Wednesday Devotional
Main Text: Matthew 26:1-5
Think about the past week, month, and year. How often did the plans that you make come to pass exactly as you desired? If we are honest with ourselves, we rarely see plans unfold to the exact degree we had predicted in our minds. Sometimes this is simply due to us being poor planners, but oftentimes, our plans occur differently than we predicted because of factors outside our control. Few aspects of our lives demonstrate our limited knowledge and limited control as clearly as when all does not go according to plan. Thanks be to God that this is never the case with His plans!
On Wednesday of Holy Week, Jesus announced to the disciples that His crucifixion would occur in just two days (Matthew 26:1-5). When examining the Gospel records, we find that this was not the first time Jesus predicted His death (Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33; Luke 9:22-27). These details from the New Testament reveal that Christ’s predictions were never merely hypothetical, nor were they ultimately dependent on factors outside of His control (John 10:14-18). On the contrary, Scripture makes clear that Jesus was absolutely sovereign over the circumstances leading to His death (John 18:1-11).
As truly man, Jesus was well aware of the prophecies that foretold the Messiah laying His life down for God’s people (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Luke 2:51-52). As truly God, Jesus knew that His sacrificial death for believing sinners was planned from eternity past (Acts 2:22-24; 4:23-31). There was no possibility for God to save sinners in any other way (Matthew 26:36-43; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46), and there was no possibility for God’s redemptive plan to fail (Isaiah 46:8-10; John 3:14-18).
God the Father sent Jesus into the world to accomplish a specific plan through the power of the Holy Spirit: save sinners from eternal judgment in Hell, and enable them to become citizens of Heaven (Luke 4:14-21; Acts 10:34-43). As we celebrate this wonderful truth throughout Holy Week, may we rejoice that God always accomplishes His plans (Isaiah 14:24-27; 2 Peter 3:3-9). He will never fail us!
Dewey is a licensed and ordained minister in the Southern Baptist Convention. He was raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is happily married to Beall, and is a proud father of Isabelle Ruth. Dewey played college baseball at Western Texas College, receiving the Associate of Arts degree in General Studies. Following his time at Western Texas College, Dewey would continue as a student-athlete at The Master’s University, earning the Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Ministries. Upon completion of his undergraduate work, Dewey went on to acquire the Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies from The Master’s University, as well as the Master of Theology degree in Historical Theology from Campbellsville University. Dewey is currently a doctoral student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with an emphasis in Christian Worldview and Apologetics. Over the last decade, Dewey has served local churches in a variety of ways, focusing on next generation ministries. He has experience teaching children in AWANA, serving as youth pastor, as well as leading college students and young adults. He is also passionate about personal evangelism, and has led groups in gospel outreaches in cities around the country. To strengthen his service to the church, and in conjunction with his seminary studies, Dewey has participated in several academic fellowships and cohorts. He specializes in the disciplines of apologetics, biblical theology, historical theology, and systematic theology. Dewey is also actively involved with Covenant Confessions—a ministry of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. Today, Dewey serves as the Associate Pastor of Next Generation and Outreach at Metro East Baptist Church (Wichita, Kansas).
You can follow Dewey on Twitter @SlaveofChrist17
