TEXT: Mark 14:50

SUBJECT: Dying Alone

Four days ago, my wife’s grandmother died in Guatemala City, at ninety-six years old. Unlike most Americans, she died as she had lived: at home, and in the company of people who loved her. Whether being with friends and family softens the blow of death or not, I can’t say. But I can say this: I wouldn’t want to die alone.

Wrote Solomon. Especially when it’s time to die,

Death is too big and too scary and too uncertain to face by yourself. Let me die like Jacob, old, full of days—and surrounded by my loved ones!

Of all the awful things that could befall a person in this world, I can’t think of any worse than dying alone. Especially if others knew you were dying. And stayed away on purpose.

Yet that’s what happened to our Lord Jesus Christ. He died alone. Thousands knew He would die that day, but they all left Him. When they needed Him, He was always there for them. But when He was the one in need, nobody was there for Him.

Think of who might have been there—and who ought to have been. He had fed and taught and healed and wept for thousands in Israel. But when He died, they weren’t there—except to reject Him before Pontus Pilate and ridicule His suffering.

He had loved Twelve Men with a special love. Surely they would have stayed with Him in His hour of need! They all said they would; one even swore to it. But when the time came, they left Him. One betrayed Him with a kiss; another denied Him three times with an oath; the others sank into the crowd or ran away.

What David said of himself, applies doubly to the Lord,

Not one.

But it wasn’t only men who left Him, the angels did too. The Bible says angels are God’s servants sent to help His people when they’re in need. And they often did that. Angels dragged Lot out of Sodom; an angel showed Hagar and Ishmael where to find water in the wilderness; an angel fed Elijah when he was hungry; millions of them came to Elisha’s defense; an angel told Paul he would escape the deadly storm; angels carried Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom. The list goes on and on. The Promise is sure,

The Lord had experienced the Promise for Himself. At the lowest points of His life, angels came to bail Him out. In the Wilderness, when He was tired and starving and lonely, angels came and ministered to Him. In the Garden, as He prayed and sweated great drops of blood, an Angel stood by and strengthened Him.

But when He needed the angels most, they weren’t there for Him. Jesus Christ hung on a cross for three hours and died a death of indescribable pain and humiliation without the help of angels.

And it wasn’t only they who quit Him, but Someone Else did too. And that loss hurt Him more than all the others put together. In the dark hours of the crucifixion, the Lord cried out,

Even the Father left Him. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He died alone. He died with an aloneness that no one outside of hell can understand.

Why did He die this way? Because loneliness is the punishment for sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were driven out of God’s Presence. For the first time, they were alone. Sinners live their whole lives alone. And then they die and suffer an infinite and eternal aloneness.

You’ve heard people say, "I want to go to hell; all my friends will be there!" Maybe they will be, but you won’t be with them there! Hell means loneliness!

And for our salvation, Jesus Christ absorbed the loneliness that we should have had. God might have banished us; but He didn’t. He banished His Son. On the cross, our Lord suffered the loneliness of hell.

When we come to the Lord’s Table, let’s remember that. First, to feel our sin. How awful our sin must be if a Just God would punish it with an Eternal Solitary Confinement! Second, to love Jesus Christ for taking the punishment for us. Third, to remember, we’re not alone any more. Through faith in Christ, we have fellowship with each other and with God!

The fellowship which is good now, will one day, be perfect. All because of what Christ has done for us. Which is put before us today in the Lord’s Supper.

Glory to God in the Highest! Amen.

But it wasn’t only men who left Him. The angels did too. At other low moments, they came to His aid. Angels helped Him in the wilderness when He was tired and hungry and alone. They sustained Him in the Garden when He sweated great drops of blood. But when He needed them most, they weren’t there for Him.