God's Deliberate Plan

Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

— Acts 2:23–24

 

If you have ever lost anyone suddenly, unexpectedly, you know exactly how devastating it is. It tears you up inside. You don't even know if you will be able to survive it. It can seem like a fate worse than death.

This is how the followers of Jesus felt when He was taken from them and murdered in cold blood before their very eyes. We have the advantage of knowing the whole story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. But these first-century followers of Jesus were living it in real time. It was their hope that Jesus would establish His kingdom on earth, and they would rule and reign with Him. He was their Lord. He was their Master. He was their everything. And then suddenly, unexpectedly, without understanding why, He was betrayed by one of their own. And when Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished!" that is how they felt. It was finished. The dream was over. The end had come. But really it was just the beginning.

Everything was going according to plan—God's plan. The incarnation was for the purpose of the atonement. Jesus was born to die that we might live. When the wise men came and brought their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the child Jesus, each one of those gifts had significance. They brought gold because He was a King. They brought frankincense, or incense, because He would be our high priest, representing us to God. And finally, myrrh was an element used in embalming, because Jesus was coming to die for the sins of the world.

Much has been said about who was responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. But it was the deliberate and well-thought-out plan of God for Jesus to die—and to rise again.

Unlikely Candidates

Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

— John 20:1

 

Maybe you are one of those people who was always the last picked for the team, the one who was always overlooked. I have good news for you: God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. And God loves flawed, ordinary people.

They didn't come any more flawed or ordinary than Peter, Mary Magdalene, or John. Peter denied the Lord three times. Mary Magdalene was once possessed by seven demons. John, one of the Sons of Thunder, had his flaws too. But God used these three people as the first missionaries to go into the world and tell everyone that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead.

God also blesses those who seek Him with all of their heart. Mary put it all on the line for Jesus. The Bible tells us that while the others stood at a distance during the crucifixion of Jesus, Mary stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus could visibly see Mary, this woman whom He had cast seven demons out of. She was the last at the cross. And she was the first at the tomb.

There is a blessing for those who take time to seek the Lord. The Bible tells us, "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6–7). We need to seek God with all our hearts. That is what Mary did, and how she was blessed. As she was seeking the Lord early in the morning, she found the risen Christ. And if you will make time for Him, you will find Him too.