Death Row by Divine Design: Why Jesus Had to Die

With a Subtitle: His death was no miscarriage of justice — it was the determined purpose of God.

A brief Excerpt: Death row inmates wait over a decade to die; Jesus' walk to Calvary took minutes. Yet His was no accident of corrupt courts. Every lawless hand served the predetermined purpose of God for our redemption.

The Author is: Rich Holt

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Acts 2:23, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.”

Background

An inmate on death row spends on average somewhere between thirteen to fifteen years awaiting their execution. Amazingly, nearly one quarter of those sentenced to death actually die in prison of some other cause before the government is able to take their lives. Nothing could have been further from the reality that Jesus went through than a wait of a decade or more before His final breath. Jesus’ time on death row could be described as the minutes it took for Him to walk the painful path that took Him from the presence of Pilate to the hill of Golgotha. But after the beatings, scourging, and abuse that He endured, the steps that He took to Calvary do not fail in comparison to a decade or more spent alone in a prison cell. For those condemned by our courts to die for their crimes, a process of appeals and such exists to ensure as much as possible that the right person is being punished. Regardless of how many “lawless hands” may have been involved in the procedures, the legal system is intent on avoiding punishing an innocent person. Jesus, however, did not benefit from such a design. Everything possible that could be suspect about His treatment seemed to happen. And thank God it did. Imagine if there had been reasonable factions influencing the judgments placed on Jesus. How different could things have gone if Satan knew that the worst thing for humanity would have been for Jesus not to die for its redemption?

Application

But die He did, and it was all predetermined and purposed by God and His Son. He came to die, and although that meant ultimate victory, it didn’t make it easy. Had those who loved Him fully understood, perhaps their reactions would have been different, too, trusting and believing that a resurrection was only a weekend away. We are blessed to live with the empty cross in our rearview mirror. And though it’s behind us, we should do a better job of keeping it before us. It means everything, defines everything, and says everything that God wants you to hear.

Charge

As we seek Him today, let an empty cross spur you to a day full of Jesus.