Was God caught off guard when Israel crucified the Messiah?
No. Israel's crucifixion of the Messiah did not catch God off guard, because it occurred according to His eternal purpose and predetermining counsel. Ephesians teaches that God works all things after the counsel of His own will, and Acts 2 confirms these events happened according to God's predetermined plan.
Les explains that the answer is emphatically no: God was not caught off base when Israel crucified the Messiah, for it was all in the eternal purposes. He connects this to Ephesians, where Paul writes to Gentiles that they obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will. Les points to Ephesians 3:11 as making this even more emphatic, then turns to II Timothy 1:8-9, where God hath saved us and called us. He also repeatedly uses Acts 2 to show that all these things happened according to the predetermining counsel of God.
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: