When God Abandons You, Or Is It The Other Way Around?
I feel some of the most profound moments captured in the bible to show us things about our relationship with God happen during the “Passion Week” leading up to and including the crucifixion of Jesus. At the start of the week we see Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey before an adoring crowd, and by the end of the week mostly detractors are the only ones left. I feel if we look at this relationship these people had with Jesus it can teach us something about our own relationship with God.
Let’s first look at the adoring crowds we find in John 12, Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19. In all four accounts we see them placing palm branches before Jesus and yelling out Hosanna, and calling Him the King of Israel. Palm branches were used to welcome royalty, so their intent is to make Him king and this shows at this time they are ready to follow Him as their leader. Hosanna means save us now. This show they are thinking he has come to save them and they think it is in this moment of time.
This is often how we act toward Jesus. We are in some type of problem or bondage caused by our circumstance and we decide to run to him call Him our King and follow Him and expect Him to immediately save us from our problem. And placing Jesus as the King of our life does just that, but the problem is we are saved upon our declaring Him as King and following, but it is often not in the way we have in mind.
Well I think they had in mind Jesus saving them from the Roman occupation of their land. I think they were looking for a leader that would lead a revolt and uprising against the Romans but that’s not what Jesus was there for. I think we often do the same thing. We have ideas about what God should do for us to make our lives better, and to save us from the bondage of our circumstances. What the Israelites of the time of Jesus and we tend to miss is that the Kingdome that Jesus was talking about is a different kind than what we usually think of, and the problems and bondage that He wants to free us from are different too. In fact God in the form of Jesus is about a spiritual kingdom, and is about spiritual freedom, the effects of this may spill over into the physical but not always. The effects may impact the present but I think God is more concerned about the impact on our eternal future.
So what happened latter in the week with these same people and how did they treat Jesus as a result? Well during this week Jesus went into the Temple and he overturned the money changer’s tables and drove out those who bought and sold in the temple. He spoke a parable about a Vineyard Owner (Mark 12:1-12, Matthew 21:33-46, Luke 20:9-19) and He answered a question about paying taxes (Mark 12:13-17, Matthew 22:15-22). He answered questions about resurrection (Mark 12:18-27, Matthew 22:23-33, Luke 20:27-40), and He Condemned the Jewish leaders (Mark 12:38-44, Matthew 23:1-14, Luke 20:45-21:4). So when he drove out the ones who bought and sold in the temple, He challenged the Jewish status quo. He was against them as much as the Romans. When he told the parable of the Vineyard it was about how the Jewish people had been poor stewards of what God had given them. And it was about how they had killed God’s prophets in the past and how they would kill God’s only begotten Son and how God would give their blessings to others (the gentiles). They knew it was against them and “sought to lay hands on Him”. When asked about taxes he said “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”, in other words pay taxes to the Romans. Not what the masses wanted to hear from the one they thought would free them from such taxes. When asked about the resurrection by the Sadducees who taught there was no such thing, He taught that they did not know Scripture, and that the resurrection of the dead into a spiritual eternal life is real. This alienated all who were living for the things of the present. And then He finally condemned the Jewish leaders by telling all who were present to “Beware of the scribes, who are friendly to others in the market, and seek the best seats in the synagogues, yet devour widow’s houses, and for a pretense make long prayers”. He called them hypocrites and said they did not enter in to God’s presence and blocked others from the same.
So in this week they found out Jesus was not about freedom from Rome. He was not about keeping Jewish tradition intact. He was not about their welfare in the present, but believed in a life of eternity and a payoff there instead of now. He was as much an enemy to the Jewish establishment as he was an enemy of Rome. So here is how they responded. One of His closest followers sold him out to the authorities for some silver. He was falsely accused of crimes he did not do. When Pilate offered the people a chance to set Him free by giving them a choice between Jesus, an innocent man, and Barabbas a known thief and murderer, they chose to free the criminal. Most of the Apostles ran and hid and even denied they knew Him. And then they watched Him be put to death and even mocked Him as it was taking place.
Well that is pretty much what we do today. When we turn to Jesus to save us but do it with expectations of how that should look and take place, we are often let down. He does not always heal our sick friends or loved ones, He does not always answer our prayers for provision with that new job, he does not always stop the great sorrows of natural disasters, or the man made ones. He does not always defeat the enemies that we perceive to be a threat. And he often wants us to clean out our own temple, and convicts us of our own hypocrisies. So we become the Judge of God and put Him on trial for things He did not do. We could condemn the real criminals who caused sin to enter the world, but we let ourselves off the hook and crucify Jesus instead and then even mock those who believe along the way. And then when the heat is put on and we might be scorned for saying we follow Christ we cover it up and keep our faith a secret for fear of persecution.
You might say, but you don’t know what I have had to go through. Perhaps you had to face something that was unbearable in spite of your prayers. Maybe you lost a loved one and it did not seem like God cared. Maybe you feel like you were passed over when life gave out its blessings. Maybe your friend and family have turned their backs on you in your greatest time of need. Perhaps in your greatest time of need you feel God was not there for you when you needed Him the most? Well I’m here to tell you Jesus knows how you feel, and He has been there.
Jesus asked God to not make Him go through with the crucifixion if there was any other way, but God allowed it anyway. Jesus had His closest friends turn on Him and leave Him in His greatest time of need. After all, where were all the ones He healed, and ministered to, while He was being tried, convicted, and killed? And in the very end at His dying moment even His Father, God looked away, and Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Well let me tell you it is not wrong to question God, Jesus did. And in those times you may have cried out, but what did you say? What Jesus said is profound because He still placed God in authority, because He said “My God”. He still knew God to be His God in spite of the problem and what He had gone through. When He knew what He was about to face and prayed in the garden, He still walked in faith even when he did not want to face what God had placed before Him. And in His most dire moment he quoted scripture. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1) He went to the word in His darkest moment. The living word Jesus fell back on the word of God in His time of need. Do you think you can get through the trials, the storms, and the tests of life without the word? Jesus couldn’t so how can you? Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). Only then after Jesus walked it out in faith relying on the word did the veil rip from top to bottom, only then was real access to God and His grace available. Only when we walk through our trials and tests with true unshakeable faith depending on God’s word and the living word that is Jesus will we have true access to God’s grace. Sure, Jesus died, but God turned this worst of moments into the best of ones. Jesus was abandoned so you would be accepted by God. Jesus became sin so you could be holy, Jesus died so you could have eternal life. Sure God will allow us to have times of sorrow, but God can and will turn them to good if we allow Him in. The veil was ripped so now all can have access but do you walk through? Or in your time of trouble do you run to a counselor when you should run to The Counselor. Do you remain faithful even when your prayers are not anawered in the way you desire? So when you feel abandoned by God are you going to put Him on trial? Are you going to turn on Him? Are you going to rest in your understanding of the problem, or walk it out in faith and keep Him on the thrown of your life, knowing that He has a better perspective of the event?
Lord I pray that anyone who reads this and does not know you will seek you and the grace and forgiveness of our faults that only you can provide. And for those who have walked away, Lord let them see that you still are there for them just like you were there for Peter who denied you three times in your greatest moment of need. And just like Peter may God lift you up and use you in a profound way to impact others, and turn your darkest moment into your brightest. And for those who are in a difficult time, I pray you may stay anchored in God's word and in Jesus, during this storm.
