection none of us could reach. But Jesus chose the cross. He died for you, for me, for every person ever born and who would be born. He loved us enough to sacrifice Himself for us so we could be in right fellowship with God the Father. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for his friends, and Jesus set the example at Calvary.