The Determinate Plan of God

"this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. Acts 2:23

I wonder what it was like to know the cause and arrangements for your death for an eternity. Somehow I had never thought of this passage from God's perspective before. In the past I have thought of it from my perspective. That is, I would get sort of a chill-thrill at the thought that God had planned my salvation before any of my ancestors were born.

But today I was struck by the realization that God the Father had to live with the certainty of His Son's death for eternity past. And God the Son had to live with the realization that He would face the ultimate punishment for sin, even though sin had never even been in or on Him. And the Holy Spirit would have to face a separation within the Godhead. OK, so I don't have any concept of how an Eternal God experiences the passage of time, but this passage says that this was PREdetermined and FOREknown, so therefore there must be some sort of time involved. Did God the Father feel dread; did the Son go through the stages of grief; did the Holy Spirit of God wonder what it would be like for the Godhead to experience such separation? I have always considered it a blessing that I do not know when or how I will die. But God did not have that. He knew.

I cannot know fully the answers to these questions. But I do know that Jesus "endured" the cross, that He "despised shame". So at least to the Man Jesus, this was not an easy solution. Was it also hard for the Godhead in anticipation of the event as well as during it?

What is my response? Lord, I love You for taking my place there on the cross, for bearing all my guilt. Help me to be amazed each day at Your love, Your grace, Your goodness as I meditate on the cross!