JESUS' TRUST IN GOD ON THE CROSS

JESUS WAS A MAN OF TRUST
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 27:43 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue
him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of
God.'"
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(43) Let him deliver him now.—Itseems at first hardly conceivable that
priests and scribes could thus have quoted the very words of Psalm22:8, and
so have fulfilled one of the greatMessianic prophecies. But (1) we must
remember that they, ignoring the idea of a suffering Christ, would not look on
the Psalmas Messianic atall, and (2) that their very familiarity with the
words of the Psalm would naturally bring its phraseologyto their lips when
occasioncalledfor it. Only they would persuade themselves that they were
right in using it, while David’s enemies were wrong.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
27:35-44 It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify
the crime for which they suffered. So they setup one over Christ's head. This
they designedfor his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his
accusationwas to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time,
two robbers. He was, athis death, numbered among the transgressors,that

we, at our death, might be numbered among the saints. The taunts and jeers
he receivedare here recorded. The enemies of Christ labour to make others
believe that of religion and of the people of God, which they themselves know
to be false. The chief priests and scribes, and the elders, upbraid Jesus with
being the King of Israel. Many people could like the King of Israelwell
enough, if he would but come down from the cross;if they could but have his
kingdom without the tribulation through which they must enter into it. But if
no cross, then no Christ, no crown. Those that would reign with him, must be
willing to suffer with him. Thus our Lord Jesus, having undertaken to satisfy
the justice of God, did it, by submitting to the punishment of the worstof men.
And in every minute particular recordedabout the sufferings of Christ, we
find some prediction in the Prophets or the Psalms fulfilled.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
He saved others - It does not seemprobable that they meant to admit that he
had actually savedothers, but only that he "pretended" to save them from
death by miracles, or that he claimed to be the Messiah, andthus affirmed
that he "could" save them. This is, therefore, cutting irony.
If he be the King of Israel... - It may seemstrange to some that Jesus did not
vindicate by a miracle his claims to be the Messiah, andcome down from the
cross. But the time had come for him to make an atonement. He had given full
and sufficient proof that he was the Christ. Those who had rejectedhim, and
who mockedand taunted him, would have been little likely to admit his claims
if he had come down from the cross, since they had setat naught all his other
miracles. They said this for the purpose of insult; and Jesus chose ratherto
suffer, though his characterwas assailed, than to work a new miracle for their
gratification. He had foretold his death, and the time had come;and now,
amid revilings, and gibes, and curses, and the severe sarcasms ofan angry and
apparently triumphant priesthood, he chose to die for the sins of the world. To
this they added "insult" to God, profanely calling upon him to interpose by
miracle and save him, if he was his friend; and all this when their prophets
had foretold this very scene, and when they were fulfilling the predictions of
their own Scriptures. See the Isaiah 53 notes, and Daniel9:24-27 notes. So
wonderful is the way by which God causes His word to be fulfilled.

Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
Mt 27:34-50. Crucifixionand Deathof the Lord Jesus. ( = Mr 15:25-37;Lu
23:33-46;Joh 19:18-30).
For the exposition, see on[1375]Joh19:18-30.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Matthew 27:44".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
He trusted in God,.... That is, he pretended to claim an interest in him, to be
high in his favour and esteem, and to have great faith and confidence in him:
let him deliver him now; directly, from the cross, andthe death of it:
if he will have him; or if he is well pleasedwith him as his own Son, or delights
in him as such, and will show him any favour and goodwill; see Psalm22:8,
where are these very words, and which are predicted should be said by these
men to Christ; and are a wonderful confirmation of the truth of that Psalm
and prophecy belonging to him:
for he said, I am the Son of God; not only in his ministry, but he had said so in
their grand council, before them all.
Geneva Study Bible
He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I
am the Son of God.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 27:43 In the mouth of the members of Sanhedrim, who in Matthew
27:41 are introduced as joining in the blasphemies of the passers-by, and who,
Matthew 27:42, have likewise the inscription over the cross in view, the
jeering assumes a more impious character. They now avail themselves even of
the language ofholy writ, quoting from the 22d Psalm(which, moreover, the

Jews declaredto be non-Messianic), the 5th verse of which is given somewhat
looselyfrom the LXX. (ἤλπισεν ἐπὶ κύριον, ῥυσάσθω αὐτόν, σωσάτω αὐτόν,
ὅτι θέλει αὐτόν).
θέλει αὐτόν] is the rendering of the Heb. ‫ָח‬ ִ ‫ץ‬ ‫,ֹוּב‬ and is to be interpreted in
accordancewith the Septuagint usage of θέλειν (see Schleusner, Thes. II. p.
51, and comp. on Romans 7:21): if He is the objectof his desire, i.e. if he likes
Him; comp. Tob 13:6; Psalm18:19; Psalm41:11. In other instances the LXX.
give the preposition as well, rendering the Hebrew (1 Samuel 18:22, al.) by
θέλειν ἔν τινι. Fritzsche supplies ῥύσασθαι;but in that case we should have
had merely εἰ θέλει without αὐτόν;comp. Colossians2:18.
ὅτι θεοῦ εἰμι υἱός]The emphasis is on θεοῦ, as conveying the idea: I am not
the sonof a man, but of God, who in consequencewill be certain to deliver me.
Comp. Wis 2:18.
Observe further the short bounding sentences in which their malicious
jeering, Matthew 27:42 f., finds vent.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 27:43. his looks like a mere echo of Psalm22:9 (not a literal
quotation from the Sept[153], however, ratherrecalling Isaiah36:5) rather
than a word likely to be spokenby the Sanhedrists. What did they know about
the personalpiety of Jesus? Probablythey were aware that He used to call
God “Father,” and that may be the basis of the statement, along with the
confessionofSonship before the Sanhedrim: θεοῦ εἰμι υἱός.—νῦν, now is the
time for testing the value of His trust; a plausible wickedsneer.—εἰ θέλει
αὐτόν, if He love Him, an emphatic if, the love disproved by the fact.—θέλει is

used in the sense oflove in the Sept[154](Psalm18:20;Psalm 41:12). Palairet
gives examples of a similar use in Greek authors.
[153]Septuagint.
[154]Septuagint.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
43. He trusted in God] See Psalm22:8. The chief priests unconsciouslyapply
to the true Messiahthe very words of a Messianic psalm.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 27:43. Πέποιθεν, He trusted) cf. the end of the verse.—εἶπε γὰρ,
κ.τ.λ., for He said, etc.)We may considerthat this was either uttered by those
who were passing by, or added by the Evangelistfor the sake ofexplanation.
The LXX. in Psalms 22(21):8, have ἥλπισεν ἐπὶ Κύριον, ῥυσάσθω Αὐτόν·
σωσάτω Αὐτὸν, ὅτι θέλει Αὐτόν, He trusted in the Lord, let Him deliver Him:
let Him save Him, since He delighteth in Him.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 43. - He trusted in (ἐπὶ, on) God. These scoffers cite a passage from
Psalm22:8, "He trusted unto the Lord that he would deliver him; let him
deliver him, seeing he delighteth in him" (Hebrew); or, according to the
Septuagint, "He hoped in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him,
because he desires (θέλει) him." Let him deliver him now, if he will have him
(εἰ θέλει). Θέλω is used in the Septuagint in the sense of "I love," "I wish for"
(see Deuteronomy21:14; Psalm17:19; 40:11). But the Vulgate, by omitting
the first αὐτόν, possibly takes the verb in the usual sense, Liberet nunc, si vult,
eum. The Sinaitic and Vatican manuscripts and others support this reading,
which is followednow by Tischendorf, and WestcottandHort, so that the
clause will run, Let him now, if he will, deliver him. But the ReceivedTextand
the Authorized Version are in closeragree ment with the original language of

the psalm. Forhe said, I am the Son of God. Insultingly they allude to his own
assertions concerning his Divine nature, implying that, were he such as he
pretended to be, he would not now be dying on the shameful cross. There are
wonderful coincidencesin thought and language betweenthis passageand one
in the Book ofWisdom (2:13-20), which speaks ofthe oppressionof the
righteous, e.g. "He professethto have the knowledge ofGod; and he calleth
himself the child of the Lord.... Let us see if his words be true; and let us prove
what shall happen in the end of him. For if the just man be the Son of God, he
will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies." The similarity
of expressionis to be attributed to the typical nature of the treatment of
Christ, which the writer of Wisdom, with remarkable insight, thus forcibly
delineated.
Jesus TrustedHis Fatherand Obeyed Him
Jul 19, 2019
Obedience is one of those words that never sounds like fun. It feels like an
obligation, like something we have to do but doesn’t seemvery fun. We often
doubt the motives of those asking us to obey, or we think that our waywould
surely be better. Jesus setthe ultimate example for how we should live, and as
we study His life obedience sticks outmost of all. He had full authority over
heaven and earth (Colossians 1:16), yet He fully submitted to the Father’s
authority and fully obeyed God in everything.
OBEDIENCE:Following God’s commands His way, right away, all the way
MEMORYVERSE:“Those who acceptmy commandments and obey them
are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love
them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:21
(NLT)
This Week’s FinishLine: Jesus trusted His Father and obeyed Him

