God, reconciled us to himself through Christ
Did you play any April Fool's pranks today?
When I was young, my dad used to love playing a joke on my siblings and me, where he’d walk into the room with two glasses and ask, “Who wants lassi?” We’d all shout, “Me! Me!” Then he’d give us the glass, but it turned out to be chaas instead. 😖
When you’re expecting to taste sweetness but are served something sour, it’s so gross!
When Jesus was on the cross, just before He died, He said, “I am thirsty,” but instead of giving Him water, they filled a sponge with wine vinegar for Him to drink (Mark 15:36). Yikes!
Jesus said this to fulfil this prophecy (John 19:28):
They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.– Psalms 69:21
This wasn’t the only prophecy Jesus fulfilled on that day. According to scholars, on the day Jesus was crucified, He fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Some of these were over 800 years old!
What are the odds that one Man can fulfil 28 centuries-old prophecies in one day and hundreds of Old Testament prophecies in His lifetime? Close to zero!
Jesus’ death wasn’t a coincidence. It wasn’t a “happy accident” that worked really well in our favor because it brought about our redemption. No, it was part of a beautiful and elaborate plan of God that was hundreds of years in the making, to reconcile us with Him (2 Corinthians 5:18). Take a moment to thank God today for His extraordinary ways. That He is the same through the ages and that He saved us, not by accident, but through the greatest plot ever known to man.
