Was Jesus lonely when he walked the dusty roads of Israel for three years? He wasn’t alone because his followers were always with him. But was he lonely? Did he long for understanding from those around him?

Though Jesus probably felt separate and apart from humans, we know he had the ultimate relationship with God, his Father. So that relationship certainly fulfilled his needs. That’s why he often went off by himself to pray and commune with his Father.

The joy of Jesus lay in knowing that every power of His nature was in such harmony with His Father that He did His Father’s will with delight

Oswald chambers (The complete works of oswald chambers, page 732)

Because of his relationship with his Father in heaven, it’s possible Jesus never felt lonely. Maybe he always felt so connected with God that he never felt the ache of loneliness during his time on earth.

Until…

On the cross, everything changed because he had to bear the penalty for our individual and collective sins. He who had committed no sin had to bear the weight of all sin! As God cannot abide sin, Jesus willingly separated himself for the first time from his Father.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

At that moment in time, it all changed. Jesus’s perfect communion with God must have been broken because he cried out with these words:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

Matthew 27:46 niv

I believe Jesus must have felt utterly alone at that moment when he uttered those words, ‘…why have you forsaken me?’

He was both god and man

Jesus was both the Son of God and the Son of Man. He had both natures in him. He could remain spiritually bonded with God the Father. And, at the very same time, he was a man. A human being.

As a man, the human desire for understanding may have hit him. For this need runs deep in our souls. Certainly Jesus knew he was unlike other people. He was set apart, in both form and in nature, from all other humans. Even his closest followers struggled to grasp this dual nature, that he was both God and Man.

And they certainly failed to grasp the spiritual nature of his kingdom as this passage demonstrates.

“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Acts 1:6 niv

Though Jesus pointed us towards God and a spiritual kingdom, the disciples did not yet understand this.

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” …⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. Acts 1:4-6, 9 NIV

Acts 1:4-6, 9 NIV

Even in the final moments of Jesus’s time on earth, the disciples still failed to grasp that Jesus had no interest in worldly kingdoms. Instead, he proclaimed the kingdom of God.

what about us?

If Jesus’s own disciples misunderstood him, what about us? I know I struggle to understand at times, so it’s no wonder the disciples did. They were the first to hear the gospel message. They did not have the books we avidly study such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.

While he was with them, the disciples walked and talked with Christ, yet could not quite grasp the majesty of who he was and is. And I struggle with that too.

How can I love as Jesus did? For he agreed to give up everything to live and die on earth.

the world has no power over us because…

Like Jesus, the world has no power over us because we are going home too. He ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us. If we are believers in Jesus Christ, then we too have a place in heaven with him.

Yours in Christ, Kurt

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