Jesus’ Death was no Accident

Have you ever considered the theories that say the death of Jesus was not planned by God? While the theories vary, the bottom line is the same: Jesus did not come to earth to die, and the crucifixion was a horrendous mistake. The Gnostics believe Jesus was a demigod, but not the divine Son of God. He had God’s spirit resting on him during his earthly ministry, but the arrest, trial, and crucifixion were not part of the plan. They teach that God withdrew his spirit, so that when Jesus died, he died as a man and not as God. Others teach various forms of accidental death—that things escalated too quickly and Jesus was not able to escape the people determined to silence Him.

If Jesus died accidentally, not as part of God’s soverign plan, then His death did not accomplish anything. The beauty of the atonement is that Jesus came here intentionally to die, understanding He had to live a sinless life in order to be the perfect substitute—the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). The Bible says that Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), meaning that before time began God already knew Mt. Calvary would be pivitol to the salvation of mankind.

Consider the fact that Jesus frequently spoke about it not being His time yet. He would slip away from the crowds that tried to kill Him before the appointed time. In fact, no one could kill Him, He said, because He would lay down His life (John 10:18) of His own accord.

We also need to remember how often Jesus foretold His death. During the Last Supper He told the disciples that His body would be broken like a cracker and His blood would be poured out like wine (Matthew 26:26-28); in Matthew 16:21 we see Jesus “began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Similar language appears in 17:22-23 and 20:17-19. There were even veiled references that were mysterious at the time but later made sense, such as, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19),” a reference to His body, not Solomon’s temple. Just as Moses lifted a bronze serpent up in the wilderness, Jesus said it was imperative that He also be lifted up (John 3); Nicodemus would not have understood that at the time, but in hindsight it makes perfect sense. 

Any theory that says Jesus’ death was not God’s plan must be rejected because it is simply contrary to Scripture, but more importantly, because it undermines the atonement. Jesus death was no accident; it is our only hope of salvation. It is something that should be celebrated, not downplayed. Praise God for the death of Jesus!

Ant Farm

My wife and I decided to teach our 4-year-old daughter a letter a week; our goal is for her to be able to write the capital and lower case letter and know the sounds the letter makes. And for each week we are doing a project that reinforces the letter.

We just finished week 1, so to demonstrate the letter A in action I thought it would be fun to make an ant farm. But making an ant farm on the fly can be difficult when there is no terrarium around. I grabbed a clear storage tub with a snap on lid, but after filling it with fire ants I realized that there was enough room for the ants to crawl out around the handles, so I started over.

Next I used a clear bowl we use to store leftovers. One shovel full from an ant bed overfilled the bowl, so I had to press the lid down very tightly. In the morning I realized that (1) there wasn’t enough room for the ants to displace dirt to make tunnels, and (2) most of the ants were dead. My 3^rd attempt finally yielded some decent tunnels. I also got about a dozen ant bites on my hands throughout the experience.

Did I mention that I’m allergic to ants?

I was going to make that ant farm even if it killed me (and it could have!), and once I was finished, my daughter was not impressed. Not only was she not excited about my meager ant farm, she didn’t even realize what I went through to make it.

So many people wander through life oblivious of what Jesus went through to offer them forgiveness. Some people know about the cross, but they aren’t impressed. What a shame it is that some people will die in their sins, never having received the free gift that God offers them through Jesus.

If you have received this gift, stop and thank Jesus right now for what He endured to make that possible. As I reflect on Him right now, a handful of ant bites hardly seems like something to complain about.

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

1 Peter 2:24