At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.’

He replied, ‘Go tell that fox, I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day – for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!’

(Luke 13:31-33).

Jesus’ goal upon this earth was centerfold in His mind. The troubles of this world did not sway Him from His mission. To truly understand Jesus’ purpose, let us examine another passage from the Bible:

For you know that is was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

(1 Peter 1:18-20)

Did you notice what the passage said?

Before the creation of the world, Jesus was chosen to be the final sacrifice for sin. (Revelation 13:8). “God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:25-26).

Before time began, and before Satan tempted man, our omniscient God knew we would turn away from Him. Despite this, God deliberately made a way for us to return to Him. The final outcome was for Jesus to pay the price for our sins and to take our place on the cross. Jesus knew before the creation of the world that He would be the final sacrifice for our sins.

God’s overarching plan spanned the entire existence of time, and it has never deviated or stopped. God created us for His glory (Isaiah 43:7; John 13:31-32), and made His glory known to this world through Jesus (John 1:14, John 11:40, John John 13:31-32, John 14:8-9). “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” (Hebrews 1:3).

In fact, we are told in Ephesians 3:10-12 that, “his intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Jesus’ sacrifice has allowed us the way into the presence of the eternal Father, and we are called to share this good news.