“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.'” John 13:36
August 24, 2023
The questions the disciples asked Jesus are revealing and useful to us. We probably, given the same circumstances, would have presented similar questions. One thing of note is the patience of Jesus. Never did He say, “that was a stupid question.” Not at all. Peter wanted to know where Jesus was going so that he might go with Him. Peter was clumsy but committed. Jesus was going to the cross. He was about to lay down His life for Peter. We can see that Peter was presumptuous about his do or die loyalty to Jesus. It is on the heels of a reality check by Jesus that beyond suffering and death is heaven. This is to be an incentive for persistence in confidence in the promise of Jesus. We can fall into bouts of uncertainty and discouragement. Personally, in these latter years of life the hope bound up in Jesus’ words has been reassuringly comforting. D. A. Carson’s reminder is a booster shot, “he (Jesus) spoke as one who was as familiar with eternity as one is with his hometown.” Think about that as you meditate on “in my Father’s house are many rooms” (Jn. 14:2).
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“Our Savior has gone to prepare a place, but there are places only for those who make reservations. The dying thief made a reservation: ‘Remember me.’” Vance Havner