Did God Will Jesus To Suffer and be Crucified?

Jesus, like so many before him and after him, suffered and was crucified on a cross by those who were in power. Did God will Jesus to suffer and die in this manner? Perhaps we should consider and reflect on the words of Elizabeth Johnson, CJS, who wrote:

To say that God willed Jesus to suffer makes God less good than a normal human being would be. Historically speaking, Jesus was condemned to death unjustly, a victim of human sinfulness and rejection. To say God handed him over is to blame God for what should be laid at the doorstep of human injustice. Rather, God wills life and not death, joy and not suffering, both for Jesus and for everyone else.^*

What "powers" are unjustly causing suffering to innocent lives today? How can you individually and with others promote justice and help to peacefully and non-violently transform such unjust "powers"? How can you be an agent for fostering change that leads to "life and not death, joy and not suffering" for yourself and others?

* Elizabeth A. Johnson, Consider Jesus (New York: Crossroad, 1996), 123–124.