We read in Mark 14:50, “And they all left Him and fled.”
These messages for the next two or three weeks will focus on the way of the cross that Jesus had to undergo. As the time drew near for Jesus to be crucified, He faced some of the loneliest moments, when all of His disciples deserted Him, and fled for their lives. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day, were envious of Him, and therefore had him arrested, and handed over to the Roman authorities to be crucified. It was at this crucial juncture that the disciples of Jesus fled, leaving Him all by Himself. The ones who Jesus loved dearly did not stand by Him in those moments of intense pain and loneliness.
Many of us have faced these lonely seasons at different times in our lives. I have heard some people say that they have no one to stand by them, and none to understand all that they are going through. We will through this message try to understand how we can tackle this loneliness in our lives and overcome them.
Let us look at the lives of some in the bible who encountered these moments of loneliness. We will also understand the reasons why they had to face this isolation, and how the Lord intervened to change these situations.
Selfishness led to abandonment
These were the words of Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, when Jesus predicted to His disciples that all of them would fall away on account of Him, and that no one would stand with Him as He would be handed over to be crucified.
We read in Matthew 26:33, Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, "I will never leave you, even though all the rest do!" (GNB)
Interestingly, though Peter spoke with vehemence, and assured Jesus that He would stand by Him, in that moment of crisis, not only did Peter flee from the scene, he also denied that he knew Jesus.
There are many who will convince us that they will be loyal to us, but in our time of crisis they will be nowhere to be found.
One of the main reasons the disciples of Jesus fled from Him that day was that they were more concerned about their own well-being, and were not willing to jeopardize their lives for the sake of Jesus. They wanted to be safe and away from harm’s way.
The Psalmist David said it beautifully in Psalm 23, that the Lord is his Shepherd and that he will never be in want. However, at the end of the Psalm David describes a critical situation where one has to go through the valley of the shadow of death, and the confidence that David had was that God would be with him even in those death-like situations where one could feel most lonesome.
Thrown into seclusion because of envy
We read in Genesis 37:24, “Then they took him and threw him into the well, which was dry.” (GNB)
Joseph was a young man who realized that God had a supreme plan for his life, above that of all his brothers. Joseph feared God, but his brothers hated him. At one time when Joseph’s father Jacob sent him on an errand to give food, and enquire after his elder brothers who were tending sheep in a remote place, his brothers dealt with him harshly. They stripped him of the coat that was gifted to him by his father and threw him into a well that was dry.
In Genesis 37:11, we read, “Joseph's brothers were jealous of him..” (GNB)
The reason for this treatment to Joseph was that his brothers were totally envious of him. Joseph’s brothers were so filled with envy that they heartlessly threw their own brother who came to enquire after them into a pit, and later sold him into slavery.
Many do not take the problem of envy seriously, but if we do not deal with it at its root, this can make one hard and prompt them to do harsh things. In an office situation, when the boss trusts an employee, he may give that person more responsibilities. Often, this would be misunderstood by others who will do everything they can to bring that person down. This could be applicable in a family situation too where one member is favored over the other. Envy is that jealous feeling that creeps in our hearts when someone, even a good friend gets a promotion of any sort. If one does not handle envy the right way, it will instigate us to do things that are harsh and unimaginable.
Isolated for speaking up against wrong-doing
We read in Matthew 14:3, For Herod had earlier ordered John's arrest, and he had him tied up and put in prison. He had done this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. (GNB)
In this incident we read about King Herod who had taken his brother’s wife Herodias to be his own. When John the Baptist confronted Herod and rebuked him for his wrong doing, Herod got infuriated. Herod arrested John the Baptist, and had him cast into prison. However, Herod was cautious to not do any harm to John the Baptist for he perceived that he was a prophet of God. John the Baptist was now in isolation in a dingy prison, simply because he pointed out the sinful life of Herod.
There may be those of you who have been secluded by others only because you confronted someone either in your family or your work place regards their wrong doing. It is not right for us to ignore wrong doing, and even if we cannot change the situation, we do have the obligation to speak up against what is not right. Generally we think that the ones who did wrong are in the wrong, but interestingly if we are mere spectators of evil, and pretend that we did not notice it, we too are guilty of wrong doing. We must be those who please God rather than men, even if this means that we will not be popular for taking a stand for what is right.
Ostracized because of disease
We read in Mark 1:40, There came to Him a leper, begging Him on his knees, saying to Him, "If you want to, you can cure me." (Williams)
Above is the case of a man who was probably leading a normal life with his family and in society until he was struck with leprosy. Once he was infected with this disease, he had to lead a life of seclusion and was ostracized from everyone else in society. Such a man came to Jesus for healing, and he received the healing that Jesus extended to him.
There are those who lead lonely lives because of a sickness or disease that has infected them.
We therefore realize that one could be cast into loneliness because of selfishness of others, envy, lust or even sickness. The bible calls selfishness, envy and lust as sins and all of which needs to be dealt with.
