The final hours of Jesus before He dies are interesting for the ways in which He is rejected.
Judas rejects Him in the way he leads the plot for the arrest. This betrayal may well have been known in advance, but it doesn’t stop it being tragic to see someone who stayed with you so long, still reject you in such a manner. Others just stopped following Him, but this was the culmination of something more than just leaving Him.
The denial of Peter, however, is arguably a greater rejection. Here is an intimate of the Rabbi. Here is a man who moments earlier had taken arms in a misguided attempt to defend the one he followed. Yet here at the moment where allegiance was arguably needed the most, when the Messiah was up against it, Peter refuses to acknowledge following Him. Jesus knowing that in advance doesn’t make it any less painful. For Peter himself it would not be something you live with in any great deal of comfort.
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36)
Surrounded by such rejection from those close to Him and facing the world’s ultimate rejection of Him in the social, religious and political realms, it takes considerable focus from Jesus to keep committed to the path ahead. A big part of that, I read, is knowing why He’s here and who He is.
In my actions and thoughts, sometimes I reject Jesus. I am grateful that the King whose Kingdom is not of this earth forgives and restores me. Enabling me to stand up for the King even when He is rejected.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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