“Should I wear the blue tie or the brown tie?”

“Yes.”

That wasn’t the answer you expected. Maybe she didn’t hear the question.

“Should we go to the steakhouse or the Mexican restaurant?”

“Yes.”

Maybe she wants to go to both?

Either I should wear the blue tie or the brown tie. I’d look pretty silly wearing both. Either we should go to the steakhouse or the Mexican restaurant. Going to both on the same evening wouldn’t be too good for the waistline. Either/or questions require a choice. Answering “yes” is possible only if a person didn’t hear the question, didn’t understand the question, didn’t want to commit to a decision, or was just trying to be funny. Except when it comes to this question: Does everything have to happen the way it does, or could things happen otherwise? The only proper answer to that question is “yes.”

Yes, everything has to happen the way it does because God is in control of everything. That’s what is referred to as necessity. And, yes, things could happen otherwise depending on decisions people make. That’s what is referred to as contingency. Necessity means things have to happen the way they do. Contingency means things could happen otherwise.

Christ’s death—a necessity

Take, for example, the most important thing that has ever happened in the history of the world, Christ’s death on the cross. Was it God’s will that Jesus died on the cross, or were wicked people responsible for his death? That’s an either/or question, of course, but the correct answer is “yes.” In Gethsemane when the soldiers seized Jesus, Peter reached for his sword, but Jesus told him to put his sword back. This had to happen so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled (Matthew 26:54). Christ’s death was a necessity because it was God’s plan from all eternity to save sinners.

On one occasion the apostles Peter and John were put in jail for preaching the gospel. Upon their release they joined their fellow believers and prayed. Their prayer acknowledged that Herod and Pontius Pilate and others had conspired against Jesus but that they “did what [the Lord’s] power and will had decided beforehand should happen” (Acts 4:28). They confessed that Christ’s death was a necessity. God so controlled events that everything took place just as he had planned.