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The Sovereign Appointment of the Passover Lamb (Matthew 26:1-2) · Reformed Thinking

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You know when you step into a courtroom there is this assumed
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hierarchy of control. Oh, absolutely.
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You've got the judge sitting high up there at the bench.
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Right, holding the gavel, setting the pace of the entire
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room. And you've got the bailiff
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standing by the doors keeping order.
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Yeah. And then you have the defendant
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just sitting there at a table, entirely at the mercy of the
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proceedings. You sit when you're told to sit.
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You stand when told to stand. I mean, you speak only when
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addressed. You are entirely a subject of
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the room. That is the nature of any
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justice system. The defendant doesn't dictate
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the schedule. No, not at all.
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The person on trial certainly doesn't look up at the bench and
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tell the judge when the trial will conclude.
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Let alone what the verdict will be.
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Right. Or the precise date and method
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of their own execution. Right.
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Unless, of course, the defendant is actually the one writing the
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script for the judge, the jury, and the executioner.
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Which completely shatters all our categories.
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It really does. Welcome to Reformed thinking.
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I'm thrilled you're joining us today.
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You are stepping into the room as an active participant in a
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highly focused theological examination.
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We are doing a deep dive today. Yes, the mission of this deep
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dive is an intensive look at 2 dense theological texts and they
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unpack a single microscopic passage of Scripture, which is
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Matthew chapter 26 verses 1 and 2.
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The premise we are dealing with today is staggering, really.
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It is because we live in a culture that, well, people
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prefer a mild moral teacher. They want a life coach.
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Yeah, so to give them tips on living better.
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But the sources we are analyzing today argue that the true
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historical Jesus of Nazareth was entirely different.
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At the absolute hinge of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus asserts
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total sovereignty over his own execution.
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We're looking at the moment the Son of God schedules his own
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death. Which is an incredible thought.
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It is, but before we can comprehend the specific claims
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Jesus makes about his crucifixion, we have to look at
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the recise literary moment he chooses to speak those words.
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We are looking at a massive pivot from the mountain top down
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to the valley. O To understand that pivot,
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let's breakdown the literary architecture of Matthew's
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Gospel. Right, because the author,
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writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, structures the
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entire book around 5 major teaching blocks.
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You see this formula repeated a lot throughout the text.
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You do. You see it in Matthew 7, right
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at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.
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And in Matthew 11, after he commissions the 12 apostles.
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Yeah, and you see it in chapter 13, following the parables of
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the Kingdom. Then again in chapter 19.
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Right after the discourse on the Church and now we hit Matthew 26
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verse one. Which marks the 5th and final
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structural boundary. It reads when Jesus had finished
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all these sayings. That phrase is a colossal
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literary boundary. And we have to look at what
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immediately precedes it to get the context.
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Because the context here is the Olivet Discourse.
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Spanning Matthew, chapters 24 and 25.
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Yeah, Jesus has just spent two chapters speaking from the Mount
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of Olives. Speaking as the cosmic Judge.
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He's describing the coming tribulation.
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He describes his premillennial return and the terrifying
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separation of the sheep and the goats.
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Now, real quick, for anyone who hasn't spent years in a seminary
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classroom breakdown, that term for us premillennial returns?
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Sure. What does that mean in this
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specific context? Well, it refers to the
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theological position that Christ will return physically and
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visibly to earth before He establishes A literal thousand
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year reign of peace and justice. OK, got it.
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So in those preceding chapters, Jesus is describing himself
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arriving on the clouds of heaven with absolute.
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Glory accompanied by angels. Yes, taking his seat on a
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glorious throne to judge the nations.
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So the contrast here is giving readers severe whiplash.
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Oh, whiplash. For two chapters you have the
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King promising to arrive in blinding glory, dictating the
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eternal destiny of the nations. And then in the very next
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breath, he announces he will be executed as a criminal.
