Life Spark: (John 12:12-19) – Don’t be confused by setbacks. Life wins.
The 2015 Super Bowl was an amazing game. Did you watch it? Like many other west-coasters I was rooting for Seattle. Late in the fourth quarter, it looked like Seattle’s ‘top-team-two-years-in-a-row’ dream was dead. Then they scored two touchdowns in less than a minute, and after one of the most amazing catches in football history, they sat at the two yard line, ready to score the winning touchdown. I’m sure the Seahawk players were preparing a Gatorade shower for coach Carroll at that point.
That is how it was for Jesus and His team of twelve as He fulfilled prophesy and rode a donkey through a cheering throng in Jerusalem. He had recently raised Lazarus from the dead. His support had reached a tipping point. First and goal. Judas thought Jesus should run the ball up the middle. But much to Judas’s dismay, Jesus passed and New England intercepted. Forget the Gatorade. Forget the new government. Forget winning.
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. (John 12:16, NIV)
What was done to Jesus in the next few days fulfilled scriptural prophesies in great detail. All twelve disciples must have missed the prophetic message in Isaiah 53. “He was oppressed and treated harshly … his life was cut short in midstream. He had done no wrong … But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.” (Isaiah 53:7-9, NLT)
It looked like death won. (Sorry for the analogy, New England fans.) Truth is, the game was rigged. Indeed, after the Lord’s resurrection the disciples realized the interception was part of God’s plan. He let Satan think he had won, and He let the disciples think they had lost. Here the football analogy breaks down. A replay of the 2015 Super Bowl will not change who won. But Christ’s resurrection changes everything.
God’s amazing plan is summed up in the song Crown Him with Many Crowns: “Who came eternal life to bring and lives that death may die. His death killedd my death. Christ-followers know by hindsight that the resurrection is more than hope, its history. Life won.
Life-challenge: Can you think of one negative situation you are dealing with that looks like death is winning? Remember, Easter says “Life wins!”