Jesus Under Man's Will

By Dr. Ronnie W. Wolfe

As I was reading the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of our Lord, Jesus Christ, today, I realized a thing that I had known for some time but had never stopped to give it serious consideration until today. While reading Luke Chapter 23, I came upon verse 25, which states at the end of the verse . . .but he delivered Jesus to their will.

The necessity of this acquiescence is divine, for the prophet, Isaiah, defends this with his words through the Holy Spirit of God when he resounds "He is despised and rejected of men," "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities," "He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation?" ". . . he made his grave with the wicked," ". . . and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

It was for my sins that he put himself under the power of men and that he succumbed to their will. It was God who gave him over to this homicidal crowd, not Pilate. It was God who, in keeping with his eternal plan and purpose, in order that not one jot nor title of the law would be unfulfilled, that he gave his Son over to the will of these religious bigots and judicial monsters. God allowed the political aspirations of Pilate and the arrogant pronouncements of Herod to play into this phenomenon.

Men have long desired to be in the place of God, have wanted to rid the human race of God's authority, and have even wanted to lord it over God and be his boss so that God himself would of necessity surrender to man's wicked and transient will.

But we shall not waver our faith in God, for all of the time that God delivered Jesus to their will, his will was at all times sovereign to theirs. He knew what they would do. He knew their thoughts and intentions. He let them "play the field" and allowed them to believe they were completely in charge, that Jesus was completely under their care, but no man should ever be fooled with that plan; because God is always sovereign.

God's sovereignty does not slip nor sleep. Notice what seems to be an oxymoron in Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:  All the time these men thought they were handling Jesus to their own intents, they did not realize that they were carrying out the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.

God cannot and will not be fooled, and he will share his glory with no one. We cannot close without quoting this very famous verse in Daniel 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? What a great God we have, who never changes, never lies, and never gives in to the will of man except to fulfill his own will and purpose! Even when it seems that God's will is in the hands of man, he does not relinquish one iota of his will but continues with steady faithfulness to execute his plan perfectly.