“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53
““He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” Matthew 27:42-43
“He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Mark 15:31-32
“Let Him come down from the cross now, so that we will believe” – what would these leaders and people have done if Jesus had come down from the cross? Or, if 72,000 angels had shown up at Golgotha?
Yea, they probably would have fallen to their knees in awe and disbelief. But, what about Saturday or the following week? Would we have been right back to the plotting?
As I read these words this morning, I reflect back 15 years. My daughter was very sick, in the hospitals more than out. I was praying for healing – a lot. Jesus came to her and the Father and Jesus spoke to me directly. All with the same message – Trust Me.
My prayer was that if the bleeding woman in the Gospels – “just touch her with Your cloak, and she will be healed”, of Ja’irus and the Centurion, “say the word and it will be done.” I had no doubt He could do this, and would, for me. But, God kept persistent with His message, “Trust in Me”, not healing her. The storm raged and even grew. Until that night and the following months…. (Read in “I Knew His Voice”).
Though not mocking as the leaders had been at Calvary, deep within I was crying the same challenge to Jesus upon the cross. “Heal her that I may believe.” In the years since, I came to understand that while Jesus could easily have washed my daughter of her illness as completely as the bleeding woman, I would have seen, believed and praised Him. But, I would have remained unchanged and looking for more “proof”.
“help my unbelief” Mark 9:24
In God’s Omniscient wisdom, He knew that silence and even the struggle we would face would bring greater good and glory to His Name. As He knew that 72,000 angels or a super hero drop and landing from the cross wouldn’t bring the greatest outcome.
Remaining in this moment, facing the spittle and mocking of the leaders, God brought salvation to man. Letting me fall, walk through the dark night and rise again, brought me to trust.
In your prayers, trust. Know that God does hear your pleas. Know that He is bringing great glory in the moment. Ask and plead to God but do so with a trust by soul.
When Jesus breathed His last, the leaders scoffed and walked away with disdainful leers. When Jesus doesn’t answer as you expect, don’t be those leaders. Trust and cry out “yes, Lord! I do believe! Jesus, I trust in You.”