It Was Necessary

Luke 24:45-47, “And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise[a] from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

There are many things in life that we want to avoid.

• Difficulties
• Pain
• Loss
• Suffering

The truth of the matter is—if we could, we would opt out of those situations. If the whole story was told you would not be who you are—had you not gone through what you have gone through or had you not experienced what you have experienced. It had to happen to you. It was necessary. It wasn’t fun; however, there are some things in our lives that are necessary. You can’t opt out of it. It’s woven into the fabric of who you are going to become. If we take that away—you would not be you. You would not speak with the compassion that you speak with now. You would not love as deeply as you love now. You would not have the wisdom to know—don’t do that.

The setting is post-resurrection. Jesus was talking to two men and He was explaining what the scripture said concerning Himself. They wanted to spend more time with Him even though they did not know who He was. He spent more time with them and eventually He revealed Himself. He took bread, broke it, blessed it, and ate it. He was known by them then vanished out of their site. They were so excited and went and told the other 11. While they were speaking Jesus showed up in their midst.

Verse 44, Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”It was necessary for Christ to suffer and rise from the dead.

He said, “the scripture speaks of Me.” Moses foretold that Jesus would be a prophet.

Deutoronmy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.”

What happened to Jesus wasn’t just an afterthought—it was a forethought. Isaiah—who was an old testament prophet, spoke of Jesus’ suffering. His suffering was foretold by the prophets.

Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.”

The Psalmist spoke of His resurrection.

Psalm 16:10, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”

The scriptures were speaking of Jesus. The issue was they did not understand when they read the scripture. Verse 45, tells that He opened their minds to understanding. This Book will not make sense to you separate and apart from God. The Holy Spirit has to show you what’s in the text. The scripture must be fulfilled. Before you were born God had to write a script on you. He’s already written your exit—how you are going to come out of this. When Jesus died on the cross—it was already written that He was going to rise on the third day. The devil thought he had Him. It’s written in the script.

God is so committed to His word that everything He spoke—He’s watching over it to make sure every detail comes to pass. Everything He’s spoken about you is going to come to pass—just as He said. Scripture must be fulfilled.

It was necessary for Christ to die and rise from the dead because sin must be forgiven. God loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to have life apart from Him. There’s no flaw that you can find in God. He’s holy but we’re not so God had to make provision for sin. He sent His Son to die so justice can be paid and sin could be paid. Sin is forgiven for those who repent. Repentance means to change one’s way of life as a result of a complete change of thought. The change of mind and going in a different direction is a clear picture of repentance. Repentance is available for everybody. Sin must be forgiven if we are going to walk with God.

It was necessary for Christ to suffer and be raised on the third day because future saints must be found (verse 47). People need to know that God loves them.

“A short prayer is, “Jesus.”” —Pastor Bill Johnson

The message must be preached to every nation. Because God loves us—He wants us to participate in a search and rescue mission. God has some missing family members and His heart is going “where are they.”  What causes God to do this—Love. Join God in this rescue mission.

“There are somethings in your life that are necessary”—Pastor Bill Johnson