This was no accident!

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. -Isaiah 53:6 (NIV)

From the creation, the die was cast, the decision made. When Jesus came to earth, He wasn’t here for a social visit. He was not on a fact-finding junket. He wasn’t preparing a status report for Heaven. He was on mission to redeem mankind and save us from ourselves.

On purpose. By design. Executed with precision timing. Jesus was not a victim. His death was not due to some misunderstanding with the authorities, or an unfortunate accident where unforeseen circumstances got out of hand. No, He took on flesh and completed His mission willingly, humbly, obediently, knowing full well where it would take Him.

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. -Isaiah 53:4-5 (NIV)

This is where it is important to understand that Jesus is God. The Father was not sentencing the Son to death; my sin sent Jesus to the cross. You see, a God that does not recognize and hold people accountable to an eternal, defined system of right and wrong could hardly be called holy and good. But that meant I owed a debt I could not pay.

In some of the earliest pages of Scripture, we find the first prophecy that specifically predicts the arrival and mission of Jesus. Our need for a savior was no surprise to the Almighty. God knew when He created mankind that He would need to redeem him. The Creator would lay down His life for the creation.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. -Genesis 3:15 (NIV)

But the method by which our deliverance would come remained a mystery, notably to Satan himself, for he seemed to play into God’s hand. Perhaps in his pride, he thought he could somehow turn the tables and win. Or maybe he was so blinded by hatred and rage that he didn't care about the ultimate outcome, as long as he got his moment of inflicting a pain that even the Father had to turn away from (Matt. 27:45-46).

Or maybe he just failed to anticipate the resurrection. For as devious and cunning as Satan is, he does not see the future. Whatever the case, God used the sad, sorry circumstances created by the darkness of hearts deceived by the enemy to carry out His plan for redeeming His people. The coming of Jesus was not "Plan B", His death no accident. The Master Plan, from the start, was to use the lowly birth, the perfect life, the sacrificial death, and the victorious resurrection of God the Son to offer salvation to the apple of His eye, those whose names He has tattooed on the palm of His hand (Zech. 2:8, Isa. 49:16).

But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. -Hebrews 2:9-10 (NIV)