Joshua Grubbs
So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life."
When you think about Jesus’ ministry prior to His resurrection, what are the events that immediately come to mind? I would wager that you, like myself, think about the large crowds following Him, the throngs of people striving to just brush the hem of His robe to be healed, and the masses astounded that He taught with such authority and even forgave sins!
But just as often as being surrounded by the crowds, Jesus was also hated and abandoned. In the verses above, Jesus is asking His twelve closest disciples if they want to leave because, having just given a particularly difficult teaching, many of the others who were following Jesus at the time walked away. When it came time for the Father’s will to be fulfilled, and for Christ to die on the cross, each of the synoptic Gospels, that is Matthew, Mark, and Luke, state that when Jesus was arrested all those around Him fled, and the one sacrificing Himself for all was utterly abandoned.
It’s not as if these people were leaving for no good reason. The teachings of Jesus can be hard to hear. The danger of a mob coming armed with clubs and torches was dangerous and scary. However, despite fear, danger, or difficulty, the answer to all the questions of life remains the same. “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
I can easily imagine that Jesus’ voice may have been small or breaking as He asked the disciples remaining if they too wished to leave. I think we can often overlook the relationships that Jesus had with these twelve men, and women along with them, throughout His time on earth. They ate together, laughed together, worked together, traveled together, celebrated together, argued with one another, cried on each other’s shoulders, and experienced all the other aspects of life lived together that you could imagine.
Jesus loved His disciples. In the same way, Jesus truly loves you and I. The world is calling us away. The storms are raging all around us. There are one million reasons to leave, and Jesus asks us the same question when things get hard or one of His teachings is challenging. “Do you also wish to go away?” And maybe sometimes, if we would admit it, we do. The difficulty of life is real. We are so often like sheep, and we feel like we’re lost without a shepherd. But another reality is real, and more real than anything else.
The Son’s arms are open wide. The Father has prepared a place. The Spirit is calling the sheep back to the shepherd. There are millions of reason to leave, but there is one, all important reason to stay with He who loves us unconditionally.
Where else are we to go but home?
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