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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.’” (Matthew 20.17-19).
They Crucified Jesus (2/4)
The crucifixion did not take Jesus by surprise; in fact the plan which rose in eternity had, so far as we know, always included the shedding of blood, the agency by which man’s sins would be remitted. Shortly after Peter made the good confession, Matthew offers the following editorial: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Matthew 16.21). Notice that Jesus did not say the He should go into Jerusalem, or that it would be good if He went; He said, “He must go.” A few days later while in Galilee, Jesus told His disciples, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” (Matthew 17.22-23). Adding more detail, Jesus would later say, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” (Matthew 20.18-19). Further to the point that the Cross was not an unexpected outcome for Jesus, John looked back on the scheme of redemption and called Him the “…Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13.8).
However, the Cross was for some a total surprise, or might we say more properly, the effect of the cross was a total surprise. Paul wrote about the leaders who crucified Jesus and said, “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2.6-8; emphasis mine, JB). Looking back, had the rulers known the details of the mystery, they would have done things differently so as not to become pawns in the hands of an Almighty God. Yet, the scheme to redeem humanity was hidden and only to be revealed bit by bit as it served God’s holy purposes. In the end, it was the rulers who appeared foolish and it was God’s wisdom which shone like the brightness of the noonday sun.
This was precisely what Paul meant when he said, “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2.2-5). The Cross was the bruise that the serpent inflicted on the heel of the Seed of Woman, but it was not the crushing blow for which he had hoped. In fact, the effect was just the opposite for the kingdom of darkness. The heel of the Son of Man was bruised, but the head of the serpent was crushed by the Cross! (see Genesis 3.14-15).
One argument that was forever settled at the Cross is the fact that God is in control. Even when man is deluded into thinking the opposite, Sovereign God reigns!
Questions:
1. At what point in time was it planned that Jesus would be the Sacrificial Lamb?
2. How do we know that the Cross was not a surprise to Jesus?
3. What did the rulers of this world hope to accomplish by the Cross? In contrast, what was accomplished by the Cross?
4. What does Genesis 3.14-15 predict about the struggle between the serpent and the Seed of Woman? Has the result anticipated in Genesis 3 been realized? If so, how and when was it done?
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