This week we studied the way Jesus lived His life in full obedience to the
Father. We lookedat severalverses in John when Jesus mentioned His
obedience:John 4:34, 5:30, 6:38, 8:26, 10:18, 12:49-50, 14:30-31, and15:10.
All of these verses have one thing in common: Jesus trusted and obeyedhis
Father in everything He did. Nothing Jesus did was outside of God’s will.
Later we lookedat Philippians 2:5-11, which is a passageexplaining what this
obedience meant for Jesus on a practicallevel. Jesus “became obedientto the
point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8b).
https://www.watermark.org/blog/jesusobeyedelementary2015
I believe Jesus trusted G-d "from the beginning", and "before the foundation
of the world." However, in my opinion, Jesus displayed His complete trust in
G-d most convincingly when He commended His spirit into G-d's hands, right
AFTER He cried out about being FORSAKEN by Him. Matthew 27:45-50,
Luke 23:46
https://www.answers.com/Q/When_did_jesus_trust_god
JESUS'TRUST IN GOD
"He trusted on God.'*
— Matthew xxvii : 43.
We are trying to see Jesus as he was. It is sur-

prising that we do not know him better when his
image is so vividly portrayed for us in the Gospels.
The very familiarity of the story has a deadening
effectupon the mind. We have heard so much of
Jesus eversince the days of childhood, have heard
so many teachers andpreachers speak about him,
that the mind has hardened and refuses to be im-
pressedby him. Many of us have had faulty
methods of Bible study. We have studied the Bible
piecemeal, in scraps and patches, getting a knowl-
edge of isolatedpassages andnever putting together
the various parts so as to see Jesus as a man among
men. We have caught, it may be, one trait of his
lovely character;we have fixed our gaze upon one
bright particular star, and have missed the sweep
and swing of the constellations ;we have pickedup a
pebble now and then and have failed to take in the
ciurve of the vast shore and the swelland surge of
135

136 CHARACTER OF JESUS
the sea. Our objectin all these studies is to see
him as he was seenby the men of his time.
We have alreadyfound in him the note of strength
and the note of gladness, and now let us geta little
deeper and find out if we can the spring from which
strength and gladness flow. How does it happen
that this man was so masterful in every situation,
and how did it come to pass that he was joyful in
the midst of so many shadows?The answerto
the question lies written broad on all the pages
of the New Testament. His strength and gladness
came from his steadfasttrust in God. If you were
to ask me what is deepestand most fundamental in
the characterofJesus, I should say, it was his trust
in God. I see not how any one can read the New
Testamentwithout feeling that this to him was the
Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. It
was the heaven above his head, the earth beneath
his feet, the atmosphere he daily breathed, the
spirit in which he was saturated, the music that ran

through all his conversation, the inspiration of all
his life. Possiblyno better testimony upon this
point can be found in all the Scriptures than that
takenfrom the lips of his deadliest foes. We have
already found these enemies of Jesus valuable wit-
nesses,and they will not disappoint us here. When
he was dying on the cross many people laughed at
him and waggedtheir heads, saying derisive and
spiteful things. Among these people, strange to
say, there were members of the Sanhedrim, chief
HIS TRUST 137
priests, scribes and leaders — they all ridiculed and
scornedhim, and the climax of their vituperation
was this, "He trusted on God!" No blackerjeer
ever was belched forth from the jaws of hell than
that. It is incredible that human beings could be
so diabolical as to sneerat a man in the hour of
death ; but that is what the religious leaders of Pal-
estine did when the Prophet of Galilee was dying.

The dark and terrible sentence throws a blaze of
light upon the teaching and the conduct of Jesus.
His whole course of actionhad made upon the
people among whom he moved the impression that
he trusted in God.
Should you ask me for illustrations of this trust,
I should be embarrassednot because there are so
few but because there are so many. One can dip
into the Gospels where he will and find things which
bear testimony to Jesus* trustin God. When only
a boy he said to his mother, "Wistye not that I
must be about my Father's business?" His last
words upon the cross were, "Father, into thy hands
I commend my spirit." From that first point to the
last point the music of his trust was never broken.
He is everywhere and always a man of prayer. At
the crises ofhis life we find him praying. At his
baptism and the transfiguration, in the garden, on
the cross, he is pouring out his soul to God. Before
every important action, in the midst of every difii-
cult situation, at the completion of every stage of
work, we find him praying. It was a common thing

in Palestine for men to pray, but no man had ever
prayed like this man, with such simplicity, with
such earnestness, with such boundless trust. Men
gatheredround him awestruck and said, '^ Master,
teachus how to pray.*' All Hebrew children were
taught to pray from earliestinfancy. Prayer was
an indispensable feature of Hebrew piety, but men
who had prayed from earliestyouth felt when they
heard this man pray that they had never prayed at
all. The word which he applied to God was Father.
Only occasionallyin the long sweepof the ages had
a soul here and there ventured to apply to Deity a
name so familiar and sweet, but Jesus ofNazareth
always thinks and speaks ofGod as Father. He
names Him this in his own prayers, he tells other
men that they also may use this name. To trust in
the goodnessand mercy of the goodFather was his
own intensestand fullest delight; to induce others

to trust in Him abo was his constant ambition and
endeavor.
How much Jesus has to teach us at this point.
It is often supposed that it is easyto believe in God.
The fact is, nothing is more difficult to do at certain
times and in certain circumstances. Itis easy, in-
deed, to say that one trusts in God, but really to do
it when justice seems deadand love seems to have
vanished, that is difficult indeed. Who can study
Nature without finding things in it which make it
difficult to believe in the goodFather? Does not
Nature seemto be cruel? Does she seemto have
HIS TRUST 139
any heart? Do not fire bum and waterdrown
and volcanoes covercities without mercy? Does
Nature not carry on her vastoperations with abso-
lute indifiference to the wishes or welfare of men?
All of the greatthinkers who have gazed into the

face of Nature have been appalled by her heartless-
ness and her indifference. Jesus ofNazareth found
in Nature fresh evidences of God's love. Other men
noting how the sunshine falls upon the heads of the
goodand the bad had come to the conclusionthat
God does not know — God does not care. Whereas
Jesus looking onthe same phenomenon sees in it
fresh evidence of the greatheart of the goodFather.
The rain falls upon the farm of the man who blas-
phemes and also upon the farm of the man who
serves God, not because Godis indifferent to the
difference in character, but because he is so good
that his mercy covers all of his children. Just as
the earthly parent allows the disobedient son to sit
down at the table with his obedient brothers and
sisters, so it is the goodGod who feeds the goodand
the bad, the just and the unjust, unwilling to show
resentment, hoping still that every heart will sur-
render. To Jesus Nature is a greatwitness, clothed
in light, bearing continuoxis testimony to the width
of the eternalmercy.
But if Nature seems indifferent and cruel, what

shall we say of history — the arena in which has
been played out the tragedy of human life? What
a jumble of mysteries! What a mass of woes!
I40 CHARACTER OF JESUS
All of the centuries groaning with agony, all of the
ages dripping with blood ! Who can look upon the
sufferings of the innocent, or hear the cries of the
oppressed, or witness the slaughterof the pure and
the goodwithout asking himself: Does Godknow?
Does Godcare? Rightforever on the scaffold,
wrong foreveron the throne, — so it seems to the
man who reads history. Vice trixmiphs over virtue,
dishonesty tramples upon honesty, injustice lords
it over justice, hate defies and defeats love. This
happens not once but ten thousand times. Some
men read the dark and terrible story and give up
their faith in God. Jesus looks uponthe same
scene and gives to it a different interpretation. He
sees goodmen come and offer their services to the

world only to be rejectedand repulsed. One of
them is stoned, another is beaten, another is killed.
Their dead bodies are piled up in sickening heaps,
but to Jesus this is not evidence of the indifference
of God — it is the proof of his long-suffering patience ;
it is because he is not willing that any should be
lost that he keeps on century after century, sending
into the world prophets and apostles, heroesand
saints, who shall proclaim the messageofheaven
to bewildered and sinful man.
But if the processesofNature and the courses of
history make war upon one's trust in God, much
more terrible is the conflictwhich is often necessi-
tated by one's own personalexperience. Manya
man has for years trusted in God only to discover
HIS TRUST 141
when evil fortune came that his trust was not strong
enough to stand the shock. The very bestand

strongestof men when overtakenby misfortime are
obliged to readjust their faith. For a while they are
stupefied and dazed, scarcelyknowing whither to
turn or what to think. So it was with Job. His
faith in God was complete, so he thought ; but when
his children were takenand his fortune was swept
awayand his health vanished, he lay upon the ground
in his misery crying to God in his pain, imable to
see Him either on the right hand or on the left, either
behind or before. Many things conspire to blot
out one's trust in God. Disappointment may do it,
a man's fondest dream may come to nothing, his
central ambition may fail. One disappointment
after another may come upon him until he sinks
down vanquished and hopeless, his torch extin-
guished. Persecutionmay break a man's faith in
God, the inhumanity of man may turn sour the
juices of the heart ; the misimderstandings and mis-
representations ofmen, their hostility and faithless-
ness, their contempt and their scorn, may render it
well-nigh impossible to believe that God rules the
world.

Other men are overcome by failure. Nothing
to them was so sweetas success. To winsuc-
cess they give the best of their years and all their
powers, but in spite of all they can do successdoes
not come. At the end of the day they confess them-
selves defeated. In the bitterness of their defeat
they cry out, "Where is God?" Jesus ofNazareth
had all the dark experiences whichit is possible for
the soulto have. He had a work to do to which he
gave all the energy of his brain and his heart. He
had a dream which filled him with enthusiasm, he
had a messageto communicate which he was certain
would drive awaythe gloom and the woe of the
world. He went to Jerusalemto announce it —
the door there was slammed in his face. He an-
nounced it in the synagoguesofGalilee, but the
people there would not receive it. He then preached
it on the streetcomers of the greatcities, but the

crowds melted awaylike snow banks in June.
There were at lastonly twelve men who stood by
him, and the hearts of these were so fluctuating that
he said, "Will ye also go away?" To these twelve
men he gave himself with passionate devotion, pour-
ing into their souls his own very life. But the bold-
estof them turned out a coward, and one of the
most trusted of them became a traitor, and when
the crisis in his life came they all forsook him and
fled.
But notwithstanding his disappointment, his
trust in God was unbroken. In the midst of the
tempest his torch kept on burning, and he cried,
"Be of goodcheer, I have overcome the world."
He was persecutedas no other man before his day
or since ; he was maligned, abused, execrated. Men
calledhim crazy, others said he had a devil. He was
accusedofblasphemy, of treason — but his heart
HIS TRUST 143