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The judge becomes the judged. The one who will determine the
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fate of all humanity submits himself to the fate determined
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by a local Roman procurator. Let's analyze the specific
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language used here. I think we should focus on the
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Greek verb translated as had finished.
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OK, what's the word? The word is ettelaisum, which is
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derived from the root telio. Let's unpack that.
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Why does that specific verb carry so much weight?
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In Greek syntax, Tillio doesn't mean to simply stop talking or
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to take a pause. Matthew could have used a
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different word for that, right? Yeah, he could have used a word
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like pow, which means to cease. Give us an example of.
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That well, for example, in Luke 8.24 when Jesus calms the storm
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and the wind ceased, the word powwow is used.
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The wind just stopped blowing. Right, it ceased.
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But Jesus didn't just run out of time here in Matthew 26.
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He didn't stop speaking because his enemies closed in and cut
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him off mid sentence. No, the word telio means to
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bring something to its intended perfect consummation.
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He. Accomplished the goal of his
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teaching. He finished the work.
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Think of a master architect constructing a massive,
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intricate cathedral. I love that analogy.
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For years, this architect has been laying the stones of the
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foundation. He's measuring every single
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angle, making sure every load bearing wall is perfectly
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positioned. Taking his time.
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Right. And when he places the final
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critical stone of that massive foundation, he doesn't stop
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because he ran out of bricks. Or because the city told him to
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halt construction? No, he stops because the
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foundation is perfectly complete and he was immediately shift to
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raising the structure itself. The teaching wasn't interrupted,
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it was consummated. I mean, I would push that
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analogy even further. Go for it.
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It is an architect who lays the perfect foundation, knowing full
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well that the structure he builds upon it will cost him his
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life. That is a staggering thought.
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Jesus is executing a massive theological shift here.
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He's moving from the office of prophet to the office of
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priests. Let's define that for the
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listener. As a prophet he delivers the
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word of God to the people, right?
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But as a priest, he must offer the sacrifice to God on behalf
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of the people. So he moves from instruction to
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propitiation. Yes, and let's clarify
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propitiation for our listener. We are talking about a sacrifice
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that bears and turns away the wrath of God.
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Satisfying divine justice. The words of the Incarnate Word
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lead inexorably to the wounds of the Incarnate Word.
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He has delivered the moral standard, and now he must secure
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the pardon. Which raises a really big
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question for you to consider. What's that?
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Well, if Matthew's Gospel had stopped right at chapter 25,
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right before this pivot, what kind of religion would we be
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left with? Based on the text we're
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analyzing, if the narrative stopped at chapter 25, we would
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be left with the law. We would have prophecy.
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And we would have a king, but we would have no savior.
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Jesus raised the moral standard of the law so high in the Sermon
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on the Mount. Yeah, equating anger with murder
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and lust with adultery. Which leaves every single human
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being condemned under the wrath of God.
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So the shift from his teaching to his crucifixion is the shift
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from the impossible demands of the Law to the provision of the
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Gospel. He had to bear the penalty of
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the law. So he finishes the teaching.
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And having established that his prophetic instruction is
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complete, the narrative focus entirely shifts.
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It shifts to the specific timing Jesus announces for his
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sacrifice. We are moving into the divine
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timetable, the arrival of the true Passover.
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To grasp the weight of verse 2, you really have to immerse
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yourself in the historical atmosphere of 1st century
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Jerusalem. Right during the Passover week.
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The geopolitical and religious tension was at an absolute
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boiling point. The Jewish historian Josephus
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records some amazing numbers about this.
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He does. He notes that during Passover,
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the population of Jerusalem would experience a massive
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demographic explosion. You're looking at upwards of 2
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to 3,000,000 pilgrims crowding into the city.
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And the surrounding hillside camps.
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And they aren't just coming as tourists.
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They are bringing hundreds of thousands of sacrificial sheep
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with them. Try to imagine the sensory
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experience of the city during that week.
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The noise would have been completely overwhelming the.
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Constant bleeding of a quarter million sheep echoing through
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those narrow stone streaks. And the smell of wood smoke.
