19 They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, “Surely, not I?” – Mark 14:19
Jesus spent three years with his closest disciples. Not every disciple of Jesus is called out by name, but there are twelve that we know were specifically asked to follow Jesus, to learn from him, to be his disciples. These twelve men (except Judas Iscariot) would go on after the resurrection to proclaim the great news of the gospel, however we should note that getting to that point would not be easy; nor would it be easy to share this wonderful message of hope found in the resurrection.
The disciples, at this moment before Jesus arrest, have just celebrated the Passover meal with the one whom they know to be the Messiah. This year, the celebrated in Jerusalem, the city of the promise. For them, every bit of prophecy that they had learned from an early age was coming to fruition right in front of their eyes. Though there were some things that Jesus said along the way that confounded them. Things like the prediction of his death, the destruction of the temple, the building again in three days, their denials of him.
Ok, let’s be honest the disciples were confused by Jesus a lot, and truthfully so are we. We want to believe in the words of the Bible, the we want to believe that it is God’s Word to us, to help us through times of hardship, and that these words would give us instruction on how we can build community and be the people of God. There is a good basis for these things in the Bible, but there are also things that leave us scratching our heads. Like the Levitical law about types of clothing, bodily purification, and many of the various laws that simply don’t make much sense in our society today.
Being good ‘Christians’ we think means obeying the law of God, and that we would never disobey God’s words found in the Bible. However, Jesus teaches us that there is much more than simply obeying various rules. Jesus teaches that all of the law and the prophets are built on this – Love God, love neighbor. In a world that seems so divided on so many issues, I wonder if it is time to stop reading so much of the fine print looking for some kind of ammunition against another, and simply ask: am I doing my part to share my love for God? And secondly, does this help me show love for my neighbor? If the answer is “no,” we may be making a far greater mistake than we realize.
If we believe Jesus to be our Lord, who tells us to, above all else, love one another; perhaps when we don’t act out of love, could we be denying our Lord? I would hope understanding how quickly the disciples lashed back at Jesus for saying that they would deny him after the last supper would help us to stop and think, meditate on the what Jesus is saying to us as an individual, and calling us ever deeper unto him, and ever broader into community.
The kingdom of God may be near, but we need to understand that it is built on those who love God and love neighbor as they would wish to be loved.
Grace & Peace,
Sam