remained sweet. Menbuffeted him and abused
him, hissing at him their ingratitude and hatred,
but he said, "The cup which my Father has given
me to drink, shall I not drink it?" And then
finally he failed. He failed to do the thing to which
he had devoted all of his powers — the thing for
which he had steadfastlyprayed. We do not often
enough ponder this — that the earthly life of Jesus
was a failure. We dwell upon the things which
have happened since his death, and dwelling upon
these we see that he has succeeded; but it should
never be forgottenthat his life on the day of his
death was a terrible and heart-breaking failure.
Injustice was strongerthan justice, imrighteousness
was mightier than righteousness,hate was stronger
than love. He had tried to induce the world to
accepta beautiful truth, but the world spumed
him. In the hour of his greatdefeat he still looked
to God saying, "Notmy will but thine be done."
Defeatitself could not daimt him or make him draw
back. If it is necessary, he said, that I should be
sacrificed, that I should be trodden imder the feet

of the men who are thirsting for my blood, if that is
the will of the Infinite Father, then to that I gladly
submit.
Neverwas there a man like this man. Other
greatand strong men have lived and labored, but
never a man like Jesus ofNazareth. John the
Baptist was mighty, but when the wind blew he
bent like a reed. Simon Peterwas a giant, but when
the storm ragedhe beganto sink. But Jesus of
Nazareth, in the midst of the wildest storm that ever
blotted out the heavens and causedthe earth to
quake, lookedsteadily towardGod, saying, "Not
my will but thine be done." Look down across the
ages and see the greatmen, how they are swayed
and tossedby the winds and storms ; but there above
them all there rises this man of Galilee like some
majestic mountain, his peacefulhead outlined against

the blue.
What does it mean to trust in Jesus?
Question:"What does it mean to trust in Jesus?"
Answer: The expressiontrust in Jesus holds multi-layered meaning. In one
sense, trusting in Jesus means believing in Him for salvation(John 3:16). We
believe who He is—Godin human form—and put our faith in Him as Savior.
And we believe what He has done—that He died for our sins and rose from
the dead. Since we cannot save ourselves from sin and death (Romans 3:10–
20), we trust in Jesus to save us (John 11:25). We cannotreceive eternal life
and live forever in the presence ofGod until we’ve trusted in Jesus as Savior
and acceptedHis forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7).
Subsequent to salvation, trusting in Jesus means committing or dedicating
ourselves entirely to Him. When we are born again, we become followers of
Jesus Christ. As His followers, we put complete confidence in Him and His
Word. To trust in Jesus means to believe everything He saidand acceptHis
Word as true: “So Jesus saidto the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide
in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the
truth will setyou free’” (John 8:31–32, ESV). The more we know and abide in
the words of Jesus, the more we will obey Him, and the more our confidence
in Him will grow as we experience freedomin Christ.

A trustworthy promise Jesus gave us in His Word was to come to Him to find
rest: “Come to me, all you who are wearyand burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easyand my
burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30). A yoke is a woodenharness used to join
the necks oftwo draft animals. Together, the beasts canmore effectively pull a
heavy load. In the time when Jesus spoke these words, farmers would often
pair a young, inexperienced, but vigorous animal with an older, weaker, but
seasonedanimal. The younger animal would learn from the more experienced
one, and the older would benefit from the younger one’s strength to help
carry the load.
Rest, another wayof expressing trust, is a state of leaning on Jesus for
strength and learning from Him. He shares the load as we journey together.
When we are tired and overburdened, we can come alongside Jesus andfind
rest for our souls. In this way, we trust in Jesus, by relying on Him for
everything in our lives, especiallywhen we are wearyand burdened down.
Jesus is the believer’s Sabbath-rest (Hebrews 4:1–11).
Jesus understands our weaknessesand knows we will struggle to trust in Him.
That is why Scripture says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every
situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7). When we
take our anxious hearts to God in prayer, He offers us peace. His presence is
peace. The passagedoes notsay He’ll always give us what we’re asking for,
but it does promise peace to guard our hearts and minds. To trust in Jesus
means to come to Him and believe He has goodand trustworthy plans for our
lives and our future. We don’t have to fret about tomorrow. When we trust in
Jesus, He pours out His peace on us.

Our trust in Jesus grows through experience (2 Corinthians 1:10) as we see
God working all things in our lives—both the goodand bad—for His purpose
(Romans 8:28). Jesus wants us to live by faith in Him (2 Corinthians 5:7;
Galatians 2:20), and so the Christian life becomes a testing and training
ground in trust: “Considerit pure joy, my brothers and sisters, wheneveryou
face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
produces perseverance. Letperseverance finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in
me” (John 14:1). We may know that Jesus loves us and promises always to be
with us (Matthew 28:20), but we can’t see Him, and, during times of trouble,
doubt and fear can creepin and make it difficult to apply that knowledge.
Peterencouragesus that we cantrust in Jesus evenwhen we cannot see Him:
“In all this you greatlyrejoice, though now for a little while you may have had
to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven
genuineness ofyour faith—of greaterworth than gold, which perishes even
though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus
Christ is revealed. Thoughyou have not seenhim, you love him; and even
though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an
inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:6–8).
Even though we can’t see Jesus with our physical eyes, the Holy Spirit enables
us to see Jesus withthe eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:18–20). Ultimately, our
inability to see Jesus physically makes our trust in Him even more secure.
That is why Jesus said, “Blessedare those who have not seenand yet have
believed” (John 20:29).
The apostle Paulcaptured what it means for a believer to trust in Jesus:“For
our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternalglory that
far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is

unseen, since what is seenis temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2
Corinthians 4:17–18).
Jesus is teaching us to trust Him in all things at all times with all of our heart
(Proverbs 3:5–6) so that our faith becomes unshakeable:“Trust in the LORD
forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah26:4).
As we learn to trust in Jesus more, we identify more with the psalmist’s
description of a believer at rest in the arms of God: “I have calmedand
quieted myself, I am like a weanedchild with its mother; like a weanedchild I
am content” (Psalm131:2).
https://www.gotquestions.org/trust-in-Jesus.html
The Book Jesus Trusted
Bible / Bible Study / Bible Study Tips / The Book JesusTrusted
Wednesday, September27, 2017
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If we look closelyatthe recordedwords of Jesus, andespeciallyin the 1 in
every 10 that are quotations from the Old Testament, we can see that the
Bible was Christ's Book that He constantly relied upon.
Jesus built His life and ministry upon the foundation of this Book that He
believed was FLAWLESS from Genesis to Malachi. The words of our Lord
Jesus were filled with the Scriptures. Jesus usedthis Book at all times in His
ministry. Some key places He used them are:
In His Temptation: In Matthew 4, Jesus met and overcame Satanin the
Wilderness of Temptation using three verses from Deuteronomy
(Deuteronomy 8:3; Deuteronomy6:16; Deuteronomy 6:13).

In His Following God's Will: In Matthew 4, Jesus goes onand launched His
ministry by saying that He was following what Godhas said He would do
(Matthew 4:16 quotes Isaiah9:1-2).
In His Teachings:In Matthew 5, Jesus usedOld Testamentpassagesto teach
the truths of the Sermon on the Mount (for example: Matthew 5:21 is Exodus
20:13, Deuteronomy5:17; Matthew 5:27 is Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy5:8;
Matthew 5:38 is Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21;and so
on).
In His Sorrows:In Matthew 26, to prepare for Gethsemane, Jesus sang from
the Scriptures at the Last Supper with His disciples. (Matthew 26:30 and
Mark 14:26 use the greek word#5214 humneo) which means they were
literally singing the paschalhymns of Psalms 113-118, and136. These Psalms
are what the Jews calledthe "greatHallel."
In His Prayers:After the PassoverSupper, Jesus walkedand prayed His
mighty intercessionofJohn 17, and to do so He uses the Scriptures of Psalms
41:9.
In His Pains:In Matthew 27, to endure the horrors of Golgotha, Jesushad the
words of the Scriptures flowing from His lips on the Cross (Matthew 27:46
and Luke 23:46 quote Psalms 22:1 and Psalms 34:5).
In His Discipleship:And finally we see at the end of the Gospelaccount, to
comfort the confused and sorrowful disciples in Luke 24:44, Jesus reminds
them that the Scriptures often speak of Him. And then opens their minds to
understand and see Him in the Scriptures.
So, by observation we can clearlysee that Jesus was a Man of this Book, He
used it, trusted and affirmed it, and taught us the same.
Dr. John S. Barnett of discoverthe book ministry has servedas pastor for 31
years in 3 congregationsand has systematicallystudied and taught God's
Word daily for over 30 years.

He Trusted to Him Who Judges Justly
Resource by John Piper
Scripture: 1 Peter2:18–25 Topic:Persecution
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to the kind
and gentle but also to the overbearing. For one is approved if, mindful of God,
he endures pain while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, if when you do
wrong and are beatenfor it, you take it patiently? But if when you do right
and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God's approval. For to this you
have been called, because Christalso suffered for you, leaving you an
example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin; no guile
was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when
he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. He
himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live
to righteousness. Byhis wounds you have been healed. For you were straying
like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your
souls.
If you are a Christian this morning, God has calledyou to endure unjust
suffering without bitterness or revenge or the desire to hurt back. That's what
I want to talk about this morning—not returning evil for evil, but doing good
to those who hurt you and let you down.
Two Reasonsfor This Message
There are at leasttwo reasons I feelthe need for this word today.
Justifying Anger by the Wrongs Done to Us
One is this: it seems to me a lot of people today, Christians included, justify
their angerand their critical spirit by the wrongs that have been done to
them. In other words, there are lots of people who, if you point out to them

