Twist endings are so mind-blowing because they make you realize how truly difficult it is to see the big picture when you are completely enveloped in the middle of it. The final twist is usually foreshadowed in the story in several different places and yet we are almost always surprised in the end. Nothing makes sense, nothing adds up until all of the sudden – BOOM! The simplest sentence pulls it all together and every little hint you came across suddenly adds up.
The twist always happens at the darkest moment in the story. You and your character have just figured out who the villain is seconds before your character is trapped by the villain himself. And even though everything finally makes sense you wonder if it was all for nothing. But then your character outsmarts the villain and takes him down once and for all. And the story is almost always amazing. It takes such planning and creativity. The authors that do this are almost always regarded as my favorites and get some of my highest praises. It’s my favorite story formula.
This story formula is one of the biggest reasons I believe in Christ. The story of Christ is so moving in so many ways. It is a story of humility and grace. And it has the biggest plot twist any of us have ever seen.
From creation to the crucifixion, the foreshadowing is immense. Clues are dropped everywhere, prophecies are spoken, Christ himself blatantly tells his disciples of what is to come – yet we were all too deep into the story to see the big picture. And then comes one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible:
“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”
- Matthew 27:51
And then it all makes sense. Every clue that was laid out adds up. Every prophecy was fulfilled. The curtain of sin that separated God and man eternally has been physically ripped into two. The plan that was set in place long before we were breathed into existence has finally come to pass. The earthquakes and the rocks split and we all look at Jesus hanging lifeless on the cross and we cry in horror “Truly this was the Son of God!” and we think it was all for nothing.
“When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
- Matthew 27:54
But then He rises. In the biggest, most impossible plot twist ever, Jesus reunites us with God and defies death. And we are all left in awe of the brilliance of the most marvelous storyteller of all – and it’s so exciting!
So friends, as we look to Easter, let us rejoice in the brilliance and the glory of the ultimate plot twist, given to us by the greatest storyteller of all. He saved us with such planning and creativity. He deserves our highest praises.
“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.”
- Matthew 28:6