Meanwhile

Enjoy this message from Pastor Tyler Schoenberger called "Meanwhile" on Good Friday, April 3, 2026 at Reach Church in Bear, Delaware!

Good Friday represents one of history's most profound moments, revealing the heart of God the Father through the lens of sacrifice and sovereignty. The story begins with an Old Testament parallel - Jacob sending his beloved son Joseph to his brothers who despised him, resulting in Joseph's betrayal and sale into slavery. This mirrors another Father and Son story, but with a crucial difference.

While Jacob unknowingly sent Joseph into danger, God the Father deliberately sent Jesus to earth knowing exactly what would happen. Scripture confirms this wasn't an accident but God's definite plan from the beginning. Isaiah prophesied it was the Lord's good plan to crush His Son, and Acts declares Jesus was delivered up according to God's definite plan and foreknowledge. Even in Genesis 3, immediately after humanity's fall, God promised that the woman's offspring would bruise Satan's head.

This divine sovereignty can seem both terrifying and beautiful. It's frightening to realize that nothing happens randomly - God allows and uses even betrayal, suffering, and death to accomplish His purposes. Yet it's beautiful because this same sovereign God did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all. Like Aslan in C.S. Lewis's Narnia, God isn't safe in terms of being manageable or predictable, but He is good. When we face our own meanwhile moments - times when everything seems lost - we can remember that Good Friday itself was the ultimate meanwhile moment, where apparent defeat was actually God's greatest victory over sin and death.