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It's as though He is saying: "If you don't need Me any longer then go ahead without Me, and find out what it's like to live a willful and God-less life".

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools....Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen."

(Romans 1: 21 & 22,24 & 25, New International Version)

Your reference?

"Your reference?"

Your reference was an excellent one. There are plenty of other ones as well, as I'm sure you know.

"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Luke 16:13)

"For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil." (1 Peter 3:12)

In the example below, some of Jesus's followers walked away from Him because they found His teachings hard to accept. Note that Jesus did not plead with them or beg them to stay, but allowed them to walk away into whatever error and trouble lay ahead for them:

"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me----

"---Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this?----- there are some of you that do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him----"

After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve (Apostles), "Do you also wish to go away?" (John 6: 56-66)

God's blessings........
TC