Whose Plan is it Really?

I Thought it was My Plan

Has this ever happened to you?

I was in jr. high, middle school. It was springtime, first of April, and I had a group of friends that decided we should all go bowling on a Saturday afternoon. Great.

I cleared it with my mom. We made all the arrangements for rides. Sometime that week before my mom suggested the entire group come over to our house after bowling.

I was thrilled. We didn’t do much of that. Single, working mom. We didn’t entertain much. The idea of the day not ending right after bowling and coming to my house for an extension of the time together was something I was excited about.

I called all my friends. Told them my idea. They all heartily agreed that it was a fantastic idea. I was feeling good about myself. Take charge. Make a suggestion that everyone is on board with and excited about.

While we’re bowling I’m talking about the great idea I had to come to my house afterward.

So, we do the bowling thing. A couple of games. We get wrapped up and our ride arrives to take us back to my house.

It hadn’t even occured to me, my birthday is the first week in April. I didn’t even know they knew it. Wouldn’t you know, we get to my house, I walk in the door, there’s a birthday cake on the table and presents all around it.

They had set me up. I thought it was my idea, my plan. When in reality, one of them had been in touch with my mom, planned the whole thing, and I took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

It wasn’t my plan at all. Even though I spend the days honestly believing it was. But there was a higher plan in place. One that I was completely unaware of that I played right into. I was playfully embarrassed. It all worked out. We had fun, cake, and I got presents.

God has had a plan in place since the beginning of time to save the faithful. He has promised us it’s going to happen and nothing can prevent it. He set everything up perfectly, in Eden. But then He gave the ppl the freedom to choose what they wanted to do.

He knew not all of our choices would be good. He knew Adam and Eve would make a really bad choice. He knew it. He knew it ahead of time. But He let them b/c fundamentally He wants us to freely choose the right things to do. He does not force us to make any choices. To allow that, He must let us choose bad things, too. But then, be there to give us the opportunity to get out of the mess we create for ourselves.

Somehow, He’s God, he can work w/ all the choices we make, good and bad, to fulfill His plan and keep his promise to save the faithful. He will use the choices of believers. He will also use the choices of those who do not believe. They are completely unaware. Whether we faithful realize it or not, God is at work fulfilling His promises using the choices we make to do it.

In that, we can only mess up our own lives and the lives of the ppl around us. We cannot mess up God’s plan. Everything He has promised will happen just the way He promised it.

We think we have a plan for our lives. We think we are in complete control when we decide to do what we do. But there is a higher plan at work that we are playing right into.

The faithful cannot lose anything God has promised. Therefore, rest assured. Everything good God has promised us, we will receive, even if the ppl around us, or even we ourselves make choices that are bad for us.

It can seem like the worst possible scenario is playing out in our lives and there is no way God can make anything good out of it. But God is at work behind the scenes to fulfill all the good promises He has made to the faithful.

So, stay faithful even when your situation seems hopeless. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and certainty that God is at work in ways we cannot see.

When all seems lost, your situation is bad, poor choices have been made that hurt you; stay faithful that everything good God has promised you will still come to you because God has a higher plan that we are playing right into.

In your toughest situations, stay faithful, stay hopeful, stay optimistic that things are not exactly as they seem. Everything good God has promised is on its way even when your current circumstances could cause you to question.

This lesson comes from John 11. Right after Jesus raised Laz from the dead, things happened that, on the surface, seemed to be a horrible path for Jesus and the church. And yet, it played right into God’s plan to provide a way to save the faithful.

What would motivate the religious leadership to take the drastic measures they resolved to take here? What would be powerful enough w/in them to make them do what they ended up doing that they had taught all their lives was wrong to do?

Fear & Insecurity

John 11:45–48 NIV

Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

Jesus had just done an amazing thing. It was one thing to miraculously heal someone who was on the brink of death. But to bring someone back who had been gone for several days was a miracle of another, greater thing.

Jesus just gave them a sign of what He can and will do. He had been claiming, as Messiah, Savior, that He would give the faithful life after they died.

Words are cheap. Anyone can say anything. But then Jesus proved He could do it.

Laz had 2 sisters, Mary and Martha. They are the subjects of several situations written about in the bible. Martha was the doer. She got things done. She placed a priority on details and accomplishing things.

Mary was the relational one. Once, when Jesus came to visit them earlier, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet while Martha labored in the kitchen getting the meal done. Martha complained to Jesus, asking Him to tell Mary to come and help her.

Rather than scolding Mary, Jesus scolded Martha. He said Mary was doing the better thing by hanging out with him while He was there. He would be there forever. And the relationship w/ Him was a higher priority than the meal prep.

So, it would not be surprising that Mary had more visitors come to comfort them than Martha had. Mary would have had more friends simply because she was the more relational one. I’m sure Martha was respected for what she got done. In fact, we value ppl around here who get things done. I don’t want to have to follow up and nag ppl to get the details taken care of.