that they seemto be unduly angry or bitter or critical or slanderous of others,
immediately tell you about how badly they have been treated or how they've
been let down or how they've been hurt.
There appears to be an automatic and deeply rooted sense that if I've been
mistreated or let down or hurt, then the other person deserves to be shownup
and brought to justice, and paid back, and therefore I have the right to make
sure that happens and I canuse criticism or slander or put-downs or threats
or grudges to make sure they gettheir comeuppance. And it seems to me that
less and less do I hear people say, "Yes, I have been unjustly hurt, let down,
mistreated; and yes, they deserve to be shown up and brought to justice and
rebuked; but no, I will not be bitter, I will not retaliate, I will not criticize or
slander; I will return goodfor evil and I will bless rather than curse.
I think we need to recoverthis deep biblical teaching that God has called
Christians to endure unjust suffering without bitterness or revenge or the
desire to hurt back. That's the first reasonI bring this messagethis morning.
I want to say from the outsetthat this is not merely a rule to be kept, but a
miracle to be experienced, and grace to be received.
My Own Needto Grow in This Grace
The other reasonI focus on this grace this morning is that I am desperatelyin
need of growing in this grace—andI think I am pretty normal at this point. I
use the word desperatelywithout exaggeration. The desperationis there more
or less depending on varying circumstances, but it is there more and more, it
seems, as I get older. I do not think that I cansurvive and thrive as father,
husband, pastor, or crusader for truth and righteousness, ifI do not grow in
this grace, andif the people around me don't show me this grace.
It would be very hard for me to overstate how strongly I feel about this right
now in my life and the life of our church and the life of the evangelical
movement around the world. Marriages, parenting, friendships, employment
stability, ministry in the church (of every kind!), perseverance in fighting for
socialrighteousness—surviving and hanging in for the long haul of
effectiveness depends more on this grace than most people realize. I know

beyond the shadow of doubt that my family and my ministry at Bethlehem
and my role in movements beyond this church radically hang on whether I
and those near me experience the miracle in our lives of not returning hurt for
hurt.
So I hope you join me in taking this very seriouslyas we look at God's Word
together. He is calling for nothing less than a death to what we are by nature
and a new life radically different from the way we were born (cf. v. 24).
The Nature of Our Calling as Christians
Start with me at verse 19 to see the nature of our calling as Christians:
One is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain [the word implies mental
anguish and grief, not physical] while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it,
if when you do wrong and are beaten for it, you take it patiently? But if when
you do right and suffer for it [these two words are not in the text] you take it
patiently, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called . . .
Please letthis sink in! When you do RIGHT, you will suffer. When you do
RIGHT, you will be criticized. When you do RIGHT, things won't necessarily
get better. When you do RIGHT, someone will saya hurtful thing. When you
do RIGHT, people will not even notice and there will be no appreciation.
Yet there are so many of us who act as though such abuse of us when we have
done right is absolutely intolerable. This is wrong. I've been violated. Any
decent personwouldn't respond to me that way. The leastthey could do is
notice . . . And there arises this overwhelming emotional force inside of us that
we have a right and a DUTY to set this thing straight, and make sure that the
words come back on their own head, point out their flaws, and get vindicated.
Becausewe've done RIGHT!
How many of us live in the liberating knowledge thatit is our calling—our
CALLING, our vocation!—to be misunderstood, criticized, ignored, and hurt
for doing what is right, and not to return hurt for hurt?
The Calling of All Christians

Now, lestanyone think that this teaching here relates only to servants and
masters, look with me at 1 Peter3:8–9.
Finally, all of you [not just servants], have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of
the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind. Do not return evil for evil or
reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called
. . .
This calling belongs to every personin this room who trusts Jesus. Verse 21
(chapter 2) shows why: "Forto this you have been called[you were calledto
be hurt for doing right and to bear it without bitterness or revenge], because
Christ also sufferedfor you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in
his steps."
Two Things Were Happening When Jesus Suffered
What this verse says is that two things—not just one thing, but two things—
were happening when Jesus suffered. One is found in the words, "Christ
suffered for you." When Christ suffered—more than any of us have
suffered—he was standing in your place. He was bearing your sins so that
your condemnation became his and he took it awayfrom you. So the
sufferings of your life in Christ are NOT condemnation for sin, they are
discipline for holiness (1 Peter1:6–7; Hebrews 12:3–11). The sufferings of
Christians are not divine condemnation. That is preciselywhat Christ bore
"for us" (1 Peter2:24; Galatians 3:13). And that's why our sufferings come
just as often from doing what's right as from doing what's wrong. It is not
divine condemnation; it is divine CALLING!
Becausethe secondthing that was happening when Christ suffered was that
he gave us an example of how we were to live. He died for you in order that
you might suffer like him. Then the example is spelledout in verses 22–23:
22) He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. [The point of that is
to show us that he was doing what was RIGHT. He did not deserve to suffer.
He deserved it less than anybody in the history of the world deservedit.] 23)

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not
threaten . . .
So this is our calling, Peter says. Not to hurt back. And not to plan to hurt
back. And not to seethe with bitterness because you're not allowedto hurt
back. So you can see this is not a simple rule to keep. This is a miracle to be
experienced. It's a grace to be received. And it is the only way that many
marriages cansurvive and flourish. Spouses canhurt eachother worse than
anybody else. And how many are consumed day and night with indignation
and "justified" self-pity and numbing frustration that they are doing RIGHT
and all they get is pain.
Where Does This Miracle Come From?
So where does this miracle come from? How does the grace getchanneled to
us? First, let me give the overarching answerof the text, and then see how it
works out in experience.
"Mindful of God"
The overarching answeris found in verse 19:"One is approved if, mindful of
God [or conscious ofGod], he endures pain while suffering unjustly."
The miracle happens—the grace comes—whenwe are conscious ofGod. It
comes by reckoning with God. Including God in the equation of your
relationship. Thinking about God. Looking to God as a third party who is
really present. Taking Godas seriouslyas we take the offense againstus. The
source of this miracle is GOD!
But let's be more specific. What are we to think when we think of God in such
situations of unjust hurt? What are we to believe about God?
"He Trusted to Him Who Judges Justly"
The answeris given in verse 23: "When he [Jesus]was reviled, he did not
revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him
who judges justly." Let's getthe translation straight. The NIV and the NASB

go beyond the text when they say"he entrusted himself to the one who judges
justly." The text does not have "himself." The RSV is right to say that Jesus
simply "trusted [or: handed over] to him who judges justly."
That is, he handed over to God the whole situation including himself and
those abusing him and the hurt done and all the factors that made it a
horrendous outrage of injustice that the most innocent man who ever lived
should suffer so much. He trusted it all into God's hands as the one who would
settle the matter justly someday. He said, "I will not carry the burden of
revenge, I will not carry the burden of sorting out motives, I will not carry the
burden of self-pity; I will not carry the burden of bitterness; I will hand all
that over to God who will settle it all in a perfectly just way and I will pray,
Father, forgive them they don't know what they do (Luke 23:34)."
Your Calling Today
This is your calling this morning. It's not merely a rule to be followed. It's a
miracle to be experienced. A grace to be received. It's a promise to be
believed. Do you believe, do you trust, that God sees everywrong done to you,
that he knows every hurt, that he assessesmotives and circumstances with
perfect accuracy, thathe is impeccably righteous and takes no bribes, and
that he will settle all accounts with perfectjustice? This is what it means to be
"conscious ofGod" in the midst of unjust pain.
If you believe this—if God is this real to you—then you will hand it overto
God, and though nobody in the world may understand where your peace and
joy and freedom to love is coming from, you know. The answeris God. And
sooneror later they will know.
Two Illustrations of How This Works
Let me close with two illustrations of how this works in two kinds of
situations.
When the GoodYou Do Goes Unnoticed

The first is the hurt you experience when the goodthat you do is not noticed
or not appreciated, especiallyby those who mean the most to you. Parents
who never say (or never said), "Goodjob," no matter how hard the kid tries.
Children who never thank mom for hundreds of rides and meals and
launderings. Or husbands and wives who long ago stoppedlooking eachother
in the eyes and saying: "I love you. Thanks for all you do."
How do you survive and thrive when all your love disappears in a black hole
of silence?
The answeris God. Jesus said(in Matthew 6:4, 6, 18), "Your Fatherwho sees
in secretwill reward you." So you go to your room and you say to your Father
in heaven, "Father, ofall the audiences in the universe that I might want to
notice the efforts of my love, you are the most important. I believe you have
seenall. You write it in a book. You will rewardme far more than any human
could. I thank you. I love you. I need you. Keep yourself more real to me than
my closestfriend. Give me the grace now to be done with self-pity and all
angerand to go forward in love to everyone." The answeris to be "conscious
of God" (1 Peter2:19).
When the GoodYou Do Is Rejected
The other illustration is the hurt you experience when the goodyou do is
rejected, or twisted, or criticized, or persecuted. Someone lies aboutyou and
you lose your job with no justification at all. You confide in someone and bare
your soul, and it comes back in your face as a criticism and rejection. Or like
Karen Sorenson, you sit down for the first time prayerfully and non-violently
in front of an abortion mill in Fargo and you get sentto do nine months in the
Bismarck State Penitentiary for peacefully trying to save the lives of unborn
children.
How do you survive and thrive and go on loving when your deep judicial sense
cries out: NO! It isn't right. This can't be tolerated. It is not fair.
The answeragainis God. Paulsaid in Romans 12:19–20, "Beloveddo not
avenge yourselves, but give place to wrath. For it is written, 'Vengeance is

mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' No, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he
is thirsty, give him drink.'"
In other words, do what Jesus did. Hand it over to God. God sees it. And God
judges justly. Nothing escapes his notice. Nothing falls from his memory. He
will settle all accounts more fairly than we ever could. Lay it down. Let it go.
This is your calling.
It all boils down to this. Remember God. Be conscious ofGod. Trust God. He
will remember and reward you for every goodforgotten by everyone else. He
will avenge you for every injustice overlookedby men. So you are free. I send
you out as free men and free women and free children. Leave behind in this
room the yoke of self-pity and the yoke bitterness. God is there in every
relationship. Remember him. Be consciousofhim. Hand it over to him. Trust
him.
He Trusted to Him Who Judges Justly
Resource by John Piper
Scripture: 1 Peter2:18–25 Topic:Persecution
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to the kind
and gentle but also to the overbearing. For one is approved if, mindful of God,
he endures pain while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, if when you do
wrong and are beatenfor it, you take it patiently? But if when you do right
and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God's approval. For to this you
have been called, because Christalso suffered for you, leaving you an
example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin; no guile
was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when
he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. He

himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live
to righteousness. Byhis wounds you have been healed. For you were straying
like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your
souls.
If you are a Christian this morning, God has calledyou to endure unjust
suffering without bitterness or revenge or the desire to hurt back. That's what
I want to talk about this morning—not returning evil for evil, but doing good
to those who hurt you and let you down.
Two Reasonsfor This Message
There are at least two reasons I feelthe need for this word today.
Justifying Anger by the Wrongs Done to Us
One is this: it seems to me a lot of people today, Christians included, justify
their angerand their critical spirit by the wrongs that have been done to
them. In other words, there are lots of people who, if you point out to them
that they seemto be unduly angry or bitter or critical or slanderous of others,
immediately tell you about how badly they have been treated or how they've
been let down or how they've been hurt.
There appears to be an automatic and deeply rooted sense that if I've been
mistreated or let down or hurt, then the other person deserves to be shownup
and brought to justice, and paid back, and therefore I have the right to make
sure that happens and I canuse criticism or slander or put-downs or threats
or grudges to make sure they gettheir comeuppance. And it seems to me that
less and less do I hear people say, "Yes, I have been unjustly hurt, let down,
mistreated; and yes, they deserve to be shown up and brought to justice and
rebuked; but no, I will not be bitter, I will not retaliate, I will not criticize or
slander; I will return goodfor evil and I will bless rather than curse.
I think we need to recoverthis deep biblical teaching that God has called
Christians to endure unjust suffering without bitterness or revenge or the
desire to hurt back. That's the first reasonI bring this messagethis morning.

