"Do Christians in fact eagerly long for Christ's return? The more Christians are caught up in enjoying the good things of this life, and the more they neglect genuine Christian fellowship and their personal relationship with Christ, the less they will long for his return."
- Wayne Grudem
Saturday, February 6, 2010
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.This is an addendum to my previous post.
- John 6:66-71 (emphasis mine)
This passage captures one of the several times when Peter just absolutely nailed it. Seriously . . . grand slam home run for Peter.
I didn't catch this until I was studying it tonight . . . and I could be wrong. But do you sense a smile on Jesus lips when he says "Did I not choose you, the Twelve?" The smile disappears in the next sentence, but I can picture Jesus, tired at the end of a trying day, and after having been deserted by many of his disciples. He asks the Twelve "Do you want to go away as well?"
Peter answers: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life . . ." I can almost see, and I think it's implied, some solemn, determined nods of affirmation for these words from the other eleven too.
I wonder if Jesus' heart wasn't warmed and encouraged by that? His disciples could be frustrating, thick, faithless, and foolish. They fought with each other about who was the greatest. They tried to give Jesus advice, and it was almost always bad advice. They had trouble seeing the big picture.
But on this most important question, they got it. And the Lord, who had chosen them regardless of (and, I think, in spite of) their lack of qualifications, knew that in his divine wisdom, he had chosen well.
I think that he smiled upon them at that moment, as their friend, leader, teacher and Lord, with the pride that most parents know well.
"Did I not choose you?"
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Comments on ""Did I Not Choose You?"":
2. Riley
- 02/06/2010 10:37 pm CST
Great post, Mr. Bill.
Peter does say some awesome stuff, and Jesus gives some pretty awesome reactions to the statements.
I'm reminded of Matthew 16:17 when Jesus responds to Peter's true assessment of Jesus' divinity. Just imagining the humanity of Jesus smiling and laughing, while the divinity of Jesus, on a grand scale, rejoices for His own glory. What a beautiful passage.
3. Shrode
- 02/07/2010 7:08 am CST
Hey Bill, not to go all Calvinist on you, but doesn't saying he chose well imply there was something worthy, or some value in those he chose that merited choosing...?
Of course, I'm being too theologically picky because I see your point.
It's amazing how many verses in the Gospel of John are monergist. I'm going through John right now with my folks on Wed night. They are just intended to be light 20 minute devotionals. But I keep getting blown away by the theology, by the depth, by the power of Jesus' words in John.
4. MzEllenl
- 02/07/2010 8:24 am CST
Shrode - I find myself again in the place of not liking my church much (and I'm convinced now that it's the denomination and that's what I need to leave.)
But I think that your 20 minute devotionals that get sidetracked because of theology most likey beat our 13 minute sermons that never mention things like "sin", "cross", "died for our sins" and other such side issues.
5. Shrode
- 02/07/2010 9:11 am CST
MzEllen,
I think you would love our Wed night prayer meetings. :) We talk about Jesus for 30 minutes and then pray for 30 minutes. Well, we usually go over on both counts. But that's OK, and nobody minds. I can't get those people to stop talking about Jesus or to stop praying just because of a silly thing like time. ;-)
Leave a Comment:
I know the feeling. I am commited to being in a Reformed church...but I am tired of feeling like have to choose between good teaching and good worship. The church that I'm attending now has an awesome worship leader. The teaching leaves a lot to be desired (mostly the gospel).
But where do I go?
God chose me and I am His.