Shadows of Darkness
I will strike the shepherd, and the
sheep shall be scattered. Ezekiel 13:7
As they were approaching the mount of
Olives Jesus said, behold, the hour comes, yes, is now come, that you shall be
scattered, every man going his own way, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am
not alone, because the Father is with me. (John 16:32)
Jesus prophesied to his disciples that the hour had come for
him for him to die. Peter the self-confident disciple of Christ said, Lord wherever
you go, I will follow. But Jesus said that all of them would betray him.
He quoted Ezekiel and used the words of God the Father,
where Jesus (the Shepherd) would be struck down, and all his disciples (the
sheep) would be scattered and go their own ways.
Jesus was predicting that they were going to be covered by
the shadow of betrayal. In this period of darkness they would stumble and fall.
They would loose their confidence in Jesus. Seeing Jesus powerless like a
shepherd that has been slain, they would all be overwhelmed with the darkness
of fear and be scattered.
Yet Jesus was confident of one thing, that God his Father
was with him. Although all he could see for the next several hours was pain and
suffering he was sure that God would never desert him. He was sure that he was
doing the will of his Father in heaven.
Does it matter if the whole world deserts us, but we are
certain that God is by our side?
2 comments:
Jesus in his deepest agony and pain, cries out to God saying ," Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
It was not because God had forsaken him, but maybe in his pain he cried out , why ?? It was also words from Psalm 22:1.
Psalm 22 was a Psalm of lament written many centuries ago. It was a plea for deliverance from desolation and hostility.
After that cry of desolation there was a triumphant cry, "it is finished” or "tetelestai" in Greek ie paid in full. Here was Jesus saying, the debt owed by the world has been paid in full.
Note:The word tetelestai was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show indicating that a bill had been paid in full.
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