Psalms 8:1, 16:1-2, 31:1-3

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Luke 23. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind at verse 25:

Luke 23:24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.

Luke 23:25 And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

It was the last phrase that caught my attention: “But he delivered Jesus to their will.” Their will was that He should be crucified (Luke 23:21).

Jesus had delivered Himself to the Father’s will (Luke 22:39-42).

Now, a governor, named Pilate, who boasted to Jesus, “Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?” (John 19:10), “delivered Jesus” to the will of those who cried, “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21).

Along the still waters, I reflected on these things.

When Pilate made his boast, asserting he had power to crucify or release Jesus, our Lord responded: “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin” (John 19:11). Jesus spoke of Judas.

The Father delivered His Son into the hands of men whose will was to crucify Him: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23).

God’s will was that Jesus would be delivered to the hands of men, “by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.” The wages of sin is death, but God commendeth His love toward us that He gave His Son to die in our place (Romans 5:8). God decreed that His Son would be the Lamb slain as represented by the Old Testament sacrifices, and as prophesied by Abraham when he answered his son, “God will provide Himself a lamb” (Genesis 22:8; see John 1:29, 36). It was God’s will that His Son would die as a man for mankind (Philippians 2:5-11).

It was man’s will that He be crucified!

Nothing in the symbolism of Christ’s death as God’s Lamb signified crucifixion: the priests did not blind fold the lamb and strike it upon its face, or use a whip of nine thongs embedded with bone and stone to emaciate its back, neither did they pound a crown of thorns into its skull, nor nail its feet to a stake, or pierce its heart with a spear. God delivered His Son to the will of men. Peter said not that God crucified His Son. He accused the murderers: “Ye have taken, [Jesus] and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” Him (Acts 2:23). These wicked men can make no claim of service to God for their vile deed, but acted in hatred against His Son.

It sounds redundant to say “crucified and slain.” The crucified part was man’s will, but that He would be slain was God’s (Revelation 13:8).

Many insights emerge from these ponderings. Consider one. God sends something or someone into our lives for good, a divine gift, and His will is that this gift will bless us. But often those to whom God delivers such a gift abuse it and even “crucify it,” that is, utterly reject and despise it. God’s will was that the gift would be sacrificed on the altar of service to us, but our will is contrary to God’s will, and we decide to kill it instead. Sometimes, we destroy the very thing or person God sent into our lives to fulfill His will to bless us. The abuse we put on those whom God sent to us for good is the insight I believe our Father would have us ponder.

There is no example that equals God sending His Son to be slain for us to fulfill His will to provide an atonement for our sins, delivering Him into the power of men, whose will was to destroy Him. Nevertheless, the pattern is the same: God sends good into our lives, we foolishly disdain that good and even destroy it, but God ultimately vindicates the good, and the evil is punished. The vindication might never come from the abusers, but it will always come from our Father. Three days in Paradise, then resurrected to glory, is vindication enough!

Was there any conscience remaining in any of those to whom Peter spake: “Ye have taken, [Jesus] and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” Him (Acts 2:23)? Had all of them a seared conscience and so insensible to the enormity of their guilt in this matter (1 Timothy 4:2)? Was there one, at least, whose heart was pricked and could feel the condemnation of God upon their soul, and so be moved to godly sorrow, and repent, and be saved? Peter did not speak this accusation to condemn, merely, but that they might sorrow to repentance unto salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”)

In the valley, I looked upon the Cross and knelt in its shadow. The Master moved close and spoke in regal gentleness with the voice of many waters: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

At the table, He anointed my head with His oil. He asked for my cup to check if I had drunk yesterday’s draught. I looked and saw a drop or two remaining, and shook it out into my mouth. He filled it fresh for the day. We went into the harvest, goodness and mercy scampering to catch up.

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap:

https://rumble.com/v75mg62-shepherds-pasture.html

[*The only verse that suggests it might have been God’s will that Jesus would be crucified is Luke 24:7, “Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” This shows that it was necessary for Christ to be crucified in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled (John 13:18; 17:12; 19:24, 28, 36; with Psalm 22, and 41:9; Isaiah 53, and etc.; see also Matthew 1:22-23 with Isaiah 7:14, and many other examples area available, showing the those thing foreknown by God and prophesied through His prophets must be fulfilled). While God decreed Jesus’ death, and He delivered Him to man, man conceived and executed the crucifixion that was foreseen by the Father for His Son, “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).]