December 9: Isaiah 50:6 / Luke 22:63-65

The Orchestration of the Father & the Obedience of the Son

Long before the birth of Jesus Christ, God the Father set in motion his plan to redeem the world through his son. God’s power is so all encompassing that he even foretold smaller details in his plan, like the beating and mockery Jesus would experience on his way to Calvary. 

Jesus came to fulfill the plan of his father, through perfect obedience “to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). The perfect innocence and obedience of Jesus is highlighted in him offering up his back to be beaten and bearing the vocal blasphemy from the Roman soldiers. There is also an irony in the arrogance of the soldiers who mocked him by yelling “Prophesy!” If God foretold the beating and mockery of Jesus 700 years before it happened, it would have been a simple feat for Jesus to identify his torturers.  

When we look at the baby Jesus in the manger, we must see the bloodied, beaten, and scorned man. When we see him, we must consider how truly awesome God the Father is to have orchestrated every aspect of his plan to redeem the world, and we must consider the perfect obedience of Christ to execute that plan, offering himself up to undeserved, unimaginable pain and mockery. 

 

Timothy Dahl, Deacon
First Baptist – Sturgeon Bay



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