Who's In Charge Here?

Who’s In Charge Here?

When the chief priests and scribes decided to get rid of their “little problem”, by the name of Jesus, they had no intention of it happening on or around Passover. Their plan was to wait until after all of the Passover festivities, but who was really in charge? The night Jesus was having his final meal with the disciples; Judas had no intention of betraying Jesus that night. He had his instructions…betray Jesus after the Passover, but who was really in charge? When the chief priests’ officers came with Judas to arrest Jesus, they were not planning on just letting the disciples go…but who was really in charge? When Jesus was stripped, beaten, scourged, mocked, spat upon, had his clothing divided for lots, and was hung on the cross...who was really in charge? When Jesus was hanging on the cross, the Roman soldiers had every intention of breaking Jesus’ legs, but who was really in charge? When Satan planned to kill Jesus, he had every intention of that being the end of his “problem”, but who was really in charge?

Every step was under the complete control of the Father in heaven, the Holy Spirit, and the Son on earth. There is nothing that happened leading up to the cross, or on the cross, that was not a complete fulfillment of prophecy. Every single thing that happened as Jesus hung on the cross only happened because He allowed it. There was not one moment in time where God was out of control or surprised by what happened.

Judas did not plan on betraying Jesus that night, but when your “victim” points out that He is not only aware of the plan, but tells you to get on with it…you don’t have much choice…but there is something else we can miss if we are not paying attention here…It wasn’t just Judas whose timetable had been altered….it was Satan’s…and regardless of his rebellion against the Almighty God, he still had to obey when Jesus said “get moving”.

Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now AFTER the piece of bread Satan entered him. THEN Jesus said to him, “What you do, do it quickly.” John 13:26-27

Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night. John 13:30

By the way….the word for night in that last phrase is nyx. This can be translated; night ; the time of death ; or the time for deeds of sin and shame.

In the garden…

While He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one, seize Him.” Matthew 26:47-48

……..and he approached Jesus to kiss Him, but notice something….before he had the chance to carry out his plan to betray Jesus with a kiss….

But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” Luke 22:47-48

……….Judas immediately went to Him, saying, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. Mark 14:45

“Friend, do what you have come for.”…….Matthew 26:50

Jesus is again speaking to not only to Judas, but to Satan…and He is giving His permission for things to proceed…

……….Judas immediately went to Him, saying, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. Mark 14:45
“Friend, do what you have come for.”…….Matthew 26:50

Jesus is again speaking to not only to Judas, but to Satan…and He is giving His permission for things to proceed…

So Jesus knowing all the things that were coming upon Him went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.

So when He said, “I am HE,” they drew back and fell to the ground. (AWESOME!!!!!)
Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” John 18:4

THEN they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. Matthew 26:50

Just Who was in control here? Who was calling the shots? Even as far as Him commanding them to let the disciples go their way. I love this!!

When Peter drew his sword and cut off ear of the high priest’s slave, what does Jesus say?

“How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen this way?” Matthew 26:54

When Jesus was before Pilate, Pilate thought the power over Jesus life was in his hands to release Jesus or crucify Him. But Jesus corrected him on that…

John 19:10-11 So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have the authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.”

Every single thing that happened HAD TO HAPPEN to fulfill the hundreds of prophecies that were given about Jesus in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament it was said not one of His bones would be broken…but….

The Jews wanted Jesus off the cross and dealt with before sundown because of the Passover. To speed things along, the Roman soldiers would break the legs of those crucified. This would cause a faster, even more painful death, because the person on the cross would no longer be able to hold themselves up, and they would suffocate. But before the Roman soldiers got to Jesus…He gave up the Spirit and died…..

Luke 23:44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two…..

John 19:30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” …..

Luke 23:44(cont.) And Jesus crying with a loud voice said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last.

John 19:30-34(cont.)…..and He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.Then the Jews because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day, asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him, but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of them pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

John 19:36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “NOT ONE BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.” And again another Scripture says, “THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED.’

Jesus, at every step of the way, made the choice to ALLOW each thing to happen. This was to fulfill the prophecies that foretold all that He had come to accomplish. It was confirmation of WHO He was and is…It was to accomplish exactly what He came to do….it was to do exactly what He declared right before He drew His last breath…

John 19:30….”It is finished!”

