Mark 14:21

Mark 14:21

“For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.””

This verse is helpful, though it may seem logically inconsistent. What do I mean by “logically inconsistent?

First, we see that it was already written that the Son of Man was appointed to die. In other words, God had already determined that Jesus would be murdered. He was innocent. We see that in places like Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 53, written long before Jesus was born. On the other hand, those involved in his death will be judged. To convey this personal responsibility, Jesus said, “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

To some, this seems inconsistent or contradictory. How can God judge people for what hundreds of years prior, He had said would happen to Jesus?

My answer is this. God is not looking over the railing of heaven, wondering what will happen each day, kinda hoping for the best. He is involved, accomplishing His will. We always pray for God to do things on earth, even if his actions override someone’s free will. “Father, do whatever it takes to cause Joe to believe.” We never qualify our request by adding, “But don’t override Joe’s free will.”

However, we make real choices every day and will be held accountable for those decisions. Somehow, a sovereign God has the capacity to make those two things (His determinative actions and our “free will”) work together in a way that makes sense to Him.

Father, help me not stumble over things I don’t quite understand. Please help me to be faithful in the areas that I do understand, and by faith to trust you in the areas I don’t understand. Amen.