Bible Study Challenge Men
Luke 23
2013-10-13
3 reflections
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Group Reflections & Comments (3)
Matt Johnson 2013-11-05 01:39:30
Hey guys, I'm back on the grid. Though maybe still loopy from pain killers I can get my hand up to the keyboard now.
As I read that Jesus asked God to forgive them for they know not what they do, my first thought was... well they are instrumental in God's plan. I'm kind of grateful for what they are doing. Then I started thinking that maybe it didn't have to be that way... were there choices made that caused the crucifixion? We use the cross as a symbol but it's not the fact that it was done on a cross right? The fact is, Jesus shed blood, he would have done it of his own free will had it not been forced upon Him, right? What would it have looked like? Would He have asked the disciples to do it? I think it could have been painless if the parallel with the previously required animal sacrifice is truly parallel. I wonder if our symbol would have been? Just random thoughts.
Matt Johnson 2013-11-06 00:58:12
Prophecies bring up the old chicken or the egg dilemma. I think... God prophecies what he knew would happen, rather than what he "destined to happen". Don't know though, but certainly our choices to have impact, and God has allowed that throughout history.
Matt Johnson 2013-11-07 01:25:34
I'm with ya Tony, I'm not sure our ideas are as mutually exclusive as you suggest.
Something I hear a lot is "God's will for our lives". The suggestion as I'm sure you know is that God has given us a path of choices that he desires we make. While he is sovereign in that he COULD make those choices for us, he allows us to make our own choices for better or for worse. So back to the original point, a prophesy in the Old Testament could be God stating the events he knows will transpire based on the choices that he is going to allow us to make. That being said, I don't know if that actually is what prophecies are, just saying they could be and God still be sovereign. If the pain killers are messing with my logic let me know. Considering God is outside of time... maybe its a moot point anyway. But for me it raises questions like, was it God's pre-planned desire for Jesus to suffer on the cross... or is that a result of man's choices. Put another way, did God allow for Pilate to make a bad choice in this chapter, or did God control Pilate into making a bad choice. And if it is the prior, and Pilate had made a good choice, would Jesus have saved us in some other fashion than crucifixion at the time it happened.