I want to say from the outsetthat this is not merely a rule to be kept, but a
miracle to be experienced, and grace to be received.
My Own Needto Grow in This Grace
The other reasonI focus on this grace this morning is that I am desperatelyin
need of growing in this grace—andI think I am pretty normal at this point. I
use the word desperatelywithout exaggeration. The desperationis there more
or less depending on varying circumstances, but it is there more and more, it
seems, as I get older. I do not think that I cansurvive and thrive as father,
husband, pastor, or crusader for truth and righteousness, ifI do not grow in
this grace, andif the people around me don't show me this grace.
It would be very hard for me to overstate how strongly I feel about this right
now in my life and the life of our church and the life of the evangelical
movement around the world. Marriages, parenting, friendships, employment
stability, ministry in the church (of every kind!), perseverance in fighting for
socialrighteousness—surviving and hanging in for the long haul of
effectiveness depends more on this grace than most people realize. I know
beyond the shadow of doubt that my family and my ministry at Bethlehem
and my role in movements beyond this church radically hang on whether I
and those near me experience the miracle in our lives of not returning hurt for
hurt.
So I hope you join me in taking this very seriouslyas we look at God's Word
together. He is calling for nothing less than a death to what we are by nature
and a new life radically different from the way we were born (cf. v. 24).
The Nature of Our Calling as Christians
Start with me at verse 19 to see the nature of our calling as Christians:
One is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain [the word implies mental
anguish and grief, not physical] while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it,
if when you do wrong and are beaten for it, you take it patiently? But if when

you do right and suffer for it [these two words are not in the text] you take it
patiently, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called . . .
Please letthis sink in! When you do RIGHT, you will suffer. When you do
RIGHT, you will be criticized. When you do RIGHT, things won't necessarily
get better. When you do RIGHT, someone will saya hurtful thing. When you
do RIGHT, people will not even notice and there will be no appreciation.
Yet there are so many of us who act as though such abuse of us when we have
done right is absolutely intolerable. This is wrong. I've been violated. Any
decent personwouldn't respond to me that way. The leastthey could do is
notice . . . And there arises this overwhelming emotional force inside of us that
we have a right and a DUTY to set this thing straight, and make sure that the
words come back on their own head, point out their flaws, and get vindicated.
Becausewe've done RIGHT!
How many of us live in the liberating knowledge thatit is our calling—our
CALLING, our vocation!—to be misunderstood, criticized, ignored, and hurt
for doing what is right, and not to return hurt for hurt?
The Calling of All Christians
Now, lestanyone think that this teaching here relates only to servants and
masters, look with me at 1 Peter3:8–9.
Finally, all of you [not just servants], have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of
the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind. Do not return evil for evil or
reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called
. . .
This calling belongs to every personin this room who trusts Jesus. Verse 21
(chapter 2) shows why: "Forto this you have been called[you were calledto
be hurt for doing right and to bear it without bitterness or revenge], because
Christ also sufferedfor you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in
his steps."
Two Things Were Happening When Jesus Suffered

What this verse says is that two things—not just one thing, but two things—
were happening when Jesus suffered. One is found in the words, "Christ
suffered for you." When Christ suffered—more than any of us have
suffered—he was standing in your place. He was bearing your sins so that
your condemnation became his and he took it awayfrom you. So the
sufferings of your life in Christ are NOT condemnation for sin, they are
discipline for holiness (1 Peter1:6–7; Hebrews 12:3–11). The sufferings of
Christians are not divine condemnation. That is preciselywhat Christ bore
"for us" (1 Peter2:24; Galatians 3:13). And that's why our sufferings come
just as often from doing what's right as from doing what's wrong. It is not
divine condemnation; it is divine CALLING!
Becausethe secondthing that was happening when Christ suffered was that
he gave us an example of how we were to live. He died for you in order that
you might suffer like him. Then the example is spelledout in verses 22–23:
22) He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. [The point of that is
to show us that he was doing what was RIGHT. He did not deserve to suffer.
He deserved it less than anybody in the history of the world deservedit.] 23)
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not
threaten . . .
So this is our calling, Petersays. Not to hurt back. And not to plan to hurt
back. And not to seethe with bitterness because you're not allowedto hurt
back. So you can see this is not a simple rule to keep. This is a miracle to be
experienced. It's a grace to be received. And it is the only way that many
marriages cansurvive and flourish. Spouses canhurt eachother worse than
anybody else. And how many are consumed day and night with indignation
and "justified" self-pity and numbing frustration that they are doing RIGHT
and all they get is pain.
Where Does This Miracle Come From?

So where does this miracle come from? How does the grace getchanneled to
us? First, let me give the overarching answerof the text, and then see how it
works out in experience.
"Mindful of God"
The overarching answeris found in verse 19:"One is approved if, mindful of
God [or conscious ofGod], he endures pain while suffering unjustly."
The miracle happens—the grace comes—whenwe are conscious ofGod. It
comes by reckoning with God. Including God in the equation of your
relationship. Thinking about God. Looking to God as a third party who is
really present. Taking Godas seriouslyas we take the offense againstus. The
source of this miracle is GOD!
But let's be more specific. What are we to think when we think of God in such
situations of unjust hurt? What are we to believe about God?
"He Trusted to Him Who Judges Justly"
The answeris given in verse 23: "When he [Jesus]was reviled, he did not
revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him
who judges justly." Let's getthe translation straight. The NIV and the NASB
go beyond the text when they say"he entrusted himself to the one who judges
justly." The text does not have "himself." The RSV is right to say that Jesus
simply "trusted [or: handed over] to him who judges justly."
That is, he handed over to God the whole situation including himself and
those abusing him and the hurt done and all the factors that made it a
horrendous outrage of injustice that the most innocent man who ever lived
should suffer so much. He trusted it all into God's hands as the one who would
settle the matter justly someday. He said, "I will not carry the burden of
revenge, I will not carry the burden of sorting out motives, I will not carry the
burden of self-pity; I will not carry the burden of bitterness; I will hand all
that over to God who will settle it all in a perfectly just way and I will pray,
Father, forgive them they don't know what they do (Luke 23:34)."
Your Calling Today

This is your calling this morning. It's not merely a rule to be followed. It's a
miracle to be experienced. A grace to be received. It's a promise to be
believed. Do you believe, do you trust, that God sees everywrong done to you,
that he knows every hurt, that he assessesmotives and circumstances with
perfect accuracy, thathe is impeccably righteous and takes no bribes, and
that he will settle all accounts with perfectjustice? This is what it means to be
"conscious ofGod" in the midst of unjust pain.
If you believe this—if God is this real to you—then you will hand it overto
God, and though nobody in the world may understand where your peace and
joy and freedom to love is coming from, you know. The answeris God. And
sooneror later they will know.
Two Illustrations of How This Works
Let me close with two illustrations of how this works in two kinds of
situations.
When the GoodYou Do Goes Unnoticed
The first is the hurt you experience when the goodthat you do is not noticed
or not appreciated, especiallyby those who mean the most to you. Parents
who never say (or never said), "Goodjob," no matter how hard the kid tries.
Children who never thank mom for hundreds of rides and meals and
launderings. Or husbands and wives who long ago stoppedlooking eachother
in the eyes and saying: "I love you. Thanks for all you do."
How do you survive and thrive when all your love disappears in a black hole
of silence?
The answeris God. Jesus said(in Matthew 6:4, 6, 18), "Your Fatherwho sees
in secretwill reward you." So you go to your room and you say to your Father
in heaven, "Father, ofall the audiences in the universe that I might want to
notice the efforts of my love, you are the most important. I believe you have
seenall. You write it in a book. You will rewardme far more than any human
could. I thank you. I love you. I need you. Keep yourself more real to me than

my closestfriend. Give me the grace now to be done with self-pity and all
angerand to go forward in love to everyone." The answeris to be "conscious
of God" (1 Peter2:19).
When the GoodYou Do Is Rejected
The other illustration is the hurt you experience when the goodyou do is
rejected, or twisted, or criticized, or persecuted. Someone lies aboutyou and
you lose your job with no justification at all. You confide in someone and bare
your soul, and it comes back in your face as a criticism and rejection. Or like
Karen Sorenson, you sit down for the first time prayerfully and non-violently
in front of an abortion mill in Fargo and you get sentto do nine months in the
Bismarck State Penitentiary for peacefully trying to save the lives of unborn
children.
How do you survive and thrive and go on loving when your deep judicial sense
cries out: NO! It isn't right. This can't be tolerated. It is not fair.
The answeragainis God. Paulsaid in Romans 12:19–20, "Beloveddo not
avenge yourselves, but give place to wrath. For it is written, 'Vengeance is
mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' No, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he
is thirsty, give him drink.'"
In other words, do what Jesus did. Hand it over to God. God sees it. And God
judges justly. Nothing escapes his notice. Nothing falls from his memory. He
will settle all accounts more fairly than we ever could. Lay it down. Let it go.
This is your calling.
It all boils down to this. Remember God. Be conscious ofGod. Trust God. He
will remember and reward you for every goodforgotten by everyone else. He
will avenge you for every injustice overlookedby men. So you are free. I send
you out as free men and free women and free children. Leave behind in this
room the yoke of self-pity and the yoke bitterness. God is there in every
relationship. Remember him. Be consciousofhim. Hand it over to him. Trust
him.

