"then all the disciples forsook Him and fled"
Matthew 26:56
I mentioned a few days ago that I have a friend whose daughter has gone a little astray. We talked several times last week, on the phone and in print, and more than one of those times, she had to share some new development. In other words, a new discovery about another way her daughter had been making bad decisions.
And also last week, I was doing some Bible research for something I've been writing, and I found myself bothered in a new way, about everything that happened to Jesus in the last hours of His life. I know that He had to die for us. I know it was His sacrifice on the cross that paid for our sins.
But what about all the rest? What about the scourging, the beating, and the slapping? What about the mocking and the spitting, the crown of thorns and the purple robe? What about having His beard plucked and His face so beaten He was almost unrecognizable? (Isaiah 50:6 and 52:14)
Was all of this necessary? Why did God allow so much to happen, when only His death was needed for the propitiation of our sins?
As things got more and more complicated in her life, my friend asked me last week, "Why is God letting all of this happen?" She has a strong faith, and a huge trust in God, but sometimes that makes it harder. When we're confident that God can do something, it can make it harder to understand why He doesn't.
But I think the explanation lies in how we look at things. For reasons I don't understand, everything that happened to Jesus over those painful hours, was all a part of the same thing. It was all a part of His obedience, the punishment. I asked my friend to try to to see all these things in her daughter's life not as separate things, but as all part of one thing ~ His working in her life. Otherwise, it's too easy to feel overwhelmed by the waves when they just don't seem to stop coming.
I am finding this approach helpful for me as I look at my life. When I pray, and God says no, it's hard, but I trust Him. But when he says no repeatedly, then I need to remember that it's like if one of my kids were to ask me for a soda for breakfast. And then a cupcake. And then ice cream. And then candy. I'd say no every time, but I wouldn't think of it as separate things, I'd think of it as all part of one thing: the fact that I care for them too much to let them not take care of their bodies.
My friend shouldn't be surprised that her daughter is walking through tough times. Difficulties are promised for all of us. But on the other hand, I don't think that expecting something makes it any easier. Did Judas' betrayal, Peter's denial, and the disciples' fearful fleeing from His arrest hurt Him any less, just because He knew it was coming? I doubt it. Every aspect of His sacrifice hurt Him, just as it would have hurt us.
God has a plan for each of our lives ~ for our growth and His glory. Every minute of every day is a piece of the same puzzle, a picture that will someday be clear to us.
~ "He made Himself of no reputation...
coming in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself and became obedient
to the point of death,
even the death of the cross" ~
Philippians 2:7-8
~
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