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The copper scent of blood around the Temple Mount.
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It was an inescapable, audible, tangible reality of the bloody
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cost of Israel's historic deliverance from Egypt.
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Adding to that intense religious fervor is the geopolitical
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reality of Roman occupation. Right, Pontius Pilate, the Roman
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procurator. He has traveled from his
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comfortable, luxurious coastal headquarters in Caesarea
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Maritima. And he's moved into the Antonia
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Fortress. It was a military barracks
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attached directly to the temple complex in Jerusalem.
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He is there specifically to squash any potential zealot
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uprisings. Because Passover was
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historically the most volatile time of the year.
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Think about the psychology of the crowd.
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The Jewish people are celebrating a holiday that
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specifically remembers their miraculous liberation from a
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foreign oppressor. The Egyptians, while.
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Currently living under the heavy boot of a new foreign oppressor.
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The Romans. It's a powder keg waiting for a
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match. Meanwhile, you have the Jewish
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religious leaders secretly plotting in the shadows.
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We're talking about the chief priests, the scribes, the
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elders. Gathering in the courtyard of
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the high priest Caiaphas. And while they are conspiring in
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secret, Jesus openly introduces the Exodus 12 typology.
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Let's break down that Exodus 12 typology.
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That is the key to unlocking this entire calendar of events.
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The Jewish people had been observing this ritual for 1500
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years. Yahweh commanded the Israelites
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in Egypt to take an unblemished male lamb.
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They had to keep it until the 14th day of the month of Nissan.
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They. Slaughtered it at twilight, and
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they applied its blood to the two doorposts and the lentil of
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their houses. And that specific application of
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blood shielded those families from divine wrath.
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As the Angel of death passed over the land of Egypt.
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For 15 centuries, an endless river of animal blood flowed.
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Every slain lamb, every solemn Passover meal, year after year,
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century after century. It was pointing directly forward
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to the very week in which Jesus is now standing.
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The text highlights a stark contrast here.
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Between the frantic secret plans of the religious elite and the
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calm public declaration of Jesus.
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The chief priests explicitly state their strategy.
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They want to kill him, but they say not during the feast, lest
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there be an uproar among the people.
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They fear a riot among the millions of pilgrims.
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They are trying to manage crowd control.
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And execute a skelt assassination after the crowds
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go home. Jesus, however, completely
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ignores their timeline. He sets the timer out in the
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open. He tells his disciples, You know
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that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of Man
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will be delivered up to be crucified.
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It's like watching a chess grandmaster.
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I love chess analogies. Right, so the opponent is
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sweating nervously, looking at the clock.
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Frantically trying to execute a secretive, complicated strategy
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to trap the Grandmasters King. And the Grandmaster just looks
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at the board entirely ignores the opponents frantic movements.
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And verbally announces a mate in three.
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The opponent's plans are rendered completely irrelevant.
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Because the Grand Master is dictating the inevitable
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conclusion of the game. And the Grand Master isn't just
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announcing the end of the game. He's dictating the precise real
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world hour. It will happen.
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Jesus makes a massive theological assertion by linking
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his death to this specific festival.
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He is claiming to be the final efficacious substance of the
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shadow. The altar of Hebrews states in
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chapter 10 verse 4, that is impossible for the blood of
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bulls and goats to take away sins.
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Hold on, I have to push back here.
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OK? You're saying this system had to
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end abruptly at this specific Passover?
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Yes, but the Jewish people had been successfully using this
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animal sacrifice system to deal with their sins for 1500 years.
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True. If it ain't broke, why fix it?
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Why did it have to end on this specific Friday?
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Because the animal sacrifices never actually satisfied the
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infinite wrath of a holy guy against human rebellion.
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They were shadows. They were a provisional
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covering, pointing forward to a reality that possessed actual
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saving substance. The blood of an animal cannot
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stand as a true substitute for a human being made in the image of
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God. Which points directly to the
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concept of penal substitutionary tonement.
