Luke 24:7    “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”

   

These were the words spoken by two angels to the women at Jesus' tomb after he was raised from the dead. They were simply reminding the women of what Jesus has said. Jesus had known clearly what was to happen. The Cross was no accident. No, quite to the contrary, it was at the heart of God's plan to redeem mankind. Jesus had known this was to happen, it had happened, and now the angels tell them, this was that which was spoken about.

 

Looking back on it, especially when we have been Christians a long time, it is so easy to become casual about these things. The plan of God involved His Son taking human form and in human form suffering one of the most agonising deaths every devised by man. Only in this way could he pay the punishment for our sin, but it was a ghastly thing to have to go through. The plan of God is not always easy.

 

Do you have difficult things you have to do in the days ahead of you, things that need to be done for you to remain righteous? Remember how the writer to the Hebrews described Jesus: “Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2). The end will be worth it!