BEHOOVED

Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. 49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. 50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

The word "behooved" means "deemed necessary." What happened with Jesus was deemed necessary for the expressed purpose of God to be carried out on behalf of mankind's redemption. Following are the things that had to occur:

1) Jesus had to die, be buried and rise again from the dead on the third day. This is the gospel in a nutshell as set forth in I Corinthians 15:1-4.

2) That gospel must be preached to the world. It behooves us, that is, it is still necessary that we preach repentance and remission of sins to the ends of the earth.

3) It is necessary that the Holy Ghost come upon us to enable us to accomplish this evangelization.

These are the necessary things, all else is either consequent. Jesus' final directive to His church before His ascension is our manifesto, our charge, our purpose statement. Everything we do must complement that which behooved the Lord of glory.