Somewhere in the vastness of eternity, the plan of man's redemption was scripted. Before the earth's foundation was laid, the Son submitted to what would be his Father's greatest act of mercy: he would become the sacrificial substitute for all sin. He would offer himself in the stead of the fallen, identifying with them by becoming one with them. The earthly mother who would bring him forth would provide Him with the human DNA that would connect him to the human species. The Spirit would fertilize the ovum; his blood would be divine. He would be part man and part God-immortality wrapped in human flesh. Vital to the plan would be a human father who could be for him the model of a righteous Jewish man who was raised to know and love the Scriptures, who kept the law. He must be a man who lived to serve God and who believed in him implicitly-a man of prayer. He would grasp the purpose of all that was before-the mystery of redemption hidden within the scrolls of Scripture, the law, the Torah, the prophets, and the covenants made with the Jewish people. He would look forward to a coming Messiah and understand the reason he must come. That man would become the papa of the one coming to fulfill all of what was before. He would be one simple man disciplined in godly obedience, willing to sacrifice himself for the purpose of revealing the heart of the Eternal Father to the Son to prepare him for his mission. His mission would lead to calvary. It would be Joseph of Nazareth's job to prepare the Son.