18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
18 But those things which God foretold [announced beforehand] by the mouth of all His prophets,
Many prophets in the Old Testament spoke of the Messiah’s suffering, yet the Jews of the first century “stumbled” over the Cross (1 Co 1:22-24). They had a problem with the Messiah dying on the Cross even with the many predictions of the Bible that He would indeed suffer. They had a problem with the propositions of Scripture (Lu 24:25-27).
that the Christ [Messiah] would suffer,
Beyond Israel’s ignorance, God foretold or prophesied that the Messiah would be rejected by Israel and suffer. We find Messiah’s sufferings in Isaiah 53; Jeremiah 11:19; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 13:7.
He has thus fulfilled.
Isaiah speaks explicitly of the Messiah’s sacrificial death and that it was in God’s plan (Isa 53:12). The substitutionary death of Christ was God’s will. It did not ultimately come from rulers or anyone else. Luke said in this phrase that God “fulfilled” His promise of suffering Messiah. “Fulfilled” carries the idea of complete fulfillment.
PRINCIPLE:
Men cannot thwart God’s plan of salvation.
APPLICATION:
Although many reject Christ as their Savior, this will not hinder God’s plan. God uses the evil intentions of people to do His work (Ge 50:20; Acts 2:23). The onus of God’s strategy rests on His sovereign work.