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Penal meaning penalty. Substitutionary meaning taking
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our place. Correct.
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The system had to end abruptly because the reality had finally
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arrived. Jesus is the Incarnate Son of
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God. His sacrifice is the only one
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possessing infinite value, making it capable of actually
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removing sin rather than just covering it temporarily.
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The shadow gives way to the substance.
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So he hijacks the Passover timeline.
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He does. But the timing is only half the
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shock here. Yeah, because if he's taking the
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place of a Passover lamb, you'd expect him to be sacrificed at
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the temple altar by a priest. But he predicts something
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entirely different. And frankly, a lot more
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gruesome. Which brings us to the paradox
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of the title Son of Man and the grammar of the Divine Passive.
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Jesus identifies himself here with the title Son of Man.
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To a 1st century Jewish audience, this is not a title of
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mere humanity. Oh, not at all.
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It is a title of absolute cosmic authority derived from the
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prophet Daniel. In Daniel Chapter 7, the
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visionary sees one like a son of man approaching the Ancient of
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Days. This figure is given an
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everlasting dominion, glory, and a Kingdom.
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So that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him.
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Yet Jesus takes this glorious, exalted the.
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Ruler of the cosmos. And connects it to a grim,
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terrifying destiny. He says the Son of Man will be
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delivered up to be crucified. The contrast is intentionally
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jarring. The one destined to rule the
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universe announces he will endure the most degrading,
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shameful execution known to the ancient world.
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Furthermore, crucifixion was a Roman method of execution.
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Designed for maximum physical torture and public humiliation.
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It was not a Jewish method, no. If the Jewish leaders executed
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someone for blasphemy, the prescribed method under the Law
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of Moses was stoning. Precisely by specifically
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predicting crucifixion, Jesus proves his absolute omniscience
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regarding the political and judicial mechanisms that will be
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used against him. He knows the Jewish leaders will
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lose their authority to carry out capital punishment.
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Forcing them to hand him over to Pilate.
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Let's examine the Greek verb used in verse 2.
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The verb parody dote. Which translates to is delivered
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out. It's a present passive
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indicative verb. The use of the present tense
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here functions as what grammarians call a prophetic
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present. Yes.
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Why is it so mind blowing to talk about your own murder in
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the present tense? Give us an example of how that
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functions. It functions to convey absolute
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certainty. Jesus is Speaking of a future
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event, His execution, which is still 2 days away.
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But he uses the present tense. Because the event is so certain,
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so fixed in the decree of God, that it is spoken of as already
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happening. It would be like a general
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standing on a hill looking at an enemy army that hasn't attacked
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yet and saying the battle is won.
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The outcome is so guaranteed in his mind that time is almost
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irrelevant. But the passive voice is where
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the theological tension really tightens.
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If he is being delivered up, who is doing the delivering?
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This is what the lotions refer to as a divine passive.
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On a horizontal human level, you have a chain of delivery.
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Judas Iscariot delivers Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
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The Sanhedrin delivers him to Ponti Pontius Pilate.
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Pontius Pilate delivers him to the Roman soldiers to be
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crucified. But on a vertical theological
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level, the passive voice points directly to God.
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God the Father is delivering up His Son.
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The apostle Paul affirms this in Romans 8.32.
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Stating that God did not spare his own son, but gave him up for
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us all. Let's pause.
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This brings us to a massive concept.
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Balancing divine sovereignty with human responsibility.
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How do the sources handle the tension between the meticulous
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decree of God and the wicked actions of the men involved in
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the crucifixion? Because that sounds like a
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paradox. They maintain a strict
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compatibilism. Compatibilism for those who
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might not use that term everyday.
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That's the idea that human free will and God's absolute control
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can coexist without contradicting each other, right?
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Right. How does that actually work in
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this specific scene? It works because human act like
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Judas, Caiaphas, Pilate. They are making real, uncoerced
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choices. They act out of malice,
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unbelief, political survival and greed.