Martha was the kind of person you could count on. But, she is not the kind of person you would enjoy hanging out w/. She would be too busy with the details and tasks that needed to get done.

So, of these friends who came to comfort Mary when they heard Laz had died, many came to faith as a result of hearing Jesus say He is God and the long-awaited Lamb of God who came to save the faithful.

To many, it was proof of Who Jesus is they bel’d in Him. Others were threatened and confused. They didn’t want it to be true. It would mean significant changes to their religious practices. And these practices had been in place for centuries. Old habits die hard.

Some went to report to the Pharisees to report what had happened. That was the leadership group responsible for evaluating events like that to determine what had actually taken place and what did it mean.

Supposedly they had been watching for the Messiah for centuries. Maybe they had slacked off on their anticipation and expectation of His arrival. They certainly didn’t expect the One they got. They expected a general who would conquer Rome. They got a servant who would allow His enemies to take Him out.

Had they approached this w/ and open mind, simply looking at it objectively, they could have confirmed the miracle and declared the Messiah had arrived. Believe and be saved. But they had their own agenda.

Either He is the Messiah and they should believe in Him and take a back seat to His leadership. Or, He isn’t and they need to do something to maintain their own influence and leadership.

But again, accepting Him would mean significant changes to their way of life and leadership. They hung on to those things w/ a white-knuckled grip. So, rather than confirm and declare Jesus to be the Messiah, they called a meeting the discuss their fears of losing their influence w/ the ppl.

Their fears ran deep. Their insecurity was palpable.

They had been trying to stop Jesus for some time. Nothing was working.

The Romans were good w/ the Jews as long as they kept and encouraged peace. If trouble stirred, or they lost their influence over the ppl then they would likely shut them down.

The irony! They acknowledged He was performing significant signs. But rather than believe the signs pointed to Him being the Messiah, they spent their time trying to find ways to explain away the signs.

Maybe he’s some sort of magician. Slight of hand. Even the times they tried to entrap Jesus, they set up the scenario, the only possible explanation was Jesus is a miracle worker, therefore, He is the Messiah. But they couldn’t get themselves to admit that.

Since they couldn’t admit the obvious, and they could accept the truth, then they had to come up w/ a plan to eliminate the threat. They had casually discussed taking Jesus out for some time. But then it was time for them to get serious about. They resolved that the time had come for them to stop talking and take action.

So, they began the serious work of hatching a plan.

Hatching a Plan

John 11:49–53 NIV

Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

Caiaphas was the high priest. That is, he was the highest office holder of the group. He chaired the meetings and ran the show. He was a strong and capable man who had an agenda in place to maintain their influence and authority over the ppl.

He was the equivalent of the chairman of the board.

His criticism was sharp. “you don’t have a clue what you are talking about.”

In his opinion, they had been wasting their time toying w/ Jesus. It was time they got serious about Him.

And in his opinion, the only solution to the problem was to kill Him.

More Irony! It was a serious violation of their own law. These are the laws they placed such a priority on. The laws they tried to entrap Jesus with. They knew there would be Hell to pay, literally. But as bad as those consequences were to them, they saw it as the lesser of 2 bad options and insurance that future leadership generations would be secured and not have to deal w/ it.

He would rather face this punishment in the hopes it would save Israel’s long-term future.

Did I mention the irony? It’s ad 33. In ad 70 the temple got destroyed anyway and their influence over the ppl was drastically cut. Their religion practices were changed dramatically. From that time forward there were no more sacrifices on the altar b/c the altar had been destroyed.

Caiaphas said Jesus must die for the ppl, not in the Xian sense, but to save the religious practices of the ppl that they valued so highly. Except when murder was deemed their best solution to their problem.

They placed their religious practices in priority over a relationship w/ God. Preserve the practices and sacrifice the Savior.

And, according to Caiaphas, his death would unify the Jews around the world under the leadership and influence of the Pharisees and their temple religious practices.

Even more irony. Caiaphas meant this in his own way. He bel’d it was original w/ him. He came up w/ the idea as a solution to their problem.

But in reality, God had a higher plan to solve His problem. God’s problem, well, our problem, was there was no way for us to have a relationship w/ God or get to heaven w/out the death of the Lamb of God. So, God had a plan in place. Right time. Right way. Right ppl.

So, Jesus would die for the ppl. That is, in the Xian sense, He would die in their place. The faithful would accept Jesus’ death for their own, a substitute to atone for the consequences of their sin. Jesus would die to save the ppl, not the Jewish religious practices.

After centuries of waiting. Centuries, hundreds of lambs sacrificed on the altar, Jesus would be among the last Lambs slaughtered for the sins of the ppl. His was the only one that accomplished the atonement. But once the temple was destroyed, no more lambs died. No more lambs needed to die as Jesus’ work on the cross eliminated the need.

His death would bring together the scattered ppl of God, both believing Jews who ran from the persecution, and believing non-Jews who lived in all parts of the world. A new body would be formed, a new org made up of faithful ppl of all backgrounds.

