Christopher Fisher on Acts 4:27-28

Commenting on Acts 4:27-28, a common “proof-text” for Reformed theology, Christopher Fisher wrote:

Act 4:27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
Act 4:28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

What was “determined before to be done”? Did it require Pilate, Herod, the Gentiles (Romans), or the Jews? If one of those actors were missing, would God’s determined plans have failed? The text does not assume that the plan operated any differently than God’s plan to use the Assyrians. No fatalism necessary. We learn from Jesus that the crucifixion did not have to happen! That God used people to enact His plan is testimony to His power, not fatalism.

This is just another case of God using the motivations of people to make His plans come true.

If Pilate or Herod had repented, Ezekiel 18 states very clearly that God would repent of judgment against them:

Eze 18:21 “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
Eze 18:22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.

If the Jews or the Gentiles repented, Jeremiah 18 makes it clear that God likewise would not do what He thought He was going to do to them. The message is very consistent throughout the Bible: people do not have to be evil. If they repent, then God repents. (APOLOGETICS THURSDAY – VERSES ON GOD ORDAINING FREE ACTS)

In his the crucifixion was not a fixed event, referenced above, we read the following:

Jesus, himself, believed the crucifixion was not a fixed event. Here is Jesus praying:

Mat 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

And later:

Mat 26:42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

Jesus did not want to die on the cross and petitioned God to change God’s plan. Jesus sought to find out if God was “willing” to change His plan. Jesus, in this text, both appears to not know exactly God’s overarching plan or if his own request would be granted.

Jesus was under the clear impression that there was a possibility that God would choose a different plan. Jesus was not stuck in a fixed event mindset. Jesus did not believe the crucifixion was predestined in the Calvinist sense of the word. This is even after Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection (Joh 2:19). It seems that Jesus wanted his own prophecy to fail.

We also learn from this that Jesus even believed that God would allow God’s own will to be superseded by Jesus’. This would not be unlike the several times that God chose Moses’ mercy over God’s own plans to destroy Israel. Sometimes although God has other plans, He will adopt the plans of those He loves. Jesus was ensuring that God did not do that in this particular case. God should only change His plans if that is what God wills. That is why he adds: “not as I will, but as You will.”

Jesus earlier stated specifically that he has the free will to chose death:

Joh 10:17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
Joh 10:18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

Elsewhere, Jesus again shows that the event was not fixed:

Mat 26:52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
Mat 26:53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?
Mat 26:54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”

In Matthew, Jesus is quick to point out that God has the power to deliver Jesus from crucifixion and alter the scriptural fulfillment. Jesus knew that all he had to do was ask for the slightest help and God would change His plans, save Jesus, and Jesus could live. Jesus, when making this statement to his disciples, is pointing out that he is willingly allowing the Roman authorities to capture him. The Roman authorities can only do so, because God did not stop them. Jesus emphasizes this point straight to the faces of the Romans:

Joh 19:10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
Joh 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Jesus, here, is stressing a few points. The Romans only have captured Jesus because God allowed them to do so (this is the same concept as when Jesus stated that he could call on twelve legions of angels). And, the deliverers have the greater sin. Jesus is pointing out culpability. The deliverers could have chosen to not deliver Jesus. The Romans were not particularly knowledgeable or intent on capturing Jesus themselves. The Sadducees orchestrated Roman involvement and Jesus’ arrest. The Sadducees then have the greater guilt. The Romans have the lesser guilt. God forced no person’s actions, they could have done otherwise, and everyone will be judged based on their level of involvement.

So, God allowed Jesus to be captured, tortured, and crucified. God could have saved Jesus, but did not. Does that make God evil? The answer is simple: Jesus chose his suicide mission voluntarily. If a military general asks for volunteers to lead an assault, the general may know they will all die. The general has a purpose (maybe taking a town) and may even have the power to spare those troops (pretend he can just level the city with a nuke). But sometimes there are objectives that would be lost with more forcible avenues (such as nuking a prized factory or bridge). The general can allow the troops to volunteer for the suicide mission (even having the power to stop it), but that does not make the general culpable for the deaths. The enemy is culpable. They are the ones with guns, choosing to fire, and not choosing to surrender. The general has even less culpability if those who chose the suicide mission could ask the general at any time to cancel the mission.

God was not going to force the crucifixion at all costs. We see that from Jesus. Instead, God had a plan. Plenty of evil people willingly played into God’s plan. And Jesus, on his own volition, chose to partake in this plan. The plan could have been modified or canceled by Jesus as any time. And God forced no human to take part. They were all to be judged based on their own levels of involvement.

For a thorough treatment of Psa 139:16, another common “proof-text,” see Fisher’s articles:

understanding psalms 139 and

king david – the open theist poet