For This Cause I Came

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” (John 12:27)

We are quickly approaching Easter – the time we remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. Although Jesus was constantly teaching and doing miracles during His ministry, this last week is so rich in meaning for all believers! It was during these last few days Jesus taught some of the most profound and applicable lessons to His disciples – including us. Today’s passage is no different.

In the verse quoted above, Jesus is addressing His impending death. He has been forewarning His disciples of this coming time now for awhile, but it is now only a few days away. Everything He has told them is now coming together and their world (and ours) will never be the same.

His words today should strike deep within all of our hearts as Christians. Jesus was fully aware of His mission here on the earth and He attempted to pass that on to us. Remember where He said, “Greater works than these (that I have done) you shall do because I go to my Father”? The stage is now being set for the Sacrificial Lamb Who was slain before the foundation of the world to be offered up. Sensing this, Jesus is speaking very clearly to it today. Hear His words as He tells thos around Him, Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour…”

That is often the cry of our hearts as we suffer ridicule and persecution from others for our faith. For those of us who work out in the “real world” it is pretty common to be made fun of because we go to church or pray before we eat. Working in a factory (as I did for a few years), I often became the butt of peoples’ jokes because I listened to the local Christian station on my radio. I was mocked, taunted and harassed constantly by one guy in particular. He would come over to my work station and change the channel to a rock station and dare me to change it back. He would make fun of me in front of my co-workers and say some pretty ugly stuff about me and Christians in general. We often got into it pretty hard – even offering each other the opportunity to physically settle it once and for all. (I must confess, I didn’t always handle things the Christian way). It wasn’t until he accidentally heard the morning Djs one morning and recognized one of them as the father of a girl he once dated that he suddenly changed his tune. He had the utmost respect for that DJ, Rev. Bruce Rice, who was a personal friend of mine. He honored Bruce and respected him deeply. Because of that respect for Bruce, he began to allow me to listen to that station during the morning hours when Bruce was on the air. Huh! Interesting. I am very happy to report that because of that, my (now) dear friend, David, gave his heart to the Lord and he and I are now close brothers. Funny how God allowed that to happen.

We often find ourselves in just such a situation. We have not yet resisted to blood (as the scripture says), yet how quickly we resort to compromising our stand for the Lord when the pressure gets a little bit uncomfortable. We cry, we whine, we try to get out of the pressure any way we can. Yet sometimes God makes us go through it. I’m sure it was uncomfortable for Daniel in the lion’s den and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, too. Yet they had to go through those situations in order to reach the heart of the king. God had a plan – HAS a plan – and His children have to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations in order to fulfill those plans.

Speaking of uncomfortable, I can’t even imagine how “uncomfortable” it was for Jesus to have His beard plucked out in handfuls, to be whipped with a cat-o-nine-tails at the whipping post, to be crucified, and to have the Father turn away from Him because He bore our sins, either. Yet, in the Garden He prayed, “Father, if it be Thy will, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done.” Knowing the suffering He would face, Jesus was willing to concede to the will of the Father in order that we might be saved. “For the joy set before Him, He endured death – even death of the cross.”

I don’t know what you are facing today. We are all under some sort of attack, it seems. I am daily being called by someone telling me of their struggles, of their financial worries, of their health issues, or whatever. The pressure Satan is putting on now is greater than ever before because he knows his time is growing short. But, be encouraged, my friend. Satan is no match for Jesus. And because we, as Christians, have the Spirit of Christ living within us, he is no match for us either – as long as we stay in Him. If we (as I have done so many times in the past) decide we want to fight him on our own, we have already lost. In the natural, we are no match for Satan. In the Spirit, he is already conquered. We are more than conquerors in Christ. Whatever it is you are facing today, Jesus is bigger, stronger, greater than. It was conquered two thousand years ago on a lonely hill outside of Jerusalem. Christ carried our losses to His cross and defeated them there. I can’t say for sure what your victory looks like, but I know we have only to stand in the face of the enemy and proclaim the mighty and matchless Name of Jesus Christ and stand in His blood – and the battle is over. We may have to walk through the fire, but the fire will not destroy us. We may be wading in some pretty deep water, but the water cannot drown us. We may be walking through the valley of the shadow of death, but He is with us and death has no hold on the child of God.

Lift up your eyes to the hills, from whence cometh our help. Look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith and trust Him. He has already walked the road ahead of you and guides you every step of the way. The path ahead may look pretty dark, but keep your eyes on the Son. Just a few more weary days to labor says the old song, then we’ll enter heaven’s pearly gates. In the meantime, we’ve got some victory trophies to gather in honor of our King.

Be blessed.