Why We Can Trust Him
Article by Trillia Newbell
GuestContributor
Trust the Lord! It’s one of those sincere, but often trite-sounding, statements
we may say when we are trying to encourage orchallenge someone.We may
throw it around when someone has a hope deferred. Trust the Lord.
We sayit when someone is anxious about provision. We sayit to the terrified
young mom as she brings her first child home from the hospital. We sayit,
perhaps in a slightly different way, to the wife who has just losther beloved
husband. I’m praying for you. Lean on the Lord.
And when we are miserable with fear — fear of the future, fear of man, fear
of tragedy — we often say, Trust the Lord.
Those little words do indeed pack a lot of truth, but what does it really mean
to trust the Lord and how might our encouragementbetter point us to the
One we can trust? In other words, yes, we want to trust the Lord, but why can
we?
Learning on the Job
We canlearn a lot about why we cantrust God from the story of Job. In the
midst of greattrouble, Job had to trust the Lord. I can only imagine the fear
he experiencedas one horrible event happened after another.
If you remember the story of Job, then you know that he lost everything. And
by “everything,” I mean everything that was of any importance to him. Job

lost everything. At the end of his story, as he repents and sings greatpraise to
God, Jobproclaims, “I know that you cando all things, and that no purpose
of yours canbe thwarted” (Job 42:2).
Job suffered greatly, and, I imagine, he was very confused. His friends didn’t
do a goodjob of comforting him; Job even calledthem “miserable
comforters” (Job16:2). But Jobturned to God and was convincedof the
wisdom of God, even in the midst of greatpain and confusion.
Sovereign, Wise, and Loving
We geta glimpse of Job’s view of God when he says, “His wisdom is profound,
his poweris vast. Who has resistedhim and come out unscathed?” (Job9:4
NIV), and, “With God are wisdom and might; he has counseland
understanding” (Job 12:13). Job isn’t thinking about how he feels at the
moment or even his current circumstances,though there is no problem with
considering those things. Instead, Job realizes that in order to minister to his
own heart he must remember the characterofGod — who God is, and why he
can be trusted. Job doesn’t ignore his pain — but he does remember his King.
And what did God do? He restoredJob and his fortunes. He gave him twice as
much livestock as he had previously possessedand gave him more children:
sevensons and three daughters. Job was restoredto his family and friends.
The Lord workedin unexpected ways. The end of Job almost reads like the
familiar passageoftriumph over pain in Romans 8. Job had learneda truth
about God that one day would be uttered by the apostle Paul:
What then shall we sayto these things? If God is for us, who can be against
us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he
not also with him graciouslygive us all things? Who shall bring any charge
againstGod’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus
is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right
hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or

nakedness, ordanger, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:31–37)
God doesn’t do anything in his sovereignwill that isn’t both wise and loving.
If God is for you, who can be againstyou? We don’t trust God simply because
someone tells us to. We trust God because he is God. He is holy and awesome
and righteous in every way. We cantrust God because we don’t serve a God
who is only sovereignand wise. He is also infinitely loving.
God’s love is incomprehensible. We can’t fathom its depths, and when we try
to compare our love to God’s, we fall awfully short. We’ve heard it said
before, but it’s worth reflecting on the truth again and again, that God is love.
And even though your presentcircumstances may not feelloving, as surely as
you are in Christ, you are in his love.
When I am dreadfully fearful, I do want to be reminded to trust the Lord,
even if it might sound trite to some. My mind is forgetful, and I want your
help. Let’s point eachother to trust in him and meditate on why we can trust
him. God is worthy of our trust and adoration. Thankfully, he is also patient,
slow to anger, and abounding in greatlove. He knows our weaknessto trust
and believe, and he encouragesus to come to his throne of grace to receive
help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
Yes, yes, I want to trust the Lord.
The 7 Habits of People Who Place RadicalTrust in God
April 26, 2011 | 81 comments
I read a lot of biographies and memoirs about inspiring people who place
radical trust in God. (By “radical” I don’t mean recklessorimprudent, but
am referring to the difficult, very counter-cultural actof recognizing God’s
sovereigntyover every area of our lives. More on that here.) From He Leadeth

Me to God’s Smuggler, Mother Angelica to The Heavenly Man to The
Shadow of His Wings, these true stories are about people from all walks of the
Christian life: Catholic and Protestant, consecratedreligious and lay people,
men and women. And yet they all have distinct similarities in their approaches
to life and the Lord.
I found it fascinating to see what common threads could be found in the lives
of these incredible people who place so much trust in the Lord, and thought
I’d share in case others find it inspiring as well.
1. They acceptsuffering
One of the most powerful things I’ve read in recent memory is Brother Yun’s
story of being a persecutedpastorin China, as recountedin the book The
Heavenly Man. After facing weeksoftorture, including electrocution,
starvation, beatings, and having needles shoved under his fingernails, he was
thrown in a box that was four feet long, three feetwide, and four feethigh,
where he would stay indefinitely. The day after he was put in this mini cell, he
felt prompted to pray for a Bible — a ridiculous idea, considering that many
people were in prison at that very moment for being in possessionofsuch
contraband. Yet he prayed anyway. And, inexplicably, the guards threw a
Bible into his cell the next morning. He writes:
I knelt down and wept, thanking the Lord for this greatgift. I could scarcely
believe my dream had come true! No prisoner was ever allowedto have a
Bible or any Christian literature, yet, strangely, God provided a Bible for me!
Through this incident the Lord showedme that regardless ofmen’s evil plans
for me, he had not forgotten me and was in control of my life.
Now, the less saintly among us (cough-cough)might have reactedto that a
little differently. Had I been tortured and thrown in a coffin-like cell, my
reactionto receiving a Bible would have likely been more along the lines of,
“Thanks for the Bible, Lord, but could we SEE ABOUT GETTING ME OUT
OF THIS METAL BOX FIRST?!?!” I wouldn’t have even “counted” the
Bible as an answeredprayer since my main prayer — reducing my physical
suffering — had gone unanswered.

Yet what I see overand over againin people like Brother Yun is that they
have crystal clarity on the fact that suffering is not the worstevil — sin is.
Yes, they would prefer not to suffer, and do sometimes pray for the relief of
suffering. But they prioritize it lowerthan the rest of us do — they focus far
more on not sinning than on not suffering. They have a laserfocus on getting
themselves and others to heaven. In Brother Yun’s case, he saw through that
answeredprayer that God was allowing him to grow spiritually and minister
to his captors, so his circumstances ofsuffering in an uncomfortable cell
became almostirrelevant to him.
2. They acceptthe inevitability of death
Similar to the above, people who place greattrust in God canonly do so with
a heaven-centeredworldview. They think in terms of eternity, not in terms of
calendaryears. Their goalis not to maximize their time on earth, but rather
to get themselves and as many other people as possible to heaven. And if God
can best do that by shortening their lifespans, they acceptthat.
The Shadow of His Wings is filled with jaw-dropping stories of Fr.
Goldmann’s miraculous escapesfrom death during World WarII, which begs
the question, “What about all the people who didn’t escape death?” Fr.
Goldmann would probably respond by saying that God saving him from
death was not the blessing in and of itself — after all, every single one of us
will die eventually. The blessing was saving him from death so that he could
continue his ministry bringing the Gospelto the Nazis. He eventually died
while building a ministry in Japan, and presumably acceptedthat God would
bring goodfrom his passing, eventhough there was undoubtedly more work
he wanted to do.
3. They have daily appointments with God
I have never heard of a personwho had a deep, calm trust in the Lord who
did not set aside time for focusedprayer every day. Both in the books I’ve
read and in real life, I’ve noticed that people like this always spend at leasta
few moments — and up to an hour or two if circumstances permit — focused
on nothing but prayer, every day. Also, they tend to do it first thing in the

morning, centering themselves in Christ before tackling anything else the day
may bring.
4. In prayer, they listen more than they talk
I’ve written before about my amazement that really holy people seem to get
their prayers answeredmore often than the rest of us. I’d heard enough
stories of people praying for something very specific, then receiving it, that I
started to wonder if they were psychic or God just liked them more than the
rest of us or something. What I eventually realized is that their ideas about
what to pray for came from the Holy Spirit in the first place, because they
spent so much time seeking God’s will for them, day in and day out.
So, to use the example of a famous story from Mother Angelica’s biography,
she had a satellite dish delivery man at the door who needed$600, 000 orhe
was going to return the dish, thus killing all the plans for the new station. She
ran to the chapel and prayed, and a guy she’d never met randomly called and
wanted to donate $600, 000. Herprayer wasn’t answeredbecauseshe had a
personalinterest in television and just really, really wanted it, but because she
had correctlydiscernedGod’s plan that she was to start a television stationon
this particular day.
5. They limit distractions
Of all the amazing stories in God’s Smuggler, one of the lines that jumped out
to me the most in the book was in the epilogue, when the authors talk about
how Brother Andrew’s work has continued in 21stcentury:
“I won’t even consider installing one of those call waiting monstrosities, ” he
exclaimed, “that interrupt one phone conversationto announce another.”
Technology, Andrew says, makes us far too accessible to the demands and
pressures of the moment. “Our first priority should be listening in patience
and silence for the voice of God.”
Far too accessible to the demands and pressures ofthe moment. That line has
haunted me eversince I read it. I love technology, but it does come with a
huge temptation to feel a generalincrease in urgency in our lives: I have to
reply to that email! Respondto that comment on my wall on Facebook!Ret-

