The Mystery of Evil (AGW)
THE MYSTERY OF EVIL
Evil men have often been permitted to do what they please. We must understand that divine permission is given for evil to work. To know the God of the Bible is to see that He who could have made automatons of all of us made instead free creatures with power and permission to defy Him.
There is a limit, of course. Let us not forget this. The Tower of Babel was stopped. God has set limits on what man is allowed to do, but one day He put Himself into men’s hands. Jesus had sat in the temple teaching and nobody touched Him, but the time came when the same people who had listened to Him barged into Gethsemane with swords and cudgels. Jesus did not flee. He walked straight up to them. He was unconcerned about physical safety. His only safety was the will of the Father. “This is your moment,” He said, “the hour when darkness reigns” (Luke 22:53).
Why did God make room for that moment? Why should there ever be an hour when darkness is free to rule?
When Jesus refused to answer Pilate the next morning, Pilate said, “Surely you know that I have authority to release you, and I have authority to crucify you.” Jesus’ reply embraces the mystery of evil: “ You would have no authority at all over me if it had not been granted you from above” (John 19:10-11).
Every man and woman who chooses to trust and obey God will find his or her faith attacked and life invaded by the power of evil. There is no more escape for us than there was for the Son of Man. The way Jesus walked is the way we must walk.