Sin isolates us from God
Just like a person gets a wage for his work, so also the bible talks about a wage that is due for the sins that we commit. In Romans 6:23 we read, “For the wages of sin is death” (AFV)
The wages for sins is death, and sin separates us from God and make us alone.
How does Jesus change our loneliness?
We read in Mark 15:7, “And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.” (NKJV)
Barabbas was cast into prison for being a rebel, and also for the murders he had committed during the insurrection. He was a wicked man who was imprisoned, and secluded because of all his rebellious ways. In those days when the Romans ruled over Israel, anyone who was found to rebel against the Roman government was dealt with most severely. Barabbas was all alone in prison, and he was anticipating death on the cross for the crimes he had committed. There was no way Barabbas could escape this cruel punishment on the cross, which was the ultimate judgement meted out by the Roman government.
Barabbas might have pondered on the days spent with his family, friends and all those who gave him good counsel. He would have probably wondered if he could have lived differently, and thereby escaped this cruel punishment that lay ahead of him.
Generally in those final lonely moments of their lives, many people ponder, and wish that they had chosen to live differently.
As the soldiers approached the cell that Barabbas was in, he probably thought that his end had come. They took Barabbas to stand before the Governor Pilate. The crowds that gathered there that day were in an uproar, which might have filled Barabbas with even more dread. It must have been a shameful thought that he would have to face a cruel death in full sight of the great multitudes of people who had gathered there that day. Even as Barabbas stood there waiting to be sentenced these were the words that were pronounced by Pilate.
We read in Matthew 27:21, Then the governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you desire that I release to you?" And they said, "Barabbas." (AFV)
The Governor Pilate threw a question to the crowds that had gathered as to which of the two who were under trial should be released that day. Barabbas who thought that he was the only one, would have been surprised to see that Jesus also stood before the Governor. The response that the crowd gave to Pilate was shocking, in that they opted that Barabbas be set free. On one side stood Jesus, the sinless Son of God who was constantly helping everyone who was in any kind of need, and everyone including King Herod and Governor Pilate knew that He had done no wrong. On the other hand, there was Barabbas who because of his sinful life was standing ready to be convicted and condemned. When Barabbas heard that he was going to be released, he must have been completely confused and astounded.
Pilate knowing that Jesus was innocent, brought before the crowds a man like Barabbas who was a cruel man and a murderer, hoping that the crowd would speak in favor of Jesus. When the crowd who was in such an uproar, shouted in favor of Barabbas, Pilate knew there was no way he could control them. If the crowds that gathered that day got out of control, Pilate knew that even his position would be at stake. No wonder then that Pilate washed his hands and did what he did.
We read in Matthew 27:26, So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. (NLT)
Pilate gave in to the pressure of that crowd, and had Barabbas released. Jesus on the other hand was flogged, and turned in to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. Barabbas who was lonely and sentenced to die could get back to his family, his work and his previous place in society. If we were to look at this more intently, we will realize that Jesus took the place of Barabbas that day. Jesus the sinless Son of God took the place of a sinful and rebellious Barabbas. Barabbas was saved that day and got a second chance, only because Jesus was there to take his place. That day when Jesus died on the cross, not only did He take the sins of Barabbas on Himself, but the sins of all mankind. This was the reason Jesus came as the only begotten son of the Father in heaven and John the Baptist introduced him as ‘The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world.’
We read in 1 Peter 2:22, “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (ESV)
In 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”(ESV)
Jesus was the sinless Lamb of God, but He willingly took our sins in His body on the cross. Jesus did this so that we might die to sin, and live to righteousness, and by His wounds we have been healed. Jesus took our sins to deliver all of mankind from the clutches of sin and set us free.
There may be those who feel that because of their sin, you are isolated and all alone. The Lord is willing to change your lonesome situation. He alone can bring you out of the bondages of sin. Jesus can transform your lives from the consequences of sin, for He has borne all of our sins in His body on the cross of Calvary.
Sin separated man from a Holy God, and caused man to be trapped in his loneliness. Jesus has taken all of our sins and paid the price on the cross of Calvary. When we accept this atonement that Jesus offers, we will be set free from all the bondages of sin. Jesus sets us free from all our loneliness and hopeless situations. He is willing to bless us and use us.
This is the promise of Jesus to all who believe on Him as recorded in Matthew 28:20, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)
Jesus has given us the guarantee that He will remain with us till the very end, and there is no way we need to feel lonely or isolated. In those days when Romans ruled over the Jews, the cross was a symbol of shame and disgrace. However, the day that the righteous Jesus died on that cross and gave His life for us, the cross which was a symbol of guilt and shame, became a symbol of holiness. If the Lord Jesus could change the shameful cross into a sacred thing, how much more can He transform our broken and shattered lives into a beautiful one? People of the world may hate us or even let us down, but we can rest assured that the Lord will remain with us, and will never let go of us till the very end of the age.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