The Church has become a brand new entity that replaced the temple and its influence over the ppl.

So, they were resolute in their decision. They firmed up their plan. Many parts and pieces had yet to be determined. But, they were then certain that was the plan they intended to pursue.

Their reasons were obvious. Fear and insecurity. Their arrogance led them to believe it was all their own plan, too. And they played right into the hands and plans of God.

Proverbs 16:9 NIV

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

Just like I thought it was my plan for my friends to come over for a get together after we went bowling. But it turned out there was a higher plan in place that I played right into.

Caiaphas thought He had a plan to fix his greatest problem. But it turned out there was a higher plan in place that he played right into.

He fixed a problem, but not his. He fixed our problem.

And what could motivate ppl to violate their own convictions? Pride, fear, insecurity. They had all 3 in spades.

They believed either Jesus died or Isreal died. If Jesus died, then the nation would live. But it didn’t. In less than one generation, the temple with all its practices was gone. And Jesus was back.

Caiaphas was not a faithful man. He was not a believer. He was a religious man who was politically motivated to expediently eliminate a problem.

As John wrote these words describing Caiaphas and his motivation, his motivation was spiritual and relational. He recognized the higher plan in place and affirmed it. Jesus had to die. Not for Caiaphas’ reasons, but God’s.

God is not above using the arrogance and political motivation of powerful ppl to accomplish his purposes w/out them even realizing it.

In Nehemiah ch. 2, the Persian king Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah permission to travel to Jerusalem w/ supplied to rebuild the wall around the city. It had all been destroyed when Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians invaded and exiled the Israelites. The Persians conquered the Babylonians and took control of the land that was Israel.

Artaxerxes was politically motivated to have an ally in the region. So, his plan was to let Nehemiah rebuild the wall and the city. Ezra and Zerubabbel had already rebuilt the temple and led many of the ppl back. By doing Israel this huge favor he anticipated having a strong ally, a tax-revenue source, and other resources available to help him strengthen his grip on the greater region.

He was totally unaware that God had already spoken thru the prophet Jeremiah that Israel’s exile would only last 70 years.

And God had spoken thru Daniel that walls and the city would be rebuilt, and the decree to start the work would also start the clock. 483 years after the decree was given to do the work, Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on what we call palm Sunday and a week later be killed.

According to the prophet Isaiah, Jesus would be beaten beyond recognition.

And Isaiah 53:12

Isaiah 53:12 NIV

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

And Caiaphas, in c.1, believed this was his plan. But in reality, it was God’s plan and He used the choices of Caiaphas and the Romans to fulfill it.

Imagine the moment Caiaphas or the Roman soldiers who tortured Jesus stood before Him in their first moments after leaving this life. How quickly would it have dawned on them they messed up bad.

Remember, we cannot mess up God’s plan. We can only mess up our own lives and the lives of those close to us. But God offers us a hand and will graciously forgive us and fix the problems we create.

There is no way for us to cause such a problem that God will not or can not fulfill a promise He has made to us. We can plot and scheme and make plans. But let’s not fool ourselves. God has a plan that will supercede ours. He will use what we decide to do to accomplish what He decided to do a long time ago.

You can think you planned your party. But there may have been another plan in place that you played right into.

God’s plan to save the faithful cannot be thwarted or changed. Rest assured your faith will be rewarded as promised. We have hope and we can be confident that God is at work behind the scenes in ways that will work out great for us.

So, even in the toughest of situations, stay faithful. God will get you out of it eventually.

Applications

Stay Faithful

Don’t abandon the faith even when life gets hard. God is using the hard things in your life to refine you, mature you, and give you strength.

Lean in and trust that God will come thru for you in the end.

Plans

Make your plans. But just know God has a plan that your plan will help fulfill. The biggest thing for you to be concerned with is not messing up your life. But even if you do, God will help you out if you’ll humbly ask for it.

Rest assured God has a plan that includes getting you to heaven and He will use the plans of the ppl around you to help accomplish it.

President

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter who gets elected president. God will use them to do what He wants to do. So don’t get too worked up if your candidate does, or does not get elected. Trump is about to get inaugurated. Pray for Him. God can use anybody to get done what he wants to get done.

The faithful cannot lose anything God has promised. Therefore, rest assured. Everything good God has promised us, we will receive, even if the ppl around us, or even we ourselves make choices that are bad for us.

It can seem like the worst possible scenario is playing out in our lives and there is no way God can make anything good out of it. But God is at work behind the scenes to fulfill all the good promises He has made to the faithful.

So, stay faithful even when your situation seems hopeless. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and certainty that God is at work in ways we cannot see.

When all seems lost, your situation is bad, poor choices have been made that hurt you; stay faithful that everything good God has promised you will still come to you because God has a higher plan that we are playing right into.

In your toughest situations, stay faithful, stay hopeful, stay optimistic that things are not exactly as they seem. Everything good God has promised is on its way even when your current circumstances could cause you to question.