Outside of the Peter and “the other disciple,” probably John, after Jesus’ arrest, all the other disciples fled (Matthew 26:56b). Surrounded by His enemies, betrayed by one of His own, Jesus was now truly alone from friendly and loving contact from those whom He had taught. There was no one beside Him to comfort or counsel Him. Jesus had been betrayed and in the determined will of God (Matthew 26:54,56) found at the mercy of His enemies.
Psalm 88:8 (ESV) 8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
Psalm 88:18 (ESV) 18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.
John 16:32 (ESV) 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.
He endured the cross with thieves on each side and mockers surrounding Him to torment Him (Matthew 27:27-31; 35-44; Mark 15:29-30; Luke 23:36-39; John 21:23-24).
Psalm 22:7-8 (ESV) 7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
Psalm 22:12-13 (ESV) 12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
Psalm 109:25 (ESV) 25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads.
Only John and Mary and some women from Galilee and Mary Magdalen and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph (Matthew 27:55; Mark 15:40-41; Luke 23:48; John 19:25-27) were familiar faces. For the most part, the disciple had fled.
It would seem that all that loving discipleship the last few days and the previous two and a half plus years had fallen on deaf ears. Fear had consumed them. The incredible truths Jesus had poured out of His heart to be learned by the disciples He loved looked wasted.
To add to this, God now “made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21) and then vented His wrath on His Son instead of us (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10) in penal substitution. Now Jesus Christ felt truly alone as the sin-bearer. It is no wonder we hear Him cry out; “my God My God why have you forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46; Psalm 22:1). The One who had not experience personal sin, lived in full union with His Father was now experiencing the consequences of sin and was now cut off from that intimate fellowship with the Father, because of us and our sin, with a new sense of “aloneness” because of God’s wrath upon Him. Only the Son of God could bear this!
Friday night, all day Saturday, and into Sunday evening, there was silence, an overwhelming sense of foreboding. Fear had taken full control of the disciples. They felt that at any moment the Sanhedrin police would come and arrest them as well (John 20:19). It wasn’t until Jesus appeared to them through locked doors, that fear was replaced with joy, and fellowship restored. Earlier in the day, they had rejected the testimony of the women at the tomb as non-sense (Like 24:1-12). But here He stood. Not even locked doors could stop this miraculous reunion.
Jesus Had Risen as He said (Matthew 28:6)!
Some Resources:
Passion, By Mike McKinley
Who moved the Stone?, By Frank Morrison
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, By Gary R. Habermas and Michael Licona
-Michael Holtzinger
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