“Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” (Psalm 76:10)
We have a hard time swallowing the fact that God would use the evil actions of men to perfect us. But Jesus was perfected through the things He suffered at the hands of evil men. Does this mean that God ordains that evil should triumph over good? No. “… The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?” (Job 20:5) The curses of a Shimei last a minute. The pains of the cross are temporary. Weeping endures for a night. Our “light affliction” is “but for a moment,” yet it works for us a “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
Jesus has not only been restored to the glory He had with the Father before the world was; He has obtained an even greater glory through His suffering unto death. Such glory could not have been His without the wicked plotting of the chief priests and elders, the ignorant decisions and concessions of Pilate, and the gross and callous brutality of his soldiers. When God says He works all things together for good in the lives of those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose, He means ALL things.
God’s ultimate purpose for us in Christ is our glorification. Jesus first suffered and then entered into His glory. We are called to follow this pattern. Don’t limit the Holy One of Israel. God uses the most unsavory instruments to do His greatest work in us.