The Plan

November 21, 2020

No one was thinking of a cross the night Jesus was born, at least no one on earth. For heaven, though, this moment had been planned for from the beginning. From before time this Plan had been on the shelf – just in case.

Then it happened – Eve believed a lie and Adam decided he couldn’t live without her:

• Genesis 3:4 - "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.

• Genesis 3:6-7 - When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

And heaven put The Plan into action:

• Genesis 3:8-9 - Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

• Genesis 3:14-15 - And the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat All the days of your life; 15 and I will put enmity Between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel."

Years would go by, then once again, God would point humanity to the promise of The Plan {redemption}:

• Genesis 22:8 - And Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son."

More years would go by and then, on the eve of their deliverance, Israel was given another glimpse of The Plan in the form of The Passover Lamb {Exodus 12:1-30}

• Exodus 12:21-23 - Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. 23 When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

The entire Sanctuary System given to Moses at the foot of Mt. Sinai pointed to the Innocent One dying for the guilty and making a way for peace with God – that was a part of The Plan.

Every day of Jesus’ adult life He knew how the script of his life would read because it had been written across the pages of the Old Testament:

• Isaiah 53:3 – He will be despised and rejected

• Psalm 41:9 – He will be betrayed

• Zechariah 11:12 – He will be sold

• Psalm 35:11 – He will be falsely accused

• Isaiah 53:7 – He will be silent when accused

• Psalm 22:7 – He will be scorned and mocked

• Isaiah 50:6 – He will be spat upon

• Isaiah 53:12 – He will be crucified

• Psalm 22:18 – Soldiers will gamble for his clothes

• Psalm 69:21 – He will be given vinegar to drink

• Psalm 109:4 – He will pray for his enemies

• Psalm 32:20 – None of his bones will be broken

• Isaiah 53:9 – he will be buried in a rich man’s tomb

He knew every detail. He knew how it would end. He knew what it would cost. Jesus was born to die and he knew it. But it wasn’t for something he had done – it was The Plan!

• Isaiah 53:4-5 - Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.

The day finally came and it happened just as the Old Testament prophets said it would.

• He was betrayed and disowned!

• He was beaten and slapped and spit upon!