GOD’S WORD FOR APRIL 11 ~ ~ Matthew 16:21~ ~ From that time Jesus began to show to 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 the third day.”

Isaiah shows us much detail about the suffering of Jesus, as does David in Psalm 22.

The book of Isaiah is an amazing book. I believe the holiest chapters of all are chapters 52 and 53.–specifically 52:13 through 53:12. I don’t feel worthy to dig into the amazing treasure of these prophetic verses in depth. But I think we all need to look at them and contemplate the Great Plan of Salvation in the mind of God in the next few days. Reading this group of verses, we get the feeling that they should be in the New Testament Gospels, because of the detailed description of the suffering and death of our Savior.

But, they were written, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the prophet Isaiah, about 700 years before Christ was even born~ ~ Long before the Roman government was ever established, much less, had they yet developed their trademark torturous method of execution called crucifixion. Yet, the detail is amazing in describing what our Lord went through under the hands of, not only the Romans, but under the insistence of His beloved chosen people!!!! What is amazing and intriguing, is that Isaiah describes the events in the past tense. He is prophesying in the past tense, as if he has seen it. Maybe he did. We aren’t told.

But, none of that would have happened at all if Jesus hadn’t given Himself by His own will. (He said to Pontius Pilate about His life, in John 10:18: “ No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again….”) and if the Father hadn’t allowed His beloved Son to go through this, for nothing else, but to save His Chosen people, and, by default, include His New Testament Church, in their Plan of Salvation. We were “grafted into the vine”, (which is Christ), because of the unbelief of the chosen people. (Romans 11).

So, it was our sins—corporate and individual, that really nailed Him to that cross—It was our spit that hit His loving but tortured face in defiance—-it was us that pushed those thorns into His bloody and painful scalp, mocking Him as King. It was for us He went through it, and we did the heinous acts to Him by our sins.

Yet, He did it precisely FOR US. In fact, mysteriously, we,—- each of us who have, or will, accept Him as Lord and Saviour of our personal lives, and live and walk in the Spirit by the power of the Spirit, —we each were there with Him on the cross in another sense. Gal. 2:20 ~  “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:,,,”

In order for Him to satisfy our punishment for our sins, we had to be there. The Father knows all things. He knows who will be drawn to Jesus for salvation, and, in fact, He is the One who draws all that will come. In John 6:44 Jesus said: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

We cannot understand this in our finite minds, and God doesn’t expect us to, but we must believe the infallible Word of God in all things. God cannot lie, or make a mistake, and His Word cannot fail.

There is no time in eternity. All things are done. Jesus said on the cross. “it is finished”. Paul said we ARE seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus —not in the future—it is done spiritually. “ Ephesians 2:6 says: “And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” IN CHRIST JESUS!!!

If we’re saved, we are IN CHRIST JESUS, and we were in Him while He was crucified. Otherwise, it would not have been our salvation that He won for us.

Too much for our minds to grasp, but not too much for our hearts to hold onto!!!

We cannot thank Our Lord enough, ever­—for all eternity!!!!!

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