“You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” John 11:49b-50 ESV¹

Read Matthew 26:1-5; Mark 14:1-2; Luke 22:1-2 & John 11:45-53

In elementary school gym class, we sometimes got to use scooters to aid us in our physical exercise. Whenever the gym teacher brought the scooters out of the supply closet, cheers of excitement filled the gymnasium. For us children, it was exhilarating to roll all over the smooth floor playing games while either sitting or lying on these 12” x 12” x 1” pieces of wood supported by four caster wheels, one in each corner.

I absolutely loved the gym class scooters. So, one day I decided to make one for myself. In my dad’s workshop, I found a beautiful piece of wood, just the right size, and one caster wheel. I worked hard sanding the wood and screwing the wheel to the center of the board. This was a sizable accomplishment for a child but it was the joy I expected to receive from my very own scooter that kept me diligently working.

When my scooter was finished, the wood was smooth and the wheel was secure and turned easily. But when I tried out my scooter, my joy disappeared into frustration. Every time I tried to sit or lie on my scooter, it would tip to one side, strike the ground, and become completely unmovable.

It was not that I didn’t have a wonderful idea. It was not that I didn’t work hard to accomplish my goal. My problem was that my plan didn’t take into account the laws of physics. These God-ordained laws trumped my agenda. They made my desire look foolish. And my efforts were rendered useless.

But I am not alone in devising and attempting to accomplish plans that contradict what God has ordained.

The Religious Leaders Had a Plan

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, those who had positions of leadership in the religious establishment had an agenda. They were united in their desire to rid their world of Jesus. It wasn’t as if they set out to work against God, it was just that they couldn’t see how Jesus could be who He claimed to be. According to their understanding, Jesus kept breaking the rules. They were concerned about the company He kept and they feared He was misleading the people.

The longer He ministered and performed miracles, the more the religious leaders became insistent that something had to be done about Jesus. After He raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus’ following got so large that the religious leaders feared He was causing a big enough commotion that the Romans would see and punish them.

“Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary [to Lazarus’ tomb] and had seen what [Jesus] did, believed in Him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, ‘What are we to do? For this Man performs many signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’ … So, from that day on they made plans to put Him to death” (John 11:45-48 & 53).

In the eyes of these religious leaders, there was only one reasonable conclusion to solving their problem; they had to kill Jesus. So, they began to make plans to accomplish this goal.

Satan Had a Plan

Since before the beginning of time, Satan has been scheming. He has wanted to dethrone God and raise himself to the highest of all positions. He has been actively working against God at every conceivable turn. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the devil was making plans to destroy Jesus, too. It was the enemy who was enticing the religious leaders to stand against Jesus. And it was the evil one who was continually trying to infiltrate Jesus’ disciples to bring Him down.

The devil tried to get to Jesus through the impetuous Simon Peter. We know this because John recorded that Jesus said,

“‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail’” (John 11:31-32a).

The enemy finally found an open door in Judas Iscariot. Judas was likely loyal to Jesus when he began following Him. Judas showed promise among the Twelve and was given the job of Treasurer. But as time went on, Judas became less and less on board with what Jesus was doing. Judas’ hardened heart was evidenced in the following event.

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So, they gave a dinner for Him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with Him at the table. Mary, therefore, took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, … said, ‘Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:1-6).

Since Judas succumbed to the temptation to do little unrighteous things like steal from what was left in his care, the devil bargained on the fact that he could be convinced to do something more sinister. The enemy used Judas’ disillusionment with Jesus and enticed him to come up with a plan to betray his master.

“Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the Twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad and agreed to give him money. So, he consented and sought an opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of a crowd” (Luke 22:3-6).

After Judas’ conference with the religious leaders, it began to look like all the pieces to the devil’s grandest plan were coming together.

God Had a Plan

But neither the religious leaders’ idea, Judas’ arrangement, nor Satan’s scheme could ultimately succeed because they didn’t take into account God’s plan. Before Satan ever entered Judas, before Judas conferred with the religious leaders, even before the religious leaders solidified their intentions, God was working on His plan.

When things got heated, Jesus did seek a place of safety.

“Jesus, therefore, no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there He stayed with the disciples” (John 11:54).

But Jesus didn’t run to Ephraim out of fear or to protect Himself. He went to Ephraim because it was not yet time for God’s plan to come to fruition. Jesus returned to Jerusalem at God’s appointed time and for God’s ordained plan. He came back to the city at the time of the Jew’s most important feast.

“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?’” (John 11:55-56).

Jesus had to come up to the feast. First of all, God commanded that all able-bodied men come to Jerusalem to attend three of the annual feasts. Passover was one of those feasts (see Deuteronomy 16:16). And secondly, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem at Passover time to fulfill the Passover. This was all part of God’s plan.

Though most Jews may have not realized it, all of their holidays pointed to something significant that the Messiah would do.²

Passover, itself, was a commemoration of the Jews’ deliverance from slavery to Egypt.

