Scripture Fulfilled
Did Jesus intend to fulfill Scripture, or did it just work out that way?
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." - Matt. 4:12-17
The way Matthew tells it, Jesus was intentional in his decision to leave Nazareth, and that makes sense.
John was arrested, so it is possible they would want to arrest those who were followers of John as well.
It makes sense to take refuge among the Gentiles. Who would look for him there?
So, scripture can be fulfilled because it was the only obvious choice.
Maybe that's the way God works in our lives as well, providing one clear choice for us to follow when everything seems to go wrong.
That is not to say the decisions aren't our own. They are, but in looking back, after having made our decisions, there is a spark of clarity that wasn't necessarily there before.
Suddenly, in hindsight, the choice we made was right, and that is only partly due to the way things turned out.
I am often of two minds when it comes to the idea that God has a plan for all of us, because it seems to defy our free will, which is also a gift of God.
From Adam and Eve on down, personal choice has been the theme of human existence, and it has gotten many characters in The Bible in trouble.
From an early age, we naturally challenge authority, like when we learn the word, "No" and use it against our parents.
We are determined to make our own mistakes, and that is what learning is all about.
Until we screw up and realize it, we don't learn.
So, maybe there is some common ground between God's will and ours. And, like Jesus, we can find ourselves fulfilling Scripture even when we make our own decisions.
More to come...