Eternal Plan

If you’ve ever played a part in organizing a big event you know there are a lot of important details that go into pulling it off successfully. A wedding, for instance, involves more than just two people saying “I do.” There are decorations, invitations, clothes, food, a place to do it! All of these things take a lot longer to put into place than the actual service. Many big ventures in life require a lot of planning to make it go smoothly. The more significant an event is, the longer it typically takes to put it together. As we reflect on the plan of salvation made possible by Jesus the Christ, we should instantly recognize that this is very important not only to God but to us! Can we recognize the planning that went into bringing that into reality?

Genesis 12:2-3, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” This is the official promise made to Abraham concerning God among His people. This was made more than 2,000 years before Jesus was born, but we can see how it had already been in the works long before that (Genesis 3:15; Colossians 1:15-17)

However, like many big events that take a lot of planning, people can get impatient and want to cut corners, or do just what sounds easier to them. The Bible is filled with examples of people who decided to move ahead without God. Humanity would do go to remember the words of Psalms 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Paul says in Romans 5:6, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” At just the right time! Once all the pieces were set in place, once all the details were complete, Jesus came to dwell among us. But His arrival was just the beginning of God’s last phase – redemption.

Just consider the impact of one of the most famous verses in the Bible, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” His love for His creation is what compelled Him to put this plan to work.

1 Peter 1:10-12, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.”

Listen Carefully

Can you spot the difference between these two Hebrew letters? It may not seem like much, but this small difference determined the fate of some Ephraimites (Judges 12:4-6).

This story illustrates the importance of your words and the interpretation of those words. For the controllers of the Jordan in Judges 12, “shibboleth” versus “sibboleth” was the difference between life and death.

The Israelites had crossed the Jordan River during the time of Joshua (after the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness), which symbolized the boundary between the Promised Land and the land they had come from. The Promised Land was critical to the Jews, it represented the fulfillment of God’s promise, thus the “Promised” Land. Having that land meant that God was faithful, strong, and capable. The Messiah was to be the king that would rule that land. Isaiah 9:6-7, “…the government will be on His shoulders, and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”

But just as there were problems within the tribes during the years of Canaanite conquest, there were also problems amongst the Jews concerning who the Messiah, the Christ, would actually be. Would people hear His voice? Would they follow Him?

Jesus compared Himself to a shepherd in John 10:14-16, and said, “I know My sheep and My sheep know Me… they will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah as a shepherd in Isaiah 40:11, “He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart…” Also, in Ezekiel 34:23, “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and He will tend them; He will tend them and be their shepherd.”

The imagery of the shepherd meant that the Jews would need to listen to His voice and follow His example. Jesus said in John 10:25-27, “The works I do in My Father’s name testify about Me, but you do not believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”

Being able to decipher the words of God as instructions that need to be obeyed is, and was, fundamental to doing the will of God (Matthew 7:21; Ephesians 5:17). Caring for the flock should be considered part of what determines my faithfulness to God. Consider this concept in light of 1 Timothy 5:8, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Silence

Awkward silence can be deafening. This is a point when many people begin to fumble around and say dumb things and act without thinking. Awkward silence promotes patience; an act that many prefer to steer far away from. Why? Silence can highlight the unknown, ignorance can stimulate all kinds of fears, and when we are afraid, those fears can cripple us.

An example of this could be Gehazi’s response to the Arameans when they come to surround Elisha’s house at Dothan. But Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:16-17). Our fears of the unknown can cause us to lose faith, like Jesus wanting to go back into Judea (John 11:8-10) or His death announcement (Matthew 16:22-23).

Throughout God’s redemption story of mankind, He allows times when we have to simply trust Him to be working, even if we can’t see it. 2 Peter 3:4, “Where is this ‘coming’ He promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”

For the people who awaited the Messiah before John the Baptist, it had been over 400 years since Malachi’s prophecy about the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6). But what was God doing during that time? While there isn’t a confirmed prophecy from God during that time, we can see how He was preparing the way for the Messiah’s arrival. Events like the conquests of Alexander the Great (336–323) included defeating the Persian empire and establishing Greek as the universal language throughout his entire kingdom (the known world). Or later, the strong stance the Hasmonean (Maccabee’s) took against required emperor worship and the tolerance that won with the empire. The establishment of the Synagogue, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. The Greek translation of the Hebrew scripture (the Septuagint). These are just a few things that made the advancement of the kingdom of God easier and more receptive.

Jesus told Thomas, when he finally got to see Jesus after His resurrection, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29). Peter said in 1 Peter 1:8-9, “...Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

2 Peter 3:8-9, “Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Preconceived Ideas

Preconceived ideas. These are ideas or opinions that are formed before having the evidence of their truthfulness. Such as, “This is not going to turn out well,” “I’ll never be able to …” These preconceived ideas often impact how we analyze situations. Prior to Jesus’ arrival, the Jews had a lot of preconceived ideas about the Messiah, and what he would do to deliver them from Roman oppression. However, once Jesus began His ministry, many people had trouble seeing Jesus’ plan as God’s plan.

In spite of people’s failure to see Jesus as a fulfillment of the Messiah prophesied about in Scripture, He was — and still is — the essence of God. John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 9:6)

Luke decided to help clear up some of the misunderstandings or the preconceived ideas about the Messiah by outlining the life of Christ (Luke 1:1-3). As Theophilus began to follow Luke’s detailed account about the life of the Messiah, it seemed clear how significant His life really was.

Jesus is the sum of all things, a phrase used multiple times (Matthew 11:27, Ephesians 1:22, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:16…). Paul would later share his unashamed proclamation of the power and significance of the good news about Jesus, Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

Jesus’ way of living revealed God’s desire for us and our purpose in Christ. Jesus said in John 15:8, “This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.” There may be a lot that goes into “bearing fruit,” but at its core, it's following His pattern of making people’s lives better by being a blessing to them — loving your neighbor. Prior to Jesus’ arrival (even afterward), people didn’t have a true understanding of what the Messiah would be bringing to God’s creation. His life could sum up our purpose; Jesus’ life summed up powerfully the heart of God. He is truly “all things.” Other people claimed to be the messiah, but they didn’t bear fruit to confirm it (Matthew 7:15-20).

Know that Jesus is the sum of all things; He is the “way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus’ life brought clarity to the many preconceived ideas about God’s will, salvation, and our purpose. In John’s prolog, he describes Jesus, or the Word (logos), by saying, “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known.” (John 1:17-18)