Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. (John 16:31-32)

I AM Not Alone

As the dark shadow of the cross surrounded the heart of Jesus, the Son of God began to feel to emptiness and void of bearing the sins of all humanity and the incredible pain attending His sacrifice. Within hours, He would be betrayed by Judas, arrested, and maliciously tried before handed over to the Romans for execution. There can be no darker picture than the image of the only begotten Son of God facing a sentence of death, desertion by His disciples, and the will to live but submitting to the will of the Father. Jesus had come to earth to die and the time was nigh. From the eternal realm of His Father’s glory to the dark recesses of humanity’s sinful nature, Jesus was to face the horror of crucifixion alone. There was only one place for sacrifice. Two criminals would be crucified with Him but Jesus died alone as sin paid the full ransom in the blood of God’s Son.

Following the feast of the Passover, Jesus taught His disciples about servitude in washing their feet. He instituted a memorial feast that would commemorate and honor His coming death. Judas would be identified as a betrayer and leave to bring about his deceit. Jesus would spend His final hours with the eleven promising a Helper who would come and guide them and bring them peace. Love and joy would be perfected in the love Jesus had for the world and the disciples would find that love and joy among themselves when they cared for one another. The world was about to kill the Son of God and those who would follow Jesus would be hated also. God had a plan to bring His will to all men through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not dissuaded in His work and knew that He would return to His Father. He spoke plainly now to His disciples and they understood.

The eleven understood that Jesus knew everything and they were not going to question Him because they believed with all their hearts that Jesus came from God. They showed great courage in the face of a future they knew nothing about. Jesus knew what was about to happen by the eleven could not imagine how their lives would change in the next few days. Reassuring His disciples, Jesus tells them the time is coming when they will be scattered and Jesus will be left alone. Judas will bring the Roman soldiers and Jewish leaders to Gethsemane where Jesus will be arrested and dragged off to spend the night before the Jewish council and Roman Governor. The eleven would run away in fear and hide. Jesus would be left alone to face His accusers. Even Peter would follow at a distance but deny he knew the man Jesus. It seemed the Son of God was left all alone. But Jesus knew that while the disciples would leave Him, His Father would never desert Him.

Facing the cross took the eternal courage of Jesus to be assured that His Father would not leave Him alone. “I AM not alone” was the voice of the Son of God facing a terrible death for the sins of the world and to suffer alone at the hands of those He created. The world came to Golgotha to destroy Him who created the world and all humanity. Man killed God. No one came to defend Jesus. The legions of angels were stayed by the hand of God from interfering. All the heavenly hosts assembled around the cross outside Jerusalem and watched as the Son of God was beaten, tortured, and nailed to a tree. God the Father watched as His Son cried out to Him and begged for mercy yet never changed His will. Jesus died alone but He was never alone. He knew that He must suffer and He faced His death with the assurance that it was the Father’s will and because of love, the Father allowed man to kill His only begotten Son. The peace Jesus had in the Garden of Gethsemane and facing the trial and execution of the cross was the knowledge that it was all for a moment and that He had never been deserted by His Father. He knew when it was finished; He would see the Father again.

The life of a Christian can be filled with many trials and sorrows but a child of God is not alone. There is never a time when a child of God does not have His Father to comfort him. Jesus overcame the world so that His disciples could overcome the fear of being alone. As long as God rules, no Christian will ever be alone. If the Father did not abandon His Son at the most climatic time in human history then God will never leave or forsake His children. I AM not alone is the knowledge that Jesus is the I AM of security and hope. There is nothing that can and will separate the love of God which is in Christ Jesus from those who serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Take heart. We are never alone when we have God. Jesus overcame the world. I can overcome the world. God is with me. I am not alone.