They arrested Jesus at night in the Garden of Gethsemane and ran Him through six stages of a makeshift trial before sunup. First Annas, then Caiaphas, then the Sanhedrin, then Pilate, then Herod, and then Pilate again. It was a long, ugly night, and none of it was fair.

The religious leaders pressed hard for crucifixion, even though every one of them knew He was innocent. Pontius Pilate was a lifelong politician who knew how to read a room, and that room wanted blood. So he caved and gave them what they wanted. They crucified Jesus and sealed Him in a tomb — and on the third day, God raised Him back to life. Just like that, all of humanity's power hit a wall. They had done their worst, and it wasn't enough. That is worth thinking about for a minute.

Your enemies can only go so far.

Jesus understood this completely. When Pilate puffed himself up and reminded Jesus that he had the power to crucify Him or release Him, Jesus didn't flinch. He told him straight:

(John 19:10-11 NKJV) Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?" Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."

That's not bravado, but a Man who knew exactly whose hands He was in.

Here's what that means for you and me: when we are submitted to God, nothing comes our way that He hasn't allowed. Nothing. Not the job loss, not the betrayal, not the diagnosis, not the attack. God takes full responsibility for the life that is submitted to Him. He said so. And even physical death isn't the final word — it's just the doorway to something on the other side of it. They put Jesus in the ground, but they couldn't keep Him there, because they had reached the end of what men could do.

Think about that. All the combined power on this earth — every weapon, every court, every dollar, every political machine — its reach stops at death. There is a line it cannot cross.

David knew this when he wrote (Psalm 56:11 NKJV), "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

The Apostle John knew it too, when he wrote (Revelation 12:11 NKJV), "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

That last part cuts deep, doesn't it? They didn't love their life, even to death. That's the key that sets you free from fear.

After Jesus ascended, the Sanhedrin, the High Priest, the Sadducees — all of them threatened the Apostles with beatings and death. And the Apostles kept preaching. Not because they were reckless, but because they had looked past the threat and saw the limit of it. David looked beyond Goliath.

John Huss was an early reformer and preacher in Bohemia. In 1415, the institutional church burned him at the stake as a heretic. What exactly was he teaching? A few things we now take for granted: that no pope or bishop had the right to take up the sword in the name of the Church; that a man should pray for his enemies and bless those who curse him; and that forgiveness of sins comes through true repentance — not money. Forgiveness cannot be bought nor sold. Simple stuff. Biblical stuff.

They excommunicated him, banned free preaching, beheaded many of his followers, and finally put Huss himself on a stake and set it on fire. And while the flames rose up around him, he sang a hymn. He was singing. He knew what was waiting for him on the other side of that fire, the same thing that waited for Jesus on the other side of the tomb. The power of men over him had reached its end.

About six hundred years later, in 1999, the pope issued a formal apology and expressed what he called "deep regret for the cruel death inflicted" on John Huss. Six hundred years is a long time to wait for an apology, but God is not in a hurry. He always evens the score.

All the power on earth has a ceiling, but the power of God Almighty does not.

If they fire you, He can give you a better job. If they leave you, He can bring someone into your life who will actually treat you right. If you are sick, you can be healed. When you stumble, He will pick you back up. If they push you out of their circle, He can give you your own. And when death finally comes for you, God will be standing there on the other side of it, ready to raise you back up with His loving hands.

"I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for the life You have given me. You know exactly what I am facing — better than I do — and I know that nothing has come to me that You have not allowed. I put my trust in You. My life is in Your loving hands. Please guide me, guard me, and help me keep my eyes fixed past what man can do to me and onto what You have already done. I choose to trust You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!