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They aren't robots. Their wills are actively engaged
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in rebellion against God yet. Simultaneously, through those
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exact sinful choices, they are Florida State fulfilling the
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strict preordained decree of God.
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God orchestrates the entire event to secure the salvation of
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His people. But he does so without violating
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the wills of the creatures or becoming the author of sin.
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Think of a complex the theatrical play.
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You've got actors on a stage. Every actor is making choices
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driven by their specific character's distinct
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motivations. One character acts out of
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extreme jealousy. Another out of financial greed.
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Another out of a desperate desire for political power.
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They are fully invested in their choices on the stage.
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But every single action, every step on the stage, Florida State
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follows the script written by the playwright before the
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curtains ever opened. That gets to the heart of it,
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but there's an additional layer here.
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The actors in human history are morally responsible for their
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character's malice. Whereas the divine playwright
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ordained the drama for an entirely holy purpose.
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Which leads to a crucial question for Are you the
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listener? If God ordained the crucifixion
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from eternity past, how do these texts maintain that men like
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Judas and Pilate are still completely guilty of their
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actions? Didn't they just do what God
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wanted? The text assert that guilt is
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determined by the intention of the heart and the transgression
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of God's moral law. Judas betrayed Jesus for 30
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pieces of silver. Pilate condemned an innocent man
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to maintain political stability and appease a mob.
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Their intentions were entirely wicked.
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God's intention in ordaining the cross was entirely holy.
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The redemption of sinners and the public display of His
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justice. Because the human actors acted
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according to their own sinful desires, they bear the full
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weight of moral culpability. Even while their actions fulfill
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the sovereign purpose of God. So we've unpacked the history
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and the grammar. But the historical and
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grammatical facts of Matthew 26.1 to 2 don't just sit in the
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ancient past. No, they aggressively challenge
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modern assumptions about who Jesus is today.
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The texts we are analyzing directly confront several modern
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theological errors using this specific passage.
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Let's walk through them. First up, liberal theology.
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Liberalism attempts to rebrand Jesus as a life coach, a moral
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exemplar, or a social revolutionary.
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In that framework, his teaching career was tragically cut short
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by political enemies who felt threatened by his message of
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love and inclusion. The cross is viewed as an
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unfortunate accident or a tragic martyrdom that inspires us to
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love better. But Matthew 26 completely
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dismantles that view. Jesus schedules his death.
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He dictates the timing. It wasn't a tragic interruption
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of his ministry. The Cross was the entire purpose
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of his incarnation. The texts also address
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charismatic continuationism. Break that term down.
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Continuationism. Continuationism is the belief
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that the extraordinary prophetic gifts of the Holy Spirit, like
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receiving direct new audible revelation from God, continue to
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happen today. And how does Matthew 26 refute
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that? It goes back to that Greek verb
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teleo. The argument presented is that
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Teleo implies a perfect consummation of Christ's
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prophetic revelation. Because Jesus brought his
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prophetic instruction to to its intended goal before moving to
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the cross, the texts argue for a closed sufficient Canon of
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scripture. The assertion is that there is
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no need for novel extra biblical revelations today.
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Because the Prophet has spoken his final authoritative word.
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Furthermore, the sources confront the prosperity gospel
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and seeker sensitive pragmatism. These are movements criticized
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for prioritizing therapeutic comfort.
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They want the Jesus who preaches the Sermon on the Mount.
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The Jesus who offers peace and financial blessing.
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But they push the reality of divine wrath and the necessity
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of a blood stained cross completely to the margins.
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The text insists that Jesus didn't come to provide a
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comfortable life. He came to be the penal
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substitute for sinners. Any theological system that
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attempts to soften the offense of the cross or bypass the
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necessity of the blood atonement is entirely rejected by the
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reality of the Passover lamb offering himself up for
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slaughter. We must also impartially report
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a specific claim the source material makes regarding
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sociological movements. Yes, the text we're looking at
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argues that social justice ideologies like critical race
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theory attempt to make the church relevant through
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sociological equity. And the author claims this
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pushes the penal substitutionary atonement to the margins.
