Magnanimous Planner & A Magnificent Plan

Of course, we know that the ransom demands came as no surprise to God.  John writes in Revelation 13:8 that the Lamb (Jesus Christ) was slain from the foundation (establishment) of the world.

Standing here in 2018, we know that Jesus redeemed us, but I suspect the enemy would have seen no value in human beings  apart from what they could do in furthering his agenda.  They are, in his estimation, nothing more than the disposable vessels that carry the treasure he's obsessed with obtaining.

When I imagine Satan demanding the blood of a sinless man it becomes immediately apparent that humanity isn't what the enemy is most interested in.  Humans are so easily duped having proven themselves - throughout history - to be weak, powerless, and therefore worthless. Besides, if  God could actually deliver a sinless human being, there was a world full of these propagating expendables  just waiting to be deceived and incarcerated. Think about it, even if it was about liberating the enslaved and imprisoned, it wouldn't take but a generation to fill the emptied coffers.

Which begs the question; what if Satan thought he was negotiating the terms of redeeming the planet and not its inhabitants?  I can easily imagine Satan thinking God would be wanting to regain control of Planet Earth. Real Estate, that's a prize worth fighting for.  We see this throughout history - wars fought over dirt.  Also, this idea isn't too far fetched when we look at what he used in tempting Jesus: food to eat, power to wield  and kingdoms to rule.  Doesn't appear that the redemption of human souls made his list of temptations worth offering.

When it was declared that nothing less than the blood of a sinless man would satisfy a criminal's demand, God already had the plan and set about implementing it.   I don't think humanity's accuser had any idea what game he was playing.  Pride does that.  It's so focused on overestimating self, that others are automatically underestimated.

Psalm 24 is a great read and it starts off by establishing that the earth and what fills it belongs to the Lord. The word 'earth' as used by David was as encompassing as our usage of it today; as big as the planet or as small as a speck of dirt... Dirt! When God decided to create a race of humans specifically for the  purpose of tilling the ground (Genesis 2:5) whose life-force was the breath of God Himself (Genesis 2:7) what did He use?  Dirt. Thus insuring from before the very outset that humans could be counted among the Lord's sole possessions.  Colossians 1:26-27

Like the song says,  Your love is extravagant! 

He has no intention of leaving his children at the mercy of a cruel, merciless, captor. He has a plan so magnificent and magnanimous that 2000 years later we are still trying to grasp the magnitude of it.

Stay tuned... the Cross Changed Everything!