The Other Disciple

Eccl.4:^9-10 “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”

John 18:¹⁷ “The woman said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” When the woman said, “also”, it means there was someone they knew was Jesus’ disciple, right? They knew John was Jesus’ disciple and John was present as an acknowledged follower of Jesus, but he was not afraid that anybody knew. So, that begs two questions; firstly, why did Peter deny Jesus? The people already knew that John was a disciple of Jesus. But because of John’s connections, he was not afraid. Why did Peter deny Jesus? John did not deny Jesus. The truth is that John should have stayed far away from that place. It does not matter the connections you have, if your master is going to be crucified, you better run away because you will be crucified with him. So, John could have taken off, but he did not.

Despite John’s courage, why did Peter deny Jesus? When Jesus said that Peter would deny Him, Jesus was foretelling, telling Peter what will happen. Jesus was not saying this is what must happen. You can change prophecies. Yes, you can! So, Jesus can foretell what will happen but your decisions and your heart towards God can make God decide to do better for you. So, the fact that Jesus has said it does not mean Jesus cannot change it. Many times, in scriptures, God would say, ‘I did not want to do this for anybody but because you have done this for Me, I will do it for you.’ David is a case in point. Peter was in a peculiar situation; he had just cut off someone’s ear and the person’s relatives were there. He just wanted to be anonymous.

In addition to that, this was Jesus that Peter thought was going to be president and he, Peter, the minister of finance or minister of power and steel has now been captured. The disciples actually thought that Jesus was going to rule physically on earth, did you know that? So, it was a volatile situation for Peter. But should Peter not have drawn from John’s strength? The second question is, why did John not set Peter straight? When Peter denied Jesus the first time, why did John not set Peter straight? John was there, and he did not deny Jesus. Everybody knew who John was, “Are you also one of Jesus’ disciples? Peter said, ‘No, I am not’ and John kept quiet. Why did John not set Peter straight? I will leave you to wrestle with this but we will discuss it further in tomorrow’s devotional. Also, read John 18:22-23. Have you been unjustly treated? How did you respond?

John 18:²⁸ “Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover.” Jesus’ accusers did not want to go into the temple, they did not want to be defiled because of the Passover. But the Passover Himself was with them; Jesus was the Passover Lamb. They allowed Jesus to go inside to see Pilate.

Prayer: Father, according to Your Word, I pray that the people I do life with will be better off because of me. Help me stir them rightly in wisdom, in Jesus Name. Amen!