The Joy That's Coming

44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[e] When he had said this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Luke 23: 44-49

When I think about the events of Holy Week up to Jesus' crucifixion from my 21st-century perspective, it is easy to see how Jesus would have felt betrayed throughout His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. But as I have worked to immerse myself in these stories, I have realized that the feeling of betrayal must have been shared by many.

Consider the disciples: they followed Jesus for years. Many of them left their families at home to follow this man that they believed was special, even believing (rightly so) that He was the Messiah. They were wowed by His miracles. They were amazed by His teachings and parables. They had found passion and purpose in following this teacher...

And then they watched Him beaten, bloodied, and killed.

They had to have wondered: Now what?

Was He really the Messiah?

Was any of it real?

Did He make it all up?

Jesus had hinted at His death and resurrection before, but clearly the disciples hadn't gotten the memo. All they saw was the man they thought would save them hanging dead on a cross. They must have felt pretty betrayed, too.

I can't begin to imagine the mess of emotions they carried with them those days that followed the crucifixion. Anger. Betrayal. Sorrow. Guilt. Regret. Confusion. Grief.

But a few short days later, they discovered an empty tomb. And then....a risen Jesus!

All of those dark emotions were washed away and replaced with what I can only imagine was Joy.

In reality, the disciples hadn't been betrayed at all. They hadn't been tricked, lied to, or forgotten. Jesus had truly meant what He had said about dying and being raised to life, but the adversary had spoken lies to them in their moments of darkness, and they doubted the promises of God.

The same things happen to us today. Circumstances go differently than we had planned. Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble, yet we are often surprised when trials come, and we find ourselves feeling the same emotions as the disciples: Anger. Betrayal. Sorrow. Guilt. Regret. Confusion. Grief.

Instead of allowing these feelings to turn into doubt, we need to take our thoughts captive and fix our eyes on Jesus, knowing that the pain we feel now cannot compare to the joy that is coming. There are moments we get to experience that joy on earth, but it will be so much better when -thanks to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross- we meet Him face to face in heaven.

Today may seem dark, but joy is coming.