Written by Dawn Rutan
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the disappointments Jesus encountered with His friends and family while on earth:
- “He said to [His parents], ‘Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?’” (Luke 2:49 ESV).
- “And when His family heard it, they went out to seize Him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of His mind.’ …And He answered them, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers? …Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, He is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:21, 33-35).
- “For not even His brothers believed in Him” (John 7:5).
- “And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’” (Matthew 8:26).
- “And Jesus answered, ‘O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?’” (Matthew 17:17).
- “Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9).
- “He rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mark 8:33).
- “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48).
- “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times” (Luke 22:61).
These few quotes have really reminded me that Jesus was indeed “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). He identified fully with our human experiences, not just by being tempted or being weak and weary, but in being alone, misunderstood, betrayed, and rejected.
Sometimes reading through the Gospel accounts we may get the idea that Jesus and the disciples were a fun-loving group of guys who always got along and never had any conflict (well, except for that little “arguing who’s the best” thing). I’m sure Jesus did enjoy being with them for the most part, though He also liked to get away to pray on a regular basis. But there are no relationships free from conflict and disappointment, and the closer the relationship, the more likely there will be troubled times.
When loneliness and relational disappointments strike, I take comfort in knowing that Jesus not only knows, but He’s experienced all that and more. I’m also reminded that Jesus came as “Immanuel, God with us” (Matthew 1:23) and before He left earth He promised, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). And even beyond that, He is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). It doesn’t get any more intimate than that, and nobody on earth can satisfy my soul as He can. He is the only One who can truthfully claim to be the Bread of Life and the Living Water.
“Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things” (Psalm 107:8-9).
[As a side note, one of my favorite songs is “Who Can Satisfy My Soul” by Dennis Jernigan. Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc0_9kKZq0c ]
© 2017 Dawn Rutan. The views stated may or may not reflect the beliefs of the pastor or leadership of Dulin’s Grove Church.