tweetthat tweet!Read that direct message!Listen to that voicemail! Here in
the connectedage, we are constantlybombarded with demands on our
attention. Periods of silence, where we can cultivate inner stillness and wait
for the promptings of the Holy Spirit, are increasinglyrare.
One thing that all the people in these books have in common is that they had
very little of this pressure of false urgency. It’s hard to imagine Fr. Ciszek
coming up with the breathtaking insights about God’s will that he sharedin
He Leadeth Me with his iPhone buzzing alerts every few minutes, or Brother
Yun seeing the subtle beauty of God’s plan in the midst of persecution while
keeping his Twitter status updated on a minute-by-minute basis.
6. They submit their discernment to others
People who have a long history of watching the way the Lord works in their
lives notice that he often speaks throughholy friends, family members and
clergy. If they discern that God is calling them to something, especiallyif it’s
something big, they ask trusted Christian confidantes to pray about the
matter and see if they discern the same thing. And when others warn them not
to follow a certainpath — especiallyif it’s a spouse, confessoror spiritual
director — they take those indicators very seriously.
7. They offer the Lord their complete, unhesitating obedience
One of my favorite parts of God’s Smuggler is when Brother Andrew got a
visit from a man named Karl de Graafwho was part of a prayer group in
which people often spent hours of time in prayer, most of it listening in
silence:
I went out to the front stoop, and there was Karl de Graaf. “Hello!” I said,
surprised.
“Hello, Andy. Do you know how to drive?”
“Drive?”
“An automobile.”
“No, ” I said, bewildered. “No, I don’t.”

“Because lastnight in our prayers we had a word from the Lord about you.
It’s important for you to be able to drive.”
“Whateveron earth for?” I said. “I’ll never own a car, that’s for sure.”
“Andrew, ” Mr. de Graafspoke patiently, as to a slow-wittedstudent, “I’m
not arguing for the logic of the case. I’m just passing on the message.” And
with that, he was striding across the bridge.
Despite his initial hesitation, Brother Andrew discernedthat this was
something that God was calling him to do, so he learned to drive. It seemed
like a complete waste oftime, an utterly illogicaluse of his resources, but he
was obedient to the Lord’s call. I won’t spoil what happened next for those of
you who plan to read the book, but let’s just say that shortly after he received
his license, it turned out to be criticalto the future of his ministry (which
eventually brought the Gospelto thousands of people behind the Iron
Curtain) that he know how to drive.
I often think of how Mr. de Graafresponded when Brother Andrew was
scratching his head about this odd message:“That’s the excitement in
obedience, ” he said. “Finding out later what God had in mind.”
—
Obviously we can’t grow closerto God by aping the actions of others, but I
find lists like this helpful as a starting point for reflectionon my own spiritual
progress. I hope you found it helpful as well!
http://jenniferfulwiler.com/2011/04/7-habits-trust-god/
Abrahamic / Middle Eastern
Christianity
How Do You Trust God Completely?

Trusting God: Life's GreatestSpiritual Secret
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by
Jack Zavada
Updated June 25, 2019
Have you ever struggledand fretted because your life wasn't going the way
you wanted? Do you feel that wayright now? You want to trust God, but you
have legitimate needs and desires.
You know what would make you happy and you pray for it with all your
might, asking God to help you get it. But if it doesn'tcome to pass, you feel
frustrated, disappointed, even bitter.
Sometimes you do getwhat you want, only to discoverthat it doesn't make
you happy after all, just disillusioned. Many Christians repeat this cycle their
entire life, wondering what they're doing wrong. I should know. I was one of
them.
The SecretIs in the 'Doing'
A spiritual secretexists that canfree you from this cycle:trusting God.
"What?" you're asking. "That's no secret. I've read that dozens of times in
the Bible and heard lots of sermons on it. What does he mean, secret?"

The secretlies in putting this truth into practice, by making it such a
dominant theme in your life that you view every event, every sorrow, every
prayer with the unshakable conviction that God is totally, spotlessly
trustworthy.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own
understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to
take. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)
That's where we mess up. We want to trust in anything rather than the Lord.
We'll trust in our own abilities, in our boss's judgment of us, in our money,
our doctor, even in an airline pilot. But the Lord? Well…
It's easyto trust in things we can see. Sure, we believe in God, but to allow
him to run our lives? That's asking a little too much, we think.
Disagreeing OverWhat Really Matters
The bottom line is that our wants may not agree with God's wants for us.
After all, it's our life, isn't it? Shouldn't we have a say over it? Shouldn't we
be the one who calls the shots? Godgave us free will, didn't he?
Advertising and peer pressure tell us what's important: a high-paying career,
a head-turning car, a drop-dead-gorgeous home, and a spouse or significant
other who will make everyone else greenwith envy.
If we fall for the world's idea of what matters, we get trapped in what I call
"The Loop of Next Time." The new car, relationship, promotion or whatever
didn't bring you the happiness you expected, so you keepsearching, thinking

"Maybe next time." But it's a loop that's always the same because youwere
createdfor something better, and deep down you know it.
When you finally reachthe place where your head agrees with your heart,
you're still hesitant. It's scary. Trusting in God canrequire that you abandon
everything you've ever believed about what brings happiness and fulfillment.
It requires that you acceptthe truth that God knows what's best for you. But
how do you make that leap from knowing to doing? How do you trust God
instead of the world or yourself?
The SecretBehind This Secret
The secretlives within you: the Holy Spirit. Not only will he convict you of the
rightness of trusting in the Lord, but he'll also help you do it. It's just too
tough to do on your own.
But when the Fathersends the Advocate as my representative — that is, the
Holy Spirit — he will teachyou everything and will remind you of everything
I have told you. "I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And
the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or
afraid." (John 14:26–27(NLT)
Becausethe Holy Spirit knows you better than you know yourself, he'll give
you exactlywhat you need to make this change. He's infinitely patient, so he'll
let you test this secret — trusting in the Lord — in little baby steps. He'll
catchyou if you stumble. He'll rejoice with you when you succeed.

As someone who has gone through cancer, the deaths of loved ones, broken
relationships, and job layoffs, I cantell you that trusting in the Lord is a
lifelong challenge. You never finally "arrive." Eachnew crisis calls for a new
commitment. The goodnews is that the more often you see God's loving hand
working in your life, the easierthis trusting becomes.
Trust God. Trust in the Lord.
When you trust in the Lord, you'll feel as if the weightof the world has been
lifted off your shoulders. The pressure's off you now and on God, and he can
handle it perfectly.
God will make something beautiful of your life, but he needs your trust in him
to do it. Are you ready? The time to start is today, right now.
https://www.learnreligions.com/lifes-greatest-spiritual-secret-701525
Jesus TrustedHis Father
Just as the Fatherhas loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
(John 15:9)
In Hebrews, it seems to be indicated that the Lord Jesus is trusting God at this
very hour.
For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctifiedare all from one
Father; for which reasonHe is not ashamedto call them brethren, saying, “I
WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN,IN THE MIDST

OF THE CONGREGATIONI WILL SING YOUR PRAISE.” And again, “I
WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM.” (Hebrews 2:11-13a)
His trust in the Fatheris communicated to us through His presence with us,
and in us. Jesus is with us, and in us, by the Holy Spirit. Amazing. The trust in
God we experience is an impartation of the Messiah’s trust in Him in, and
through, our hearts.
Our trust in God is fellowship with Jesus.
Trust in Godis a necessaryingredient of our emotionalhealth. The more
trust, the better. If things fall apart after having trusted God, the faithful,
faith-filled, believer resorts to God for replenished strength and renews his
trust in the God that any onlookermight say failed that trusting-person.
We revert to Romans 8:29-29. All things are working togetherfor our good
because we love God and are called according to His purpose. Even the worst
things in life can be turned to gold if we trust in God because, throughour
trust basedrelationship, we are being transformed into the image of God’s
Son.
Let’s talk about impossible circumstances… Look how Abraham negotiated
the impossible demand to sacrifice Isaac.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had
receivedthe promises was offering up his only begotten son;it was he to
whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTSSHALL BE
CALLED.” He consideredthat God is able to raise people even from the dead,
from which he also receivedhim back as a type. (Hebrews 11:17-19)
This is how Jesus trusted the Father.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED
NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while
being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no
threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He

Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness;for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:21-24)
Jesus entrusted Himself to the one who judges righteously. Amazing. Through
your trust in the God who loves you, just like He loves Jesus, you can entrust
yourself to God, too.
Just as the Fatherhas loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
(John 15:9)
As with Jesus, there is a resurrectionawaiting all who trust in the Son of God.
He loves you in the same way His Fatherloved Him. He has the powerto
bring all things to completion.
Trust.
Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust
their souls to a faithful Creatorin doing what is right. (1 Peter4:19)
https://loveofgodproject.org/2019/08/jesus-trusted-his-father/
Trust Your Father
Have you ever thought about that special, close relationshipJesus hadwith
His Father? NotHis earthy father, I�m talking about the relationship Jesus
had with His Heavenly Father.
Think about it. Jesus didn�t have any of the problems we humans sometimes
have when we want to feel the closenessofGod. For example, Jesus didn�t
have any sins to confess like we always do. The Bible tells us that Jesus was
sinless. He was perfectin everything He saidand did. As a result, since His
birth, Jesus had perfectand unbroken companionship with His Heavenly
Father.

