“So Jesus said to the twelve [disciples], “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You [alone]
have the words of eternal life [you are our only hope].”—John 6:67-68,
Amplified Bible.
The
two verses above paint a picture of a time in Jesus’ ministry when some of His
followers abandoned Him and went their separate ways. Jesus asks the Twelve
if they would leave too. Simon Peter, the supposed spokesman for the disciples,
springs up with this response: “Lord, to whom shall we go?” The statement that
Simon makes after asking the question is interesting. It does not only answer
his own question but it sums up the purpose of Jesus’ coming. In Matthew 16:16,
Simon Peter had acknowledged that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living
God.” In John 6:68, he expresses that Jesus alone has the words of eternal life
and hence He is the only One who gives them hope.
To
stay on the narrow way and to continue to follow Jesus for the rest of our
days, we must guard against deception and derailment. Concerning some of the
people that quit following Jesus, there is certainly something that became more
attractive to them. Perhaps some deception or something that led to their
derailment. They say a derailment takes place when a train runs off its rails.
In our Christian lives, we must be careful not be lied to or led astray.
Instead, “let us [wholeheartedly] lay aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race set out before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Let us always bear in mind the words of Jesus in John 14:6.
In the scripture verse, Jesus makes exclusive claims that He is the Way, the
Truth, and the Life and that no one comes to the Father except by Him. We, therefore, need to follow Him wholeheartedly. Amen!
Personal Application Questions (PAQs):
- What does following Jesus wholeheartedly mean to you today?
- What holy disciplines will you establish to keep you from being deceived and derailed from the Narrow Way? (cf. Proverbs 14:12; Matthew 7:13-14)
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