“…all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance” (Luke 23:49)
‘Holy Week.’ A week full of the least ‘holy’ of actions, ending in the trial and scourging of Jesus. ‘Good Friday.’ A day full of the least ‘good’ of actions, ending in the brutality of crucifixion. And in those last 24 hours just how many of those who might have been expected to come close to Him in this time of supreme need distanced themselves? The physical pain of crucifixion is one thing, but the psychological and mental pain of those last 24 hours must have been excruciating. Consider…
in those last few hours, a member of his twelve closest disciples denounced Him in the Temple courtyard;
in those last few hours, the rest of His hand-picked disciples deserted Him in the Garden at Gethsemane;
in those last few hours, the most prominent of His followers denied Him in the courtyard of the High Priest’s home;
in those last few hours, the Father Himself had apparently disowned Him on the cross at Golgotha.
All this He endured so that we need no longer stand at a distance.