From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Plan of God: Four Necessities
“From that time 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 be raised up on the third day.”     (Matthew 16:21)
Jesus now “began to show His disciples” deeper and more challenging truths about His divine plan and earthly work. He had alluded to these truths before, but now He would present them more clearly and in greater detail. Previously, our Lord had mentioned His death with words like this: “The Son of Man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). He told the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). After that time, Jesus would continue to teach about his burial (12:7) and predict that He would rise from the grave after suffering at His enemies’ hands (17:9, 12, 22-23).
The Father’s plan for the Son was not one of human devotion to a great cause, but a divine imperative and absolute necessity. It rang forth from eternity as an essential, unalterable arrangement god set in motion before the foundation of the world.
Four things necessitated this plan. First, was human sin, for which Christ had to give His life to pay the penalty for sinners, as “a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Second, was God’s requirement that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). Third, was God’s decree of His sovereign foreknowledge (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:4-5). Finally, there was the prophetic promise that Messiah must die Psalms 16; 22; Isaiah 53). People can believe this redemptive plan or they can reject it — but they can never alter it.

Ask Yourself:
Be careful not to let the familiarity of God’s plan grow old on your ears, sounding a hollow tone that diminishes its magnificence. Whenever you have that kind of reaction, what does it reveal about where your heart is? What seems more glorious and exciting to you right now?