Jesus�intimate relationship with His Fatherwas obvious in many ways.
Every morning, before the sun came up, it was Jesus�practice to go off by
Himself to be alone with His Father. This relationship betweenJesus and His
Father was also obvious by the miraculous things He did �He changedwater
into wine, walkedon water, healedthe sick and even raised the dead.
One religious leadercame to Him by night and said, �Rabbi, we know that
You have come from God as a teacher;for no one can do these signs that You
do unless God is with Him�(John 3:2 New American Standard Bible).
Some religious leaders, however, questionedby what authority Jesus did some
of the things He did. Once when this happened Jesus said, �The Son cando
nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Fatherdoing (John
5:19).
But it wasn�tjust the things Jesus did. He also revealedHis closeness to His
Father in what He said �things like, �I and the father are one�and �If
you�ve seenme, you have seenthe father.�
Jesus also developeda close relationshipwith His disciples. The young
Apostle John liked to lean his head againstJesus�breast. And Jesus returned
his affection. Later John had this to say about Jesus:�having loved His own
who were in the world, He loved them to the end�(John 13:11).
Yet, as much as His disciples loved Him, Jesus knew He couldn�t count on
His disciple�s love like His Father�s. The day would come when they would
all leave Him alone. He said, �Behold, an hour is coming, and has already
come, for you to be scattered, eachto his own home, and to leave Me alone:
and yet I am not alone, because the Fatheris with Me�(John 16:32).
Jesus completelytrusted His Heavenly Father. Even so, after He had faithfully
accomplishedon earth all the things His Father had askedHim to do, the most
terrible thing imaginable happened to Jesus. I�m not talking about the pain
He suffered as He was slowlynailed to that woodencross. And I�m not
talking about the agonyHe experiencedhanging there while struggling to
breath. As bad as these torments were, there was something else that

happened to Jesus onthat cross that was much worse. Something so foreign to
Him, it must have terrified Him greatly.
What happened to Jesus that was so terrible? In the moment of Jesus�
greatestneed, after accomplishing everything He was askedto do, His beloved
Heavenly Father turn his back on Him. So He cried out, "My God, my God,
why hast thou forsakenMe?"
Image how Jesus felt. He had never experiencedseparationfrom His Father
before. Now, for the first time in His earthly life, He was completelyalone.
Why? How could His loving Heavenly Father turn awayfrom Him like that,
in the moment of His greatestneed? Jesus wasperfect. He did everything His
Father askedHim to do! How could this happen?
But there is an answer. It�s found in the 22nd Psalm. You see, Jesus�
Heavenly Father turned His back on Him for a reason. He turned awayfrom
Him so, when you or I need our Heavenly Father, He will never have to turn
His back on us.
You see, if we believe in Jesus, our Heavenly Father will never leave us alone
in our time of greatestneed.
[Home]
Copyright 2002 Herbert L. Peters. All rights reserved.
Jesus TrustedThe Father
What Did Jesus Do?
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own
understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3.5-6
My friend Philip preached about thanksgiving lastSunday, a timely message
certainly. But Phil's focus was not so much on thanksgiving, but rather on
what gets in the way of our being thankful, not just on the fourth Thursday of
November, but every day. Philip rightly made the point that people who are
not contentfind it hard to be truly faithful.
When we're not content our hearts are always troubled by wanting. Perhaps
we feel life has served us too small a portion of success, orwealth, or prestige.
Or, conversely, we may be convinced that life has unfairly dealt us far more
than our share of troubles, suffering, and sorrows.It might just be that we
want, not so much more or less of something, we just want something
different. We've got a beautiful spacious home, but for some reasonwe just
have to get an addition built. Or we tool around in a fine set of late model
wheels, but can't get a decentnight's restuntil we getthe newer, more
powerful ride parked in our garage.All this manner of all but endless and
insatiable wanting sooneror later makes us anxious (As in the aforementioned
sleeplessnights pining over a new car.). The effectof anxiety is to weardown
and worry the heart (See Proverbs 12.25), making thanksgiving all but
impossible.
Contentment is simply essentialto thanksgiving. Discontent, onthe other
hand, is the chief ingredient in disaster. As Paul advised his protege Timothy,
“Now there is greatgain in godliness with contentment...Butthose who desire
to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless andharmful
desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (1Timothy 6.6,9)Now, I
believe that perhaps the biggestreasonwe all suffer from discontentat some
time or another, and why some of us are plagued to death by discontent, is a
matter of trust, or more accurately, a pernicious distrust of God.

You see, if we are always secondguessing God, are always convincedthat we
know better than the Father, that lack of trust will inevitably cause us to grow
anxious. We will either become impatient with what we convince ourselves is
God's slowness, orfretful that he either doesn't know all the facts or, worse,
that somehow he doesn'treally care about us. I think you cansee how this
kind of distrustful attitude towards the Father can lead to our becoming less
than thankful children.
What is the real cause ofthanklessness?Our faith. What do we really believe
about God? That his steadfastlove never ceases? Thathis mercies never come
to an end, and that he offers them to us fresh and new eachmorning? That his
faithfulness is great(As in unending!)? When the Lord is our portion it is he,
and he alone whom we hope in. (See Lamentations 3.22-24)If this isn't what
we believe about him, our beliefs are faulty. And faulty beliefs will mess us up
sooneror later.
Whether we have a job, or are unemployed; whether we live in a mansion, or
a homeless shelter;whether we have a million in the bank, or our account
balance is zero; whether we are as healthy as or horse, or the “ol'gray mare”
is broken down by illness and infirmity, is, ultimately, immaterial to our
thankfulness. The Fatherlooks after us 24/7, and has through the Sonmade
us eternally secure. Surelythis is reasonenoughfor us to be eternally grateful.
All that the Son did, he did with complete faith in the Father. You don't think
Jesus wentto the cross wondering what was going to happen to him, did you?
No, he trusted the Fatherwith his life, and with his death.
I am not saying it is always easyto be thankful, or that the way of faith is an
easyor always pleasantpath to tread. Jesus askedthe Father in the gardenof

Gesthemane if there might be another way. And, yes, even the Lord cried out
in anguish and despair from the cross. Yet it was into the Father's hands he
committed his spirit because Jesus trustedthe Father.
While I certainly hope you have a comfortable home, a healthy family, a
secure job, and financial resourcesto give thanks for this year, I pray even
more that you have trust in the Fatherso that you will give him thanks. That's
what Jesus did.
Have a happy and blessedThanksgiving!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Confronted with the Cross, Jesus Trustedthe Father with His Life
Postedon 12 April, 2017byFrank Kingin Blog Posts, Holiday/SpecialEvents
Tags
cross ofCalvary, Easter, Eastermessage, GodraisedJesus from the dead, into
your hands I commend my spirit, resurrection, the cross
During the time leading up to Christ’s death on the cross, His human side
showedup big time. He felt the weight of the burden He had come to bear.
How would you like to know the exactday you were going to die and the

barbaric way in which it was going to occur? “My soulis exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death,” He told His disciples (Matthew 26:38).
We often talk about the deity of Christ. It’s what makes Him one with God.
It’s what separatesHim from every other personthat has been born of a
woman. But during His sufferings leading to His death, Jesus ministered as a
human servant. Emotionally, the assignmentwas overwhelming. He prayed
three times requesting that the bitter cup He was about to drink would pass
from Him, if it were possible.
Though omniscient, prior to the cross, Jesus did not know death first hand.
He did not know what it was to be separatedfrom His Father. He had lived
every day, abiding in the Father’s love. But now the One who knew no sin
would become a sin offering for us. As such, He became separatedfrom the
Father. “My God, my God, why have you forsakenme?” He cried on the cross
(Matthew 27:46).
How could the Lord endure this ordeal? Where could He find an anchor for
His soul amidst the utter darkness of those hours leading to His death on the
cross? It was but in the arms of the Fatherthat He could find such a place:
“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
BecauseJesus trustedthe Father with His life, He could see beyond the agony
of the cross. “AfterI am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee,” He said
to His disciples (Matthew 26:32). In the arms of God, His life was in good
hands. Jesus is our example. Like Him, we must entrust our lives into the
hands of the Father. In the appointed time, He will raise us from the grave.
So it was on that first Easter(or ResurrectionDay, or whatever). When Jesus
died, He laid in the grave the appointed time. He trusted the Father with His
life. On that historic and victorious day, God raised Jesus from the dead. Our
hope is in the powerof that same resurrection. Our life is in the loving care of
the same God. Because Jesus lives forever, we too shall live forever. Then will
be fulfilled the saying, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy
victory?” (1 Cor. 15:55).
Copyright © 2017 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

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Published by Frank King
Frank King is a former church pastor. He currently ministers as an
evangelist. He is the author of three books:Indiscreetly Yours, a novel for
teens;Steps to the Victorious Walk;and Transforming Moments, a book of
devotions. View all posts by Frank King
4 Comments to “Confrontedwith the Cross, JesusTrustedthe Fatherwith
His Life”

KeeganHarkins
12 April, 2017 at9:32 pm
Such a beautiful line: “BecauseJesustrusted the Father with His life, He
could see beyond the agony of the cross.” Suchgreatapplication for our lives!
BecauseI trust God with my life, I cansee beyond my problems! Thank you
for sharing this!!
Frank King
13 April, 2017 at6:04 pm
Keegan, thanks for reading and for commenting. We are secure in the loving
arms of our heavenly Father. In all things, we are more than conquerors
through Him. He will never suffer us to be tempted above what we can bear.
MichaelJaymes
13 April, 2017 at12:53 am
Awesome post. I was really wondering how you were going to tie that
altogetheras I read the first few paragraphs, but your ending came to the
conclusionof our hope in His death. I love the picture Christ gives us that the
reality is we need to give our lives to God. It’s truly amazing how much He
sacrificedfor us. Praise be to God and His Son!
Frank King
14 April, 2017 at6:08 pm
Thanks, Michael. Glory to the Lamb for His obedience to the cross for us. The
messageofthe cross is so central to the gospel. The goodnews is that the blood
will never lose its power. There is yet room at the cross for all who are lost.
https://frankking.net/2017/04/confronted-with-the-cross-jesus-trusted-the-
father-with-his-life/

Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit (Luke 23:46)
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Audio (7:15)
Free E-mail Bible Study Apostle Paul: Passionate Discipleship
Bkmrk
James J. Tissot, "The Deathof Jesus" (1886-1894), opaque watercolor,
BrooklynMuseum. Larger image.
"44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came overthe whole land
until the ninth hour, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the
temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus calledout with a loud voice, 'Father, into
your hands I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last."
(Luke 23:44-46)

JESUS' TRUST IN GOD ON THE CROSS

JESUS' TRUST IN GOD ON THE CROSS

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