John 16:32 KJV
Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
Here is my thought today; "I am not alone, because the Father is with me."
The statement, of course, is made by our precious Saviour. He is speaking to His very closest disciples. There can be no mistake to whom He is addressing. No one else is there. Even Judas Iscariot is gone by this time. It is Jesus and it is His eleven remaining apostles. Included in Peter, James and John; the inner circle. And Jesus says to them, "ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone..." And that is exactly what happened. Within hours the guards came, led by Judas Iscariot, Jesus was taken and the eleven fled. One of the disciples, presumably John, did go with Jesus into the palace of the high priest (John 18:15) but with that one exception, Jesus was alone to face the accusations, the mockings and the trials of the evening. Alone that is, but for the Father.
It might be important to consider the difference between the companionship of that one disciple, and the Father.
The companion is never named.
We almost always have someone in our lives who is there for us. They may be praying for us, they may be keeping an eye on us. They may be very concerned for us, but sometimes we don't know it. On the other hand, we can be assured that our Heavenly Father is always right there. He never leaves. We can call Him out by name as right with us.
The companion was as liable to the officials (and more vulnerable) than Jesus was.
Jesus could have called a legion of angels to save Himself if He chose. The companion's life was on the line just being there. God the Father, on the other hand, is invulnerable to the whims and wickedness of this world. We can call out to Him and He can help.
The companion was able to into the high priest's palace, but it is unlikely he went anywhere else.
Could he have gone back and forth to see Herod? Unlikely Was he with Jesus when He was given His cross? Probably not. He was limited in where he could and could not go with the Lord. The Father, on the other hand, was with Jesus every step of the way. During the trials, during the mockings, in both the house of the High Priest and the house of Herod. As Jesus walked up Calvary, His Father was with Him. When the soldiers pounded those nails into His hands and feet. The Father was there.
We are not Jesus, but we can experience the same assurance that we are never alone. Our Heavenly Father
Never leaves us
Never forsakes us and
Never forgets us
There is, in the account of Christ's passion, one exclamation of utter abandonment; when He cried, "My God, My God; why hast thou forsaken me?" And in that moment God the Father did, and Jesus Christ experienced, the most awesome act of grace man can ever learn of. Jesus Christ so identified Himself with our sins that His holy Father could not look upon Him. God the Father turned from Christ so that He would never have to turn from us. Our sins have been fully and finally judged in Jesus Christ.
Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
Here is my thought today; "I am not alone, because the Father is with me."
The statement, of course, is made by our precious Saviour. He is speaking to His very closest disciples. There can be no mistake to whom He is addressing. No one else is there. Even Judas Iscariot is gone by this time. It is Jesus and it is His eleven remaining apostles. Included in Peter, James and John; the inner circle. And Jesus says to them, "ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone..." And that is exactly what happened. Within hours the guards came, led by Judas Iscariot, Jesus was taken and the eleven fled. One of the disciples, presumably John, did go with Jesus into the palace of the high priest (John 18:15) but with that one exception, Jesus was alone to face the accusations, the mockings and the trials of the evening. Alone that is, but for the Father.
It might be important to consider the difference between the companionship of that one disciple, and the Father.
The companion is never named.
We almost always have someone in our lives who is there for us. They may be praying for us, they may be keeping an eye on us. They may be very concerned for us, but sometimes we don't know it. On the other hand, we can be assured that our Heavenly Father is always right there. He never leaves. We can call Him out by name as right with us.
The companion was as liable to the officials (and more vulnerable) than Jesus was.
Jesus could have called a legion of angels to save Himself if He chose. The companion's life was on the line just being there. God the Father, on the other hand, is invulnerable to the whims and wickedness of this world. We can call out to Him and He can help.
The companion was able to into the high priest's palace, but it is unlikely he went anywhere else.
Could he have gone back and forth to see Herod? Unlikely Was he with Jesus when He was given His cross? Probably not. He was limited in where he could and could not go with the Lord. The Father, on the other hand, was with Jesus every step of the way. During the trials, during the mockings, in both the house of the High Priest and the house of Herod. As Jesus walked up Calvary, His Father was with Him. When the soldiers pounded those nails into His hands and feet. The Father was there.
We are not Jesus, but we can experience the same assurance that we are never alone. Our Heavenly Father
Never leaves us
Never forsakes us and
Never forgets us
There is, in the account of Christ's passion, one exclamation of utter abandonment; when He cried, "My God, My God; why hast thou forsaken me?" And in that moment God the Father did, and Jesus Christ experienced, the most awesome act of grace man can ever learn of. Jesus Christ so identified Himself with our sins that His holy Father could not look upon Him. God the Father turned from Christ so that He would never have to turn from us. Our sins have been fully and finally judged in Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment