Matt 26:51-54

“But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled,
that it must be so?”

“It must be so.” It’s got to be this way and no other way. This is the “divine must” that started in the Garden of Eden when God’s plan of salvation got its first hint: “He (the Seed of the woman) will crush your head (serpent/devil), and you will bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15).

The “divine must” received greater detail in other Scriptures. The Servant in Isaiah would be a Suffering Servant. He would be “wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities” (Is 53:5). His hands and feet would be pierced (Ps 22:1).

Following His resurrection Jesus would tell His disciples: “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Even though Jesus repeatedly informed His disciples of His impending arrest, suffering, death, and resurrection, the message didn’t get through. It was Peter, in John 18:10, who thought he had a better approach than God’s “divine must.” And it was Peter who objected to the prediction of Jesus’ death and received His sharp rebuke in Matthew 16:23, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

No. Jesus must go to the cross. He must take on our sins. He must suffer and die in our place. And, thankfully, He must rise again. Without the “divine must” we would still be in our sins. With it, we are gloriously saved eternally.

Thank you, Jesus. You knew what You must do for us – and you did it. Because of Your “must,” we want to live for you.

Contributed by Paul Peckman