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We are stating this simply to accurately reflect the contents
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of the text provided. Understood the texts.
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Overarching point in all these critiques is that any framework
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prioritizing political, sociological, or therapeutic
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goals over the substitutionary death of Christ fundamentally
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misunderstands his mission. As outlined.
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The texts also provide a theological critique of the
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Catholic Mass based on the Passover typology we discussed
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earlier. They argue that because Jesus is
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the fulfillment of the Passover shadow, his sacrifice demands
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finality. The author of Hebrews states
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that by a single offering he is perfected for all time those who
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are being sanctified. The text argues this once for
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all. Nature of the cross refutes the
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concept of the mass. Which is defined as a continual,
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unbloody representation of Christ's sacrifice on an altar.
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The true Passover lamb was slain once and the work was finished.
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Comparing modern therapeutic views of Jesus to who he really
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is feels like treating a highly specialized emergency room
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surgeon like a lifestyle guru. Imagine a patient bleeding out
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from a fatal wound in the ER. A trauma surgeon walks in
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holding a scalpel. Ready to perform a bloody
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drastic life saving intervention?
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And the patient looks at the surgeon and asks for advice on
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organizing their closet. Or improving their daily self
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esteem. It completely ignores the fatal
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condition of the patient and the drastic intervention required to
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save them. And that gets to the core issue.
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When you minimize the severity of the disease, which is human
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sin, you inevitably minimize the drastic nature of the cure.
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Based on these texts, why is a bloodless version of
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Christianity considered not just incorrect, but physically and
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spiritually dangerous to the listener?
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A bloodless Christianity is dangerous because it leaves the
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listener entirely exposed to the unmitigated wrath of God.
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Humanity is in a state of total depravity, having violated the
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moral law of the Creator. The penalty for that violation
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is eternal justice. If you remove the blood of the
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substitute, if you remove the penal substitutionary atonement,
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you remove the only shield available against that divine
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judgement. A religion of mere moral
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improvement provides false comfort to a patient who is
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spiritually flatlining. So we've cleared away the
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theological errors. Now the discussion pivots to how
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this ancient text was meant to radically alter the mindset of
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its original audience. And by extension, how it alters
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your mindset today. Consider the original target
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audience of Matthew's Gospel. He is writing to 1st century
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Jewish Christians who are facing intense persecution.
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They're being ostracized by Orthodox Judaism.
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Kicked out of the synagogues. And haunted by the Roman Empire.
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And they were grappling with a scandalous reality.
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They worshipped A crucified Messiah.
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To a 1st century Jewish mind, a crucified man wasn't just a
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victim of state violence. He was explicitly cursed by God.
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Deuteronomy 21.23 says a hanged man is cursed by.
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That text created a massive theological stumbling block.
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How could the promised king of Israel, the son of David, die
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under the curse of the law executed by Pagan Gentiles?
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Matthews intended psychological and spiritual effect in
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recording these specific words of Jesus was to produce absolute
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assurance in his readers. He wanted to crush the
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paralyzing fear that the cross was a chaotic victory for Rome
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or failure of God's plan. The logic is impenetrable.
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If Jesus orchestrated his own murder with divine precision,
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down to the exact festival and the exact Roman method of
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execution, then he was never a victim.
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The cross wasn't a failure, It was a sovereignly appointed
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rescue mission. And the application for the
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persecuted believer is direct and immediate.
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If the Lord Jesus Christ is sovereign over the darkest, most
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unjust, violent moment in human history, then He is absolutely
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sovereign over the audience's current persecution.
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He is sovereign over the trials of the 1st century church.
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And he is sovereign over whatever the believer faces
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today. The texts demand highly specific
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practical applications from this reality.
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One of the main applications is the rejection of what the author
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calls functional Arminianism. Let's define that.
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What does it mean to live as a functional Armenian?