“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ‘This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household … Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, they shall eat it … In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast … On the first day, you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever … You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread. … And when your children say to you, “What do you mean by this service?” you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for He passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians but spared our houses”’” (Exodus 12:1-3, 5-8, 11-14, 16-17, 20, & 26-27a).

When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he told his followers, “‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’” (John 1:29)! Jesus fulfilled the Passover by being the spotless Lamb sacrificed to free His people from slavery to sin. His shed blood covered the sins of all who believed in Him and saved them from the wrath of a holy God.

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

And it is through the power of His indwelling Spirit that humans can get rid of all the leaven, a picture of sin, in their lives.

“Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

God’s Plan Prevailed

The religious leaders, Judas, and Satan may have all wanted Jesus dead, but Jesus didn’t die because of their plans. Jesus died because of God’s plan.

From the very beginning of Creation, God determined that the punishment for sin would be death.

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17).

Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, and ever since, every human being has been guilty of disobeying God’s righteous laws.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Therefore, every one of us deserves death. But God is not only a just God punishing sin, He is also a loving God who wishes to save sinners from eternal separation from Him in hell. Since only an innocent death could redeem those deserving death, One who was guiltless would have to pay the price. Only the Lord Himself is sinless, so Jesus came to give His life for sinful humans.

“For our sake [the Father] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus Knew God’s Plan

Just days before the Passover feast, as Jesus was teaching His disciples, He said:

“‘You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified’” (Matthew 26:2)

At least three other times, Jesus shared God’s plan with His closest followers.

After Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ:

“He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He said this plainly” (Mark 8:31-32, see also Matthew 16:21-23 & Luke 9:21-22).

Shortly after the Transfiguration:

“As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.’ And they were greatly distressed” (Matthew 17:22-23, see also Mark 9:30-32 & Luke 9:43-45).

And as they were heading to Jerusalem for the Passover:

“As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the Twelve disciples aside, and on the way, He said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day’” (Matthew 20:17–19, see also Mark 10:32–34, & Luke 18:31–34).

Jesus also knew God’s plan would not take place until its intended time. Though the religious leaders had attempted to carry out their agenda several times, they were unsuccessful because God was in charge of the timing.

“These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; but no one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come” (John 7:20).

 

“So, they were seeking to arrest Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come” (John 7:30).

 

“So, they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:59).

 

“The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him … Again, they sought to arrest Him, but He escaped from their hands” (John 10:31 & 39).

Jesus knew why He had come and when it was time to complete God’s plan, He was ready.

“Now, before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

 

“When Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted up His eyes to Heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You’” (John 17:1).

God Had Been Sharing His Plan

The religious leaders knew the Scriptures inside and out. Yet, somehow, they had missed God’s plan. God had been advertising that something amazing that related to their salvation was going to happen in their first month. The LORD had been pointing to the significance of this time of year throughout the history of His people. The events of the first month pointed to:

Freedom:

It was in the first month that the Earth dried out from the Flood and Noah and those with him in the ark prepared to exit from their entrapment and enter into a new world. (See Genesis 8:13).

In the first month, the Israelites were set free from their bondage in Egypt, plundering those who had enslaved them, and started on their way to the Promised Land. (See Exodus 12:1, 31-36 & Numbers 28:3-4).

Similarly, God’s plan to offer up Jesus as the Passover Lamb frees people from the sin that has held them in bondage. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, humans can have a new beginning while simultaneously plundering the enemy of their souls.

God abiding with His people:

In the first month, Moses prepared and set up the Tabernacle in the wilderness. The glory of the LORD came and filled the Tabernacle, and God resided there among His people. From the Tabernacle, the LORD directed the Israelites in the way they should go. (See Exodus 40:1, 16-38).

Likewise, according to God’s plan, which included the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, believers are now a Tabernacle for the Holy Spirit who resides in them and directs them.

The inability of good works to save one’s soul:

It was in the first month that Moses struck the rock and, therefore, was prevented from entering the Promised Land. Also, at this time, Israel contended with the LORD and He was hallowed among them. (See Numbers 20:1-13).

Moses represents the Law. Keeping the Law cannot earn anyone a place in the Ultimate Promised Land. It is only through partaking in Jesus’ righteousness that one can enter Heaven. When Judgement Day comes, no one will be able to argue with God concerning this matter; all will see and declare that He is holy and just.

Grace to obey God and victory over the enemy: 

In the first month, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land. The Jordan River was at flood stage but the LORD piled up the water so that His people could walk across on dry land. They then “put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and the west.” (See Joshua 4:19-24 & 1 Chronicles 12:15).

Joshua is the English way to say the Hebrew name, Yeshua. Since the New Testament was written in Greek, we refer to Our Savior by the English variant of His Greek name, Jesus. The Jews would have called Jesus, Yeshua, which means, Jehovah saves. Even Jesus’ name was part of God’s plan to declare grace and victory would come through Him.

