"Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, 11inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated, when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory.?"
I was asked the other day after the sermon using this text if I affirm this statement as true. Specifically, do I believe that the Spirit of God "testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory." That is do I think the death and Resurrection of Christ was predestined before birth or even time.
I hear this often. The life of Christ was set in advance by God and there was nothing Jesus could do to avoid this path. It was preordained by God. And if it was predestined, then this would give further 'evidence' that Jesus if God and died in substitution for our Sin.
I believe this is one way to interpret this text but I think I come out a bit differently. And it begins with the question, what is the way of Jesus?
Early Christians were not called Christians but they were called followers of the Way. These early followers were just that, followers of the Way of Jesus. So what is the Way of Jesus? There are many ways to understand this Way but it seems to be the way of self sacrifice, the way of love, the way of grace, the way of speaking truth to authority.
This Way of Jesus is a way that has been tracked by many other people over the course of time. MLK, Gandhi, Mother Teressa to name a few. One does not need divine foresight to see that the Way of Jesus is the way to suffering, self humiliation, sacrifice, even death.
So I say, yes, I agree the Way of Jesus was foreseen just like I can look at a smoker and say before they know it, "if you keep living this way you will end up with health complications." This does not make me divine, because I know the way of smoking leads to declined health. I also know where the way of Jesus leads.
The question is, do I really want to choose to walk down that road and follow the Way?
Most of the time I .......
I was asked the other day after the sermon using this text if I affirm this statement as true. Specifically, do I believe that the Spirit of God "testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory." That is do I think the death and Resurrection of Christ was predestined before birth or even time.
I hear this often. The life of Christ was set in advance by God and there was nothing Jesus could do to avoid this path. It was preordained by God. And if it was predestined, then this would give further 'evidence' that Jesus if God and died in substitution for our Sin.
I believe this is one way to interpret this text but I think I come out a bit differently. And it begins with the question, what is the way of Jesus?
Early Christians were not called Christians but they were called followers of the Way. These early followers were just that, followers of the Way of Jesus. So what is the Way of Jesus? There are many ways to understand this Way but it seems to be the way of self sacrifice, the way of love, the way of grace, the way of speaking truth to authority.
This Way of Jesus is a way that has been tracked by many other people over the course of time. MLK, Gandhi, Mother Teressa to name a few. One does not need divine foresight to see that the Way of Jesus is the way to suffering, self humiliation, sacrifice, even death.
So I say, yes, I agree the Way of Jesus was foreseen just like I can look at a smoker and say before they know it, "if you keep living this way you will end up with health complications." This does not make me divine, because I know the way of smoking leads to declined health. I also know where the way of Jesus leads.
The question is, do I really want to choose to walk down that road and follow the Way?
Most of the time I .......