WHERE AM I?
Opening Prayer
Show me, Jesus, how to truly follow You.
Read Luke 22:39–62
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[a]
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
Peter Disowns Jesus
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Footnotes:
a Luke 22:44 Many early manuscripts do not have verses 43 and 44.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Is your following of Jesus strong and steady, or are you faltering somewhat? Be honest!Now Luke’s narrative gathers speed as Jesus leads his disciples to Gethsemane. Figures emerge out of the darkness: the Temple guards doing their duty, the chief priests intent on capturing Jesus, Judas creeping into the garden to offer his treacherous kiss; the disciples, first heavy with sleep, then awake and ready to fight; the servant girl challenging Peter over the flickering charcoal fire. And at the still center of all this, is the calm figure of Jesus, outwardly composed, but suffering deep spiritual turmoil (44). What is going on? It is, says Jesus, the hour “when darkness reigns.” His enemies are closing in.
Can you place yourself within this narrative? Are you a disciple longing to follow, but so very weary? Are you, God forbid, Judas, ready to deny your Lord? Or can you identify with Peter: bold, brave, self- assured, yet when it comes to the crunch, cowering in denial? “I don’t know him.” Peter stands outside the house telling lies, while Jesus is inside telling the truth. What a sad fall from grace!
Where are you? Where am I? Christ still calls us to follow him to the cross, and to enter into “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). Are you ready?
Apply
“When Jesus calls a person, he bids them come and die!” Consider the implications of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words. Bonhoeffer gave his life for Christ. How far does your commitment go?
Closing prayer
Jesus, I see myself in these verses. Forgive me. Oh Jesus, may I be ever faithful to You.
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