(Luk)‬ ‭22‬:‭35‬-‭37‬ ‭CJB‬‬ “He said to them, “When I sent you out without wallet, pack or shoes, were you ever short of anything?” “Not a thing,” they answered. “But now,” he said, if you have a wallet or a pack, take it; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your robe to buy one. For I tell you this: the passage from the Tanakh that says, ‘He was counted with transgressors,’ has to be fulfilled in me; since what is happening to me has a purpose.”

Living in a rebellious world means understanding that things will not always work the way God originally designed them to work. Jesus was preparing His disciples for that reality. Earlier, He had sent them out and they lacked nothing. But now everything was about to change. Their Messiah would be rejected, numbered among transgressors, and crucified.

Yet Jesus said something we desperately need to remember:

“What is happening to me has a purpose.”

The apparent triumph of evil did not mean God had lost control.

Living in a Rebellious World

There have been two extraordinary occasions in Scripture when God uniquely dwelt with humanity.

In Eden, God created man for fellowship with Himself in a world untouched by sin and death. Man rebelled, and humanity was driven from the garden and God’s special presence there.

Then God came to dwell among us in an even greater way.

“The Word became a human being and lived with us.” — John 1:14 CJB

Jesus walked among men. He healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the hungry, forgave sinners, calmed storms, and demonstrated what the reign of God looks like.

And humanity rejected Him.

The Creator entered His creation, and His creatures crucified Him.

But unlike Eden, God didn’t simply remove Himself because humanity had ruined everything again. Jesus’ death was God’s plan to redeem rebellious people.

Jesus was “counted with transgressors” so transgressors like us could be counted righteous.

Why Do Christians Still Suffer?

That raises an important question.

If Jesus has saved us, why do Christians still suffer?

Because salvation does not immediately remove us from living in a rebellious world.

Jesus has pardoned us, reconciled us to God, and credited His righteousness to us. Yet we still inhabit a world corrupted by sin.

Christians get cancer.

Christians lose jobs.

Christians bury people they love.

Christians are persecuted and even martyred.

Following Jesus doesn’t exempt us from the consequences of living among fallen people in a fallen creation. In fact, following Christ can bring additional suffering because a world that rejected our Master will sometimes reject His servants too.

But suffering never gets the final word.

The King Is Coming

Jesus rose from the dead.

And everyone who belongs to Him will also be raised.

The Bible doesn’t end with God’s people escaping creation. It ends with resurrection, a new heaven and new earth, and God dwelling permanently with His people.

“God’s Sh’khinah is with mankind, and He will live with them.” — Revelation 21:3 CJB

No rebellion.

No competing kingdom.

No death.

No mourning.

No pain.

Jesus Christ will reign uncontested as King of kings forever.

Those who receive Christ have that future because of His grace. Those who persist in rejecting God’s Son remain under judgment. Ultimately every knee will bow and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The question is whether we bow before Him now as Savior and King.

Run Today’s Play

Don’t interpret today’s circumstances as evidence that God has lost control.

Don’t measure God’s goodness by today’s comfort. Trust the King. Obey His Word. Endure hardship faithfully. And remember where the story ends.

Jesus walked knowingly toward betrayal, arrest, suffering, and death and said: “What is happening to me has a purpose.”

Your circumstances are not outside God’s sovereignty either.

The rebellious world doesn’t win. Jesus does.