According to Plan – April 12, 2023

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:3,4

According to Plan

We love it when things go according to plan. Maybe it’s a road trip that has each stop carefully researched and detailed. And there are no car issues, nothing more than routine traffic, and everything goes according to plan. Or maybe it’s a business merger carefully planned and executed by the right people to minimize conflict and maximize productivity. Or it could be a retirement plan that appreciates with time and regular contributions. It is satisfying when everything goes according to plan.

The reason we love that feeling so much is that it so rarely happens. Life is full of variables that derail plans. Cars break down. Employees become disgruntled. Financial emergencies happen. So much for the plan.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross, it looked like God’s great plan of saving mankind had been derailed. What good was a dead Savior?

But the apostle Paul makes clear that the death of Christ was all part of the plan. The Scriptures, God’s Word, foretold this plan from the beginning. And not only did the Scriptures foretell Jesus’ death and resurrection, but Jesus himself proclaimed that this would happen. Jesus fulfilled everything that the Old Testament prophets predicted that he would do. And Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection and pulled it off.

No wonder Paul says that this is of first importance. Christ died, was buried, rose from the dead, and appeared to many witnesses. All according to the plan to deliver you from your sins!

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal: – 440)
It was a strange and dreadful strife when life and death contended. The victory remained with life, the reign of death was ended. Holy Scripture plainly saith that death is swallowed up by death; disgraced, it lies defeated. Alleluia, alleluia! Amen.