Does it seem like darkness has fallen over all the land? Imagine how Jesus must have felt.

He fed the truth to those who came to hear his words. He drew massive crowds, spreading a refreshing and encouraging message for the common of us. And he was opposed by the nobility at every turn.

In the places Jesus traveled, he challenged convention.

He knew, and foretold, that his revolutionary philosophy would perpetuate division.

Does that sound like today?

Jesus confronted the establishment. Because he was so controversial, Jesus was questioned and plotted against by those who feared losing their power to him.

The accepted intellectuals of the day set snares set for Jesus. He slipped out of their traps again and again.

Jesus also drove the moneychangers from the Temple. He called the Sadducees and the Pharisees hypocrites.

And why would he do it?

Jesus had millions at his disposal. He could have taken the untold riches that he was tempted with and drowned himself in pleasure and comfort. But he disavowed the bribes enjoyed by the elite class, and instead went out as a sacrifice for the people.

Jesus was a long-awaited drink of water for those who thirsted and he was envied and hated for it. It’s what got him killed.

As Jesus’ time on Earth came to an end, the entitled conspired against him and devised an ingenious plan to have Jesus arrested.

The deeply corrupt politicians and religious bosses influenced the courts and those who reported the news.

Fearing riots and controversy, Pontius Pilate washed his hands of it.

So entrenched was the power base, its figureheads even convinced one in the inner-circle of Jesus to sell him out for 30 pieces of silver. Association became so risky, another disciple claimed he never knew Jesus.

Eventually the corrupt got what they wanted, when a deceitful Sanhedrin convicted Jesus of treason. And even when there was another opportunity to save Jesus from the cross, the crowd instead freed the murderer Barabbas.

To them, Jesus must be extinguished so that no one else ever tried to question their immoral superiority again.

In 2021 many Americans must feel how the followers of Jesus felt. Your leaders, even those you once trusted, have failed you. The legal system you have been taught to revere has washed its hands of justice despite irrefutable criminality.

And the masses exalt the guilty – while screaming “Crucify Him” to an innocent man.

But be not afraid, God had a plan. And it turned out to be the greatest story ever told.

Though it may seem hopeless, now, perhaps God is telling us to trust Him again. Keep praying. God works in mysterious ways. He did not bring us this far, only to abandon us. It may defy understanding, but He delivers miracles.