Jesus Christ, Son of God
and Man of Destiny.
Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
As you look through the pages of history, from time to time, you come across a man or woman who it seems is a person of destiny. Some have even made such claims. From time to time you see people who seem to have a calling that is beyond that of their compatriots, and God raises them up to fulfill a great purpose.
Men such as Abraham, who is seen as the father of the Jewish race, a man who was called the friend of God. As you read His life it is soon seen that his life was carefully mapped out.
Moses, right from his childhood the hand of God is seen to be upon his life, protecting, nurturing and guiding. The man used of God to liberate the nation from Egypt. It took a few short days to get Moses out of Egypt, but some forty years to get Egypt out of Moses. The same was true of the nation. Moses a man of destiny to be used of God was still human and subject to failure. We could look at others, such as Deborah, Gideon, Samson, Ruth, Samuel, David, Esther, Nehemiah, Josiah, Daniel, Jonah and others, who are recorded in the pages of the Old Testament.
They are recorded for our learning, our patience, our comfort and our hope.
"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (Romans 15:4).
Yet they, and many others, looked forward to the One Person, who’s destiny was to change the whole world. His life, teaching, death and resurrection has had the most profound effect on our world.
Jesus Christ, Son of God, Man of Destiny.
His birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection, along with His Second Coming, are all predicted in the pages of the Old Testament. Yet the most profound aspect of His destiny is His death.
Such Scriptures as Psalm 22:14-17, written hundreds years before His birth, point to the fact that His hands and feet would be pierced at His crucifixion.
Psalm 22:14-17; "I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; heart is like wax within Me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. pierced My hands and My feet;
I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me."
Zechariah 12:10 + 13:16 points to the same thing.
The fact that He was to was to be offered gall and vinegar while upon the cross, is predicted in:
Psalm 69:2 1; "The also gave Me gall for My food, and for My thirst the gave Me vinegar to drink."
Jesus cried from the cross, "I thirst," and they tried to give Him gall and vinegar.
Isaiah 52:9-12; which we read, showed that He was to be crucified with malefactors.
Yet not a bone was to be broken in His body.
Psalm 34:20; "He guards all His bones; Not one of them is broken."
When they came to Jesus, He was already dead. So they did not break any of His bones. They were to cast lots for His garments, Psalm 22:18 and Isaiah 53:9, tells us He was to be buried in a rich mans tomb. All this points to a man of destiny, But what destiny? Why die? Why come for such a cruel end?
The Bible teaches that this terrible death was necessary for our redemption (bring back to God.) Paul we are told would go from the synagogues;
Acts 17:3; "… explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead."
Jesus, talking to His disciples after His resurrection told them;
Luke 24:46; "This is what is written: "The Christ will suffer and rise again from the dead on the third day."
Man’s had an account in with God that was is chronic deficit. God the Holy Pure God had seen man’s sin progressively getting worse. Yet man is unable to pay the penalty for his sins. Someone else had to pay for man to be redeemed.
His death was ordained by God.
Peter proclaimed to the Jews on the day of Pentecost.
"This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death..."
Jesus had said to Pilate; "You would have no authority over men unless it had been given to him from God."
Isaiah 53:10; "Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the LORD make His life a guilty offering."
Yet the great beauty of this horrific scene, is that it was a voluntary act on Jesus’ part. When Peter tried to prevent them taking Him by force, Jesus said to him;
Matthew 26:33; "Do you not think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"
In fact Jesus taught this very truth when He said;
John 10:17+ 18; "The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.
This was no tragic accident, this was no unfortunate clumsy act of man doing away with a righteous man in a travesty of mis-justice. This was God willingly standing in our place. This was Jesus Christ willingly, lovingly, taking our place. This was Jesus voluntary wiping our account clear. What He did, in His death is fully acceptable to God as a true and saving atoning sacrifice.
Paul wrote;
Ephesians 2:2; "… Christ loved us and gave Himself for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
1 Thessalonians 5:10; "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him"
Regardless of class, background, education, race, colour or creed. Christ died for the ungodly. He came to fulfill His destiny to redeem mankind. To bring each and every one of us to a place of true and full fellowship with God. He fulfilled His destiny so that each one of us might become people of destiny in Him.
