Making sense of things

Jesus, help me accept things that don't seem to make sense at first! Amen.

Jesus was arrested and brought to Pilate, the governor, who saw that Jesus had done nothing wrong. He wanted to let Jesus go, but those who hated Jesus said, "No! Let someone else go!" So Pilate ruled that Jesus would be killed. The crowd took Jesus away and crucified Him. Later that day, He died, and the whole earth shook. The people watching said, "This man was the son of God."

A lot of things happen in life that don't seem to make sense. You're having a perfectly normal day, and -- boom! -- something bad happens that changes everything. A friend gets mad at you one day, then acts like she was never angry the next.

You wish you could figure out why these things happen, but you just can't.

Even Jesus went through that. The whole Gospel this week (Matthew 27:11-54) doesn't seem to make sense: Jesus is arrested; and even though the governor can see He didn't do anything wrong, he orders Jesus to be killed.

Why do people hate Jesus, when He's there to help them? Why kill Jesus if He's innocent of any crime? It doesn't make any more sense than someone hurting you for no reason -- but it happens.

Things that don't make sense happen because people are human and make mistakes. Like the ones who hurt Jesus, some people lash out at others because they're feeling hurt or scared themselves. Sometimes, they feel bad about it later on (like a friend who just pretends she was never mad); sometimes, they keep being hurtful.

But, once in a while, something that makes no sense at first becomes clearer to us later on. Jesus' being crucified didn't seem to make sense; but, after He died, it was easier to see why He let it happen: His dying made people realize He was the Son of God, so millions of people believe in Him today.