Why Did Jesus Take His Time Before the Cross?

Jesus didn't rush to the cross because purpose requires preparation, not just arrival. The three years before the cross were not filler. They were the foundation that made the cross mean something. And the season you're in right now? It's probably doing the same thing for you.

You know God has called you to something. You can feel it. You've seen glimpses of it. And still, things are moving slower than you expected, doors haven't opened the way you thought they would, and you're starting to wonder if you somehow got behind. If God already knows the outcome, why does it feel like the process is taking forever?

I want to answer that question by taking you to the life of Jesus. Because He didn't skip the process either.

Thirty Years Before Three

Jesus didn't start His public ministry until He was thirty years old. Thirty. And His ministry, the miracles, the teachings, the disciples, all of it, lasted three years before the cross. Three years of work before the moment that changed everything.

Now think about that. God incarnate, walking the earth, and He still did not rush the process. There was work that had to happen first. Roots that had to be established. Relationships that had to be built. Belief that had to be cultivated in the people who would carry the message forward after He was gone.

Proverbs 18:16 (NKJV) says, "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men." His gifts made room for Him. But gifts alone, without work and without roots, don't sustain what comes with the opportunity.

I Learned This the Hard Way

I want to tell you about two birthday parties. My thirtieth and my fortieth.

At my thirtieth, I wanted a party. A real one. The kind where people show up and celebrate you. But I hadn't done the work yet. I hadn't put in the time, built the relationships, established the roots. And I remember thinking, why isn't this the moment I imagined? The answer was simple. I hadn't earned the room yet.

Ten years later, my fortieth birthday party was that moment. Because by then, I had put in the work. I had built real relationships. I had shown up consistently for people, and they showed up for me. The party happened because the roots were there to hold it.

Purpose works the same way. You can want the party, want the platform, want the open door, but if the roots aren't established yet, it won't hold. And God, in His mercy, doesn't give you what you can't sustain yet.

What Was Jesus Actually Doing During Those Three Years?

He let His gifts speak for Him. He didn't announce Himself. He showed people. He saw humanity in the woman at the well, a Samaritan woman no one was supposed to be talking to. He saw the woman caught in adultery and said, let whoever is without sin cast the first stone. He saw the widow with her two mites and told the crowd, leave her alone. He saw the woman with the issue of blood trembling in a crowd and publicly said, daughter, your faith has made you whole.

He built receipts. He built relationships. He built a succession plan through His disciples because He knew His time was limited and the Word had to keep going after He was gone. Matthew 4:19 (NKJV) says, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." He was already thinking about who would carry this forward.

He had to do all of that so that when the cross came, it landed on fertile ground. On people who understood. On people who believed. Without the three years, the cross would have had no context.

The Shed

Shed any desire to rush your process. Shed the impatience with where you are in your purpose. Shed the need to put your gifts in lights before your roots can hold the weight of what comes with it.

The process is not keeping you from purpose. The process is part of purpose.

Take this to the Word yourself. Proverbs 18:16, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Galatians 6:9, Matthew 4:19.

What This Means for You

What would it look like to stop fighting the season you're in and start asking what God is building in you through it?

This is the first post in a five part series called The Awesome 3, where we walk through what the life, ministry, and sacrifice of Jesus teaches us about how to live out our own purpose. Next up, we'll talk about why you can't skip the process God is taking you through, even when it feels like you should be further along by now.

I teach God's Word weekly inside the SheShed Community, and this is exactly the kind of teaching that hits different when you're in the room for it. The replay of this teaching, "The Awesome 3," is available inside the community as well. Come sit with us.