Isn’t it amazing that this is the big question today because of the Gibson film? And isn’t it even more amazing that the early church, long before the first gospel was written or the first epistle penned, knew the answer? And isn’t it just sad that most evangelicals don’t even believe what the Bible says about it anymore, and refuse to consider what it really means? Here’s the answer, folks, for anyone who wants to know:
Acts 4:27-28 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
Answer to the question? God did it. It’s no mystery. The early Christians had bothered to listen to what God had inspired seven centuries earlier:
Isaiah 53:4
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
Smitten of God. There’s the truth. Let’s start telling folks: God had His Son nailed to a tree, and no, it wasn’t so that you could decide if you’d like Him to be your Savior. He did so to redeem His people, and if you do not repent and believe, you will not be among those people. But do not be mistaken: if you continue in your hard heartedness, your unbelief will not cause His failure. All that the Father has entrusted to the Son will receive eternal life. The great question is not what will you do with Jesus Christ, my friend. It is what will Christ do with you?