Jesus was, in that one sentence, declaring our sins and our penalty of death for our sins “PAID IN FULL!”

That is exactly what that phrase means…tetelestai…In the first century when someone had paid their debt that is what was written across the bill. When a criminal paid his debt to society, the Roman government would write, “tetelestai” across the decree of punishment. When Jesus was drawing His last breath, He was declaring our debt PAID IN FULL. That makes me want to shout and praise His AWESOME, WONDERFUL, HOLY NAME!!!

Oh, Jesus, I love you so much. Thank you for your sacrifice for me. Jesus, thank you for loving me. Thank you for Your blood that covers my sins. I cannot begin to imagine the suffering you endured…not only physical, but the ultimate suffering….Your separation from God for the first time in eternity. We can’t even begin to fathom what You suffered in death for us. You were cut off for us. You defeated death so that we will never have to taste eternal death and damnation. You did this of your own accord. You did this BECAUSE you first loved us…while we were yet sinners, You died for us! Father, thank you for loving us and giving Your Son, Jesus, in our place.

John 10:17-18 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from my Father.”Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

A Snapshot of God's Attention to Details...

I was sitting in the chair at my hair salon today, talking to my lovely hairdresser. She just lost her grandmother this past week. We had such a good visit about how strong her grandmother's love for Jesus was, and how peaceful she was when she went home.  This conversation led us down another path, which had us both pulling out our iphones to show the other a photo of something on our respective facebook accounts....gotta love facebook! As I was scrolling past the photos on my page, trying to get to the picture I wanted, this is what happened....

"Wait! Wait! Back up!!" Ryley exclaimed with so much excitement. "Back up to that other picture!!"
"This picture?" I asked, scrolling back to a picture I had just passed.
"YES!! Who is that?" Ryley demanded.
"That is my dad," I replied.
"Is that a cross?" she quizzed.
"Yes..." I answered.
"Wait! Is there a wheel? Does it have a wheel?"
"Yes.." I replied with a questioning tone, as I clicked on the picture to reveal the whole image...a big man, and his cross with a wheel.
"I used to watch your dad walk with the cross in Uvalde when I was a little girl!! He used to walk with the cross from somewhere in the hill country or somewhere to Uvalde!! Sometimes there was another man that would walk with him. I used to love seeing him walking with the cross! I can't believe this! I can't believe this!" Ryley spilled out with so much excitement.
"WHAAAAT?!" I squealed. "Whhhhaaat?!!!!"
"Yes!!! I have to go and call my mom!! I have to go call my mom!!!! Your dad used to walk with the cross. My mom even talked to him one time...told him she did not want to be rude, but what was the point? What did he think he would accomplish? He told her it would all be worth it if even one person came to know Jesus because of his walking with the cross and it reminding them or making them think about Jesus. I never forgot your dad."

Ryley called her mum who was so blown away by what Ryley had to tell her...but here is the big reason why they were both so thrilled. Last week, just after Ryley's grandma died, Ryley and her mum were having a visit. Ryley asked her mum is she remembered the man who used to walk with the cross. Her mum couldn't believe that Ryley had asked her that, because she had been thinking about the same man recently. She had been wondering what had ever happened to him. Now they knew.  Here Ryley had been hearing about her cross-walking man every time I sat in her chair and updated her on how my dad was doing. She just didn't know it....

I sat there in awe of what had just transpired. I know this may seem so simple and not really that big of a deal to some of you reading this, but that is kind of the point. It does not matter what the detail in our life it is, it DOES matter to God. There is not detail too small for Him to orchestrate in our lives. Many of the things God orchestrates in our lives are hidden from human eyes, but occasionally He allows us to catch a glimpse of this. God knew when that little girl was watching that big man walking with the cross that someday she would need to feel God was really real, when she was questioning or doubting the truth of His existence. God knew He would place the daughter of that cross walking man in that little girl's work chair... just to confirm His power to plan out the little things. God would show His tender care for that precious little girl; for her thoughts, fears, and questions, in a tangible way. I love how far in advance He ordered a faith building experience for her, and for me, an experience that would allow her to feel His nearness and sovereignty. I love that for years I have been sitting in her chair unaware....without this ever being brought up until exactly the moment God had planned...and even then it was not brought up by one of us...it was a snapshot....