The crowd, who just days before was lauding Jesus as he made his triumphal entry into the city, was now found to be making accusations against him. Why were the accusations made and what was the cause for such actions? The answer to these questions will reveal why all accusations are made against God by the lost and also the saved.
And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. (Luke 23:35)
It seems that every time a tragedy takes place, the first words you hear from people are, "If God is a loving God, why did he allow this to happen? These same words are made against God by saved people when prayers go unanswered or when trials are permitted to come their way. The reason they make accusations against God is because they do not understand God.
The crowd around the cross made accusations against him and commanded that if he was God to deliver himself from the cross. Their accusation indicated their ignorance. Had they fully understood that his greatest work and miracle was being performed before their eyes, they would have praised him instead of making such accusations. Had they known and understood that the redemption for all mankind was being made, his life was being sacrificed for all and that salvation and deliverance from the bondage of sin was being purchased, they would have offered greater praise than when he made his entrance into the city one week earlier. But they didn't. Because they did not understand, the faulty reasoning in their heart led them to other conclusions.
Many years ago, my wife and I made a church visit to a family in a nearby town. They had several children with one of them having legs that had not formed properly. As directed by her doctor, the mother would brace her daughter's feet into a contraption that would twist the child's legs into the direction they were supposed to grow. This treatment caused much discomfort to the child. She would lay in her crib crying. My heart ached as I heard the little girl's cries and I am sure that it hurt the mother more than it hurt me. I wonder what the little girl thought. What kind of accusations did she make towards her mother. Did she accuse her of not loving her? Did the daughter turn her heart against her mother for such cruel unloving actions? If she did, she was absolutely wrong because the mother's actions were intended to deliver the daughter from the bondage of being crippled.
Does not our Heavenly Father do the same. Within each of us resides a nature that is in rebellion against God. It opposes the new life in Christ that we have and strives to bring us back into the grip of which we were firmly held. God in his love, mercy and grace works in our lives through trials to enable us to see his mighty power and to conform us to the image of his dear son. When we fail to see his great work, we will make wrongful accusations against him. It is during times such as these that we must trust in the goodness of God our father and believe that regardless of how circumstances may appear, his actions are always in love and are motivated by what is best for us. If you are struggling in a trial, you would be best to draw closer to God and pray that he would reveal himself to you. He may not reveal the purpose of the trial, but he may reveal himself to you and strengthen your faith to trust his love, care and goodness instead of reacting to circumstances.
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