February 19, 2021
John 13:36-38, “Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
Christ knew the hearts of all of his followers intimately, as he knows our own. How heartbreaking it must have been for him to know he would give his life for them and they, his closest followers, would not be anywhere to be found. In the case of Peter, he would outright deny Jesus. It was not until after the resurrection that his followers became committed to the truth of who Jesus really was. They saw the resurrected Lord and they knew that everything he’d said about himself was true. Then they are filled with the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascends, and the rest is history. The presence of Christ extends all over the world.
Consider today the resurrection: the power of the claim that a dead man came back to life, the reality that Jesus truly is God, and the fact that he knowingly took on death as a substitute for sinners. His followers, after the resurrection, were ready to say, “Now I am willing to die for this man. Now I know that you love me unconditionally.” Think deeply about your own commitment to Christ.
Prayer: “Holy Spirit, convict me in my heart in the places where I trust myself more than Jesus. Show me how I can welcome Christ even further into my life. Strengthen my prayer life, my appreciation for God’s Word, and a desire to glorify the name of Jesus by my obedience, trust, and worship.”
40 Days of Joy: When my family was at our first production of Handel’s Messiah, I was so moved when the audience stood during The Hallelujah Chorus. I thought I was witnessing a spontaneous act of appreciation, but it turns out this always happens, and is historically rooted in the king’s response to hearing the work for the first time. What it means, however, is that across centuries and continents, people stand up in response to the resurrection of Jesus. The beauty of that possibility, even, brings people to their feet.