True worship being established:

In the first month, King Hezekiah reopened and cleaned up the Temple and reinstituted proper worship of the LORD. (See 2 Chronicles 29:3-36).

Also, in the first month, the scribe, Ezra, along with some of the priests, Levites, and Israelite people, began their journey back to the land of Israel from captivity in Babylon. There Ezra began to teach the statutes and ordinances of the LORD. (Ezra 7:1-10 & 8:31).

Like Jesus prophesied:

“‘The hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth’” (John 4:23-24).

Sin being forsaken:

After being convicted of their disobedience to the LORD by intermarrying with pagans, on the first day of the first month, all of the men who transgressed in this matter separated themselves from their foreign wives. (Ezra 10:1-17).

God’s plan enabled people all over the world for the rest of time to abandon their sins and choose to obey Him.

Good overcoming evil:

Haman’s decree to annihilate the Jews was written up and sent out throughout the kingdom of King Ahasuerus in the Jewish first month. But also, Esther rose up at that time to save her people. The tables were turned and the evil Haman was the one who was hanged. (See Esther 3-8).

According to God’s plan, Jesus did die. At that point, like Haman, both the religious leaders and the devil thought they had succeeded. But there was a surprising part of God’s plan that evil didn’t see coming—Jesus’ resurrection. The very thing that the devil thought gave him the advantage was the thing that forever handicapped him.

A world-changing event:

More than once, God chose the first day of the first month to speak to the prophets concerning world-changing events, struggles between good and evil, and things that would affect God’s people and bring glory to His name. (See Ezekiel 29:17-21, 30:20-26; Daniel 10:4-14).

Clearly, the whole of God’s salvation plan fits into this category.

Redemption and vindication:

During the first month, Ruth left the land of Moab and came with her mother-in-law, Naomi, into Israel where she met, Boaz, the one who would redeem her from her destitute state. Ruth and Boaz were married and became the great-grandparents of King David and distant relatives to Jesus Himself. (See Ruth 1:22). Also, during the first month, Saul’s sin against the Gibeonites was avenged and the resulting famine was squelched. (See 2 Samuel 21:1-14).

According to God’s plan, Jesus’ blood redeemed humans from their impoverished state as slaves to sin. Jesus’ death paid the price for our unfaithfulness. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, communion with the LORD is now possible.

Only God’s Plan Came to Fruition

Those who were opposed to Jesus may have thought it was their idea to crucify Him but it had been God’s plan all along.

“You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you” (1 Peter 1:18-20, emphasis added).

Though the hateful religious leaders gathered and schemed, it was God’s plan that succeeded.

“The chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they said, ‘Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people’” (Matthew 26:3-5).

The very time they didn’t want Jesus killed was the time He had to die. Jesus died during the Passover celebration because He was the Ultimate Passover Lamb. It didn’t matter what the chief priests and elders wanted. Whether the people were in an uproar or not had no bearing on the situation. Everything happened according to God’s plan. Evil intentions backfired, God received glory, and the door to eternal salvation was opened to all repentant humanity. While planning to kill Jesus, the high priest even proclaimed God’s plan.

“One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.’ He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad” (John 11:49-52).

God Has a Plan for You

Jesus died for you to gather you into the family of God. But you must submit to His plan to find salvation and be adopted into His family.

I fear many people’s idea of what qualifies them for eternal salvation is a lot like my one-wheeled scooter. Their desire may be pure. A lot of hard work may go into their religion. Everything might make perfect sense to them. But if they are not yielding to God’s plan, they aren’t going to be successful.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

It sounds inclusive and tolerant to think that all religions are equal. If you believe all paths lead to God, you are sorely mistaken. It is as if you are attempting to make a scooter with no wheels at all. Such a scooter is never going to roll.

“Jesus said … I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).

God’s plan requires that you come to Jesus for eternal salvation.

It seems logical and kind to assume that being more good than bad earns a person a place in Heaven. The truth is you can never be good enough to get into Heaven based on your works. Thinking you can stand on your own righteousness is as effective as a scooter with one wheel. No matter how hard you try to balance, it is always going to tip.

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isaiah 64:6).

 

“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10).

God’s plan requires that you forsake your righteousness and take Jesus up on His offer to give you His.

It is a pleasing notion to think that you can be a Christian and remain in control of your own life. Though it is a commonly held belief, that idea is a vague and imperfect conception of the truth. A half-truth is still a lie. A scooter with only half the required wheels won’t work any better than one with no wheels at all.

“Jesus told His disciples, ‘If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul” (Matthew 16:24-26)?

 

“And He said to all, ‘If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me’” (Luke 9:23).

God’s plan requires that you give up your rights and hand all authority over to Jesus.

Will you be willing to follow God’s plan or will you insist on making one of your own?

 

¹ Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.

² For more on this, check out: https://blueturtletrails.com/life-in-the-name-of-jesus-the-son-of-god/