When a plan comes together

One of the best shows of the 1980s featured a military unit that was accused of crimes they didn’t commit. After being sentenced, they escaped a maximum-security stockade into the Los Angeles underground. Still wanted, they made their way as soldiers of fortune, and if you needed help, no one else could, and you could find them; you could call… The A-Team. 

The A-Team featured a wonderful cast of characters, including Mr. T as BA Baracus, and while many fools were pitied, perhaps the show’s greatest lasting impact was in the form of the catchphrase of the band’s leader, John “Hannibal” Smith. When the Team had completed an overly complex mission, he’d puff his cigar and say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” 

In this series, we are asking a hard question: can I trust the Bible? The Bible is full of promises, and whether or not we can trust God’s word determines a lot about if we can trust God. Many of the promises or prophecies (promises about what is going to happen in the future) are about Jesus, and Jesus fulfilled A LOT of promises.
From the beginning, after Adam and Eve sinned, God promised to send a redeemer, but it wasn’t like he stopped there. This wasn’t a “you’ll know him when you see him” situation. In fact, the Old Testament has over 300 different prophecies about Jesus, and he fulfilled them ALL. This is overwhelming evidence that God is good on his word. We can trust him and his word because of God’s faithfulness to fulfill what he had promised through Jesus. 

I love Psalm 22, and I think Jesus liked it too. Why do I think that? Well, it was what he was singing on the cross. About three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá[a] sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46) 

That’s weird, right? Why did Jesus choose, out of everything he could have said in this moment, to give us a little remix of an Old Testament song? That requires us to look deeper at Psalm 22, which was written by King David about 1,000 years before Jesus’ birth. 

Psalm 22:6 is interesting in comparison to the life of Jesus. “…scorned by mankind and despised by people”. That sounds a lot like the prophecies of Isaiah 53:3, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him.” It even reminds me of Luke 4, where Jesus was rejected by those within his own hometown… 

Maybe this coincides, but verse 7-8 speaks of people sneering, shaking their heads, and saying, “Let God save you”. This does sound a lot like Matthew 27’s account of the crucifixion, “39 The people who were going by shouted blasphemies at Jesus. They shook their heads at him. 40 “So!” they said. “You were going to destroy the Temple and build it in three days, were you? Save yourself, if you’re God’s son! Come down from the cross!” 41 The chief priests, too, and the scribes and the elders, mocked him.” 

In verse 14, the similarities become undeniable. “I am poured out like water”, the Psalmist writes. Jesus said before his crucifixion in Matthew 16:28, “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” This wasn’t just a claim, though. Jesus was given a flogging from the infamous Roman Cat-of-Nine-Tails. This was a whip not used to lash but that would wrap around its victim. As it wrapped, shards of bone, metal, and glass would embed into their flesh. Then, upon being drawn back, the skin, tissue, and muscle would be ripped away, causing the blood and even intestines to be poured out onto the ground below. 

22:14 continues, “My bones are disjointed”. Jesus was nailed to the cross as it lay horizontally before the 9-10ft cross was hoisted and violently dropped into a 2-3ft hole, which would dislodge the shoulders from their sockets. 

David writes, “My heart is like wax, melting within me.” John tells us that after Jesus’ death, his side was pierced with a spear, and blood and water flowed from it. After the flogging, Jesus went into what is called hypovolemic shock, which is your body’s response to running out of blood. His kidneys would have begun to shut down, and fluid would build in the membrane around the heart (known as pericardial effusion). After Jesus died, his heart would have given out while trying to pump blood that his body lacked before it would eventually rupture, you could say melt, within him. 

The Psalmist writes, “My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death.” (Psalm 22:15) From the cross, Jesus said, “I thirst”. 

Surrounded by scoffers, gawkers, accusers, and his tortures, Jesus drew our attention to Psalm 22, in which verse 16 says, “For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me...” It continues, “they pierce my hands and my feet,” and while David may have thought this to be mere metaphor, the literal historical fact is that Jesus was pierced through his hands and feet. 

In verse 18 of Psalm 22, David writes, “They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.” What an interesting thing to write when 1000 years later, as Jesus hung on the cross, we know from Mark 15:24, “Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get.” 

This isn’t a coincidence. This is prophecy fulfilled in a mind-blowing way. David wrote this in 1010-970 BC, not only was this 1000 or so years before Jesus lived, but crucifixion wasn’t even invited until 400-300 BC (600 years after). This is just one section of prophecy. 

This chart is a visual representation of all of the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus and where they are fulfilled in the New Testament.

We can count on God’s word because God has fulfilled his promises, but what do we do about the promises that haven’t been fulfilled yet? Well, God hasn’t stopped fulfilling his promises with Jesus. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.”

God is still a promise keeper. So what do we do while we wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises? We P.L.A.N. P-prepare our hearts for the fulfillment of God’s promises. L-look, have our eyes peeled to see how God is showing his faithfulness. A-activate, get involved in the work of God today. N-now go, into the world armed and ready to share the good news of Jesus, proclaiming the faithfulness of our God.