Only Jesus

Read: John 18.1-19.16

For those of us who are followers of Jesus, the events in today’s reading are familiar…and yet, as always, heartbreaking and difficult to read. It’s difficult to summarize all that take place, but an important way of understanding John’s message in this passage is found in “The Gospel of John: When Love Comes to Town” by Dr. Paul Louis Metzger:

“Jesus’ hour of glory is the only true hour of glory. All other hours of glory are false and fading. This hour remains forever. And so a lot is at stake here. It’s show time. Are we ready? Do we have our game face on, like Peter? Will we succeed, or falter and fall like Peter does? Will we deny Jesus, or possibly even betray Him? Or will we respond favorably to Him?”

“I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but apart from Jesus, we can’t even respond favorably to Him. The good news, however, is that even in those moments when we are unfaithful, and in those seasons when we are inconsistent, Jesus will remain faithful. The real difference between Peter and Judas is that Judas goes to the wrong priest after it is all said and done. He should have thrown himself on the mercies of God, just like Peter. Peter comes to realize by the end of John’s Gospel that no matter how much spiritual bravado and idealism one has, one can never have enough of it. We just cannot perform well on the grand stage of God’s drama. We choke. Jesus alone is ready for this hour, and He alone is able to save the day. He is ready to save us.”

“In the end, after bidding farewell to His followers, Jesus goes it alone. He has to go it alone. We are not able. We are not willing. Only Jesus can handle the pressure. Only Jesus can take away our sins. All we can do is throw ourselves on His mercy. Only then will we find shelter from the storm and enter into His glory through the cross and resurrection.”