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Functional Arminianism is described as a believer living
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as if God has lost control of global, global, or personal
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events. It is looking at political
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chaos, societal collapse or personal tragedies and reacting
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with panic. It's living like a practical
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atheist. Fretting over the machinations
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of wicked men or the randomness of disease.
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The text commands the believer to look at the Savior in Matthew
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26. He stares down the barrel of
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horrific injustice and calmly announces its exact schedule.
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There's also a severe call here to mortify sin out of gratitude
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for the substitute. When you comprehend the
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staggering cost of redemption that the sovereign Son of Man
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allowed himself to be tortured for human treason, it
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obliterates any casual, comfortable relationship with
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sin. The texts also stress an extreme
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urgency presented to the unregenerate individual.
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The person who has not trusted in Christ.
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Judgement is rushing forward. The ultimate day of judgement is
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coming. And on that day, God will not
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ask for a moral resume. He won't review church
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attendance records. Charitable donations.
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Or political affiliations. The only shield against divine
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justice is being sheltered under the blood of the true Passover
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Lamb. The doctrine of divine
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Providence acting in a believers life is like a massive ships
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anchor. In calm weather, when the sun is
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shining and the water is glass, you might not even notice the
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anchor is there. You rely on the engine, the
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steering wheel, your own navigation skills.
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But in a Category 5 hurricane, when the engine fails, the sails
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are shredded and all human plans completely collapse.
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That invisible tether to a solid rock at the bottom of the ocean
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is the only thing keeping the ship from smashing against the
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coastline. The anchor of God's sovereignty
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holds when everything visible is being torn apart.
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How does realizing that Jesus was completely in control of his
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own execution change the way a person should view their own
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sudden, inexplicable personal tragedies?
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It changes everything by injecting purpose into the pain.
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If the cross, the most brutal execution of the most innocent
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man, whoever lived, was governed by the wise saving purpose of
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God. The No affliction in a
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believer's life is meaningless. It doesn't make the tragedy
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painless. The tears are real.
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The grief is heavy. But faith refuses to enthrone
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the chaos it. Forces the believer to trust
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that the same sovereignty that ordained the cross for
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redemption is the same sovereignty governing their
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cancer diagnosis. Their financial ruin.
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Or their sudden loss. God is not a spectator to human
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suffering. He is the sovereign author
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writing a story that ends in resurrection.
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We've covered massive theological ground today.
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The weight condensed into these two short verses in Matthew 26
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is staggering. We've seen Jesus finish his
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prophetic. Words transitioning from the
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prophet who delivers the law to the priest who bears its
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penalty. We saw him announce the precise
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timing of the Passover. Entirely ignoring the frantic
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plots of the Sanhedrin, he. Willingly handed himself over to
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the brutality of the cross. Proving absolute sovereignty
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over human malice and Roman authority.
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Before we conclude, I want to leave you with a final lingering
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thought to Mull over. We've discussed Christ's
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omniscience and his sovereign scheduling of the cross.
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But consider the sheer psychological endurance required
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by that reality. The psychological weight of
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omniscience is difficult for a finite mind to comprehend.
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He lived his entire earthly life, from childhood in
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Nazareth, through his public ministry, through every healing
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and every sermon. With the exact date, the precise
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time, and the agonizing method of his death constantly running
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in his mind. He knew the feeling of the iron
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nails before they were forged in the fire.
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He knew the bitter sting of the betrayal of Judas before Judas
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was even born. Yet, possessing all of that
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terrifying foreknowledge, he never flinched.
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He never altered his path to avoid the pain.
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He walked deliberately into the slaughterhouse.
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What does that level of deliberate, agonizing intention
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reveal about the nature of divine justice and divine love?
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It reveals a love that is completely alien to human self
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preservation. It is a love that looks at the
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full cup of God's wrath and drinks it down to the dregs for
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the sake of His people. Think about that as you go
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through your week. Thank you for joining us on this
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deep dive on reformed thinking.