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world.” That’s the goal; to be the Savior of the world. That’s the
end; that’s the destiny.

But what about His journey? We say in Micah 5:2, that it’s
Bethlehem, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrata, too little to be
among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be
ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of
eternity.” He went to Bethlehem but that wasn’t His goal. That’s
part of the journey. He was nine months in Mary’s womb but he
didn’t stay there. He went to Bethlehem but he didn’t stay there.
You might say his goal was Nazareth. That was his boyhood town.
He didn’t stay there very long. Remember how they tried to throw
Him over the cliff?

The Father sent the Son into the wilderness to be tempted. That was
only forty days. That’s part of the journey but it’s not the goal. Luke
4:14&15, “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit;
and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.
And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.”
You might say that His goal was Galilee. That’s where He did His
teaching and where He let the Father do His miracles. That wasn’t
His destination. That was three and a half years. Well, you might
say that His destination was the cross. He came to save the world.
Listen to Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to
save that which was lost.”

When we talk about His goal, I don’t want to take the cross, His
death, His resurrection and just say, “That’s part of the journey.” In
Gethsemane He sweat drops of blood. There I think He became sin
for us. On the cross He shed His life’s blood. He took what we
deserved. He crushed eternity into three hours. And when He rose
again from the dead, that was part of His journey. “The wages of
sin is death.” If one sin was not forgiven He would still be dead.

I don’t want to play with this but I want you to understand God’s
plan. On the journey, He had to go to Gethsemane but He was only
there for a few hours. He had to go to the cross but He was only