Hebrews 12:2

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates are perfects our faith. Because of the JOY awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” NLT

I need to give us some context since I didn’t make us write verse 1 along with 2. The “this” in our verse is Paul’s famous words about running the race God set before us with endurance. We can do that by keeping our eyes on Jesus.

The reason I had us write this verse is mind blowing. Paul said that JOY was awaiting Jesus so He went to the cross. Have you ever fully read about Jesus's experience? I know it’s a movie, but Passion of The Christ really helps us visualize what He went through. It was not joyous but VERY painful. The joy He had was probably from knowing that He was making the way for all mankind to have salvation and a personal relationship with Him and God. He loves us so much that He considered rejection, physical pain, and mockery JOY!