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Jesus gave thanks to His Father. Luke 10:21 In this instance it was because He had witnessed the furtherance of the demonstration of the wonder working power of the Lord. His disciples had been commissioned by Him to perform the same ministry which He had manifested in healing the sick and in deliverance from evil spirits. His spirit was made to rejoice, inasmuch as these who followed Him had received what the religious orders of that day completely missed. His disciples were capable of receiving the revelation of the mighty working of the Spirit of the Lord in those who believe.
Jesus gave thanks on visiting the tomb of His friend, Lazarus. He had been dead for a total of four days and as Martha plainly stated, his body is already decomposing, and smelled of death. This was not an easy situation. Perhaps, had Jesus arrived immediately after his death, it would have been easier to believe but now, Lazarus is already four days into the process of corruption. Is there anything too hard for the Lord. He encouraged them to have faith and they would see the glory of the Lord. With a commanding voice, the voce of faith. The voice of the Spirit, He commanded Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Miraculously, Lazarus was literally carried by the power of the Spirit out from the tomb and made to stand before them. A dual miracle was performed before them that day. His means of exiting from the tomb. His restoration to a perfectly normal human being with no foul smell, not one iota of corruption in his flesh. Perfectly normal. Jesus had to tell the surrounding observers to remove the grave clothes for he was still bound with them. His command was to loose him and set him free. John 11:39-43 Thus, the glory of the Lord, the author of life, was made manifest and they saw the resulting miracle.
Jesus gave thanks for the cup and the bread. He and His disciples had gone to Jerusalem to partake in the Passover. Only He knew that in the next brief period of time He would become the Passover Lamb. The real thing, not the shadow of which the people of that day were participating. As the Son of man, the emotions of His heart must have been heightened and many. The purpose of His birth into the world was coming to it’s climax. He was about to be judged in an unjust manner. Condemned without a cause. Crucified for the sinful acts of others but raised for our justification. Rom. 4:25 What a man, who in the face of all that He knew would shortly transpire gave thanks for the coming climax of His life and ministry. The vine was about to die that the branches might partake of His life. Luke 22:17-20.