Saving People: God’s Game Plan from the Get-Go

When you look at the events that led to Jesus’ death on the cross, they appear to be circumstances run amuck or part of an evil scheme crafted by his enemies. However, Christians believe they’re but a piece of a larger puzzle that God himself put together. 

Christians use ideas from the Old Testament as well as statements that Jesus made (which were recorded in the Gospels) as evidence of God’s plan: 

Old Testament sacrifices pointed toward Christ’s death on the cross.

Old Testament prophecies foretold what Jesus would be like and what he’d do.

Jesus predicted exactly what was going to happen to him. 

I discuss these ideas in the sections that follow. 

Seeing sacrifices as prototypes of the real deal

Soon after Adam and Eve sinned (find out more about this tragedy in Chapter 4), the idea of a sacrifice required as payment for sin came into the picture. The earliest recorded practice of this is when Adam and Eve’s first child, Abel, offered an animal sacrifice to God (Genesis 4:3). In later years, this practice was formalized as the nation of Israel observed very specific rules, defined in the Hebrew scriptures, concerning what was an acceptable blood animal offering to God. 

Christians believe that these sacrifices had no real value in and of themselves, however, and that they didn’t cleanse sin from individuals. The Book of Hebrews says, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.” Instead, the sacrificial system instituted by the Hebrews during the Old Testament period was a prototype of Christ’s true and final sacrifice that was to come. These sacrifices were beneficial because they were reminders of sin and helped drill into people the true cost of sin and the necessity for a solution. 

Uncovering others’ prophecies about the Messiah

Christians believe God “tipped his hand” through Old Testament prophecies about a future Messiah who would come and save humans. The consensus among scholars is that at least 109 separate prophecies concerning the Messiah are found in the Old Testament. People who lived hundreds of years before Jesus ever walked the earth wrote these prophecies. And Christians believe that when you match up these prophecies with the events of Jesus’ life, you find that Jesus is, like Cinderella’s glass slipper, a perfect match. These prophecies provide some amazingly accurate descriptions of the events that occurred in Jesus’ life. For example, according to the Old Testament, the Messiah 

Would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)

Would be a descendant of King David (Isaiah 9:7)

Would be preceded by someone (John the Baptist) who would prepare the way for his coming (Isaiah 40:3)

Would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)

Would be rejected by people and judged and condemned (Isaiah 53:1-8)

Would be betrayed by a trusted friend (Psalm 41:9) for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12)

Would die a sacrificial death for sin (Isaiah 53)

Would be crucified on a cross and would have people cast lots for his garments (Psalm 22)

Would have his side pierced (Zechariah 12:10), but his bones wouldn’t be broken (Psalm 34:20, Exodus 12:46)

Would be resurrected from the dead (Psalm 16:10) 

Christians agree that each of these prophecies (and more) was fulfilled through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Prophesying about the suffering servant: A look at Isaiah 53

One of the greatest Old Testament prophets, Isaiah served from 740-681 B.C. as prophet to Judah (the southern kingdom that was formed after the nation of Israel split in two). During this time, he wrote the Book of Isaiah. Its purpose was twofold: to call Judah to repentance and to return to the Lord, and to tell how salvation would be achieved through the coming Messiah (for details on the inspiration of the Bible, see Chapter 6). Isaiah’s book is chock-full of prophetic passages, but one chapter stands out with its wealth of details covering who Jesus is and what he would do on earth. 

Consider some of the following excerpts from Isaiah 53 and the parallels to the real life of Jesus, as recorded in the New Testament Gospels: 

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; 

Jesus, being sentenced to die on a cross, was despised and rejected by humans (Matthew 27:23-24). 

But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. 

The method of crucifixion required the literal piecing of Jesus’ hands and feet with nails (Luke 23:33). What’s more, because of his punishment and wounds, people can receive salvation. 

He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth. He was taken away by oppression and judgment; 

When Jesus was on trial before the religious leaders, he remained silent (Mark 14:61) and was eventually led away to be crucified. 

They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; 

Jesus was crucified next to two criminals, and a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea provided a grave for Jesus (Matthew 27:57-60). 

Yet it was the Lord’s will to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

 

Ultimately, Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross was a plan by God, designed from the beginning as the way to save people from their sins.