If You Could?
would you?
The Gospel of John is unique among the four gospels in many ways. For one, John devotes a great percentage of the book to the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life. His account of the Upper Room begins as early as chapter 13. What follows, the Upper Room Discourse(s) are profound and worth a lifetime of meditation.
In chapter 14 we have those memorable lines about preparing a place for us and being “The Way, The Truth, and The Life.” Jesus tells the disciples that He was going away but that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, would come. Things were going to change radically and quickly after that night. Thomas and Philip come to the forefront and their questions set the stage for Jesus’ teaching here.
What an honor it was to have been chosen as one of the twelve. Out of all the men in Israel, Jesus chose them. To be called to follow Jesus was a great privilege. An act of grace. Yet, we know it was also a hard path, one strewn with trials, and one that ended in martyrdom almost all of them. Did they ever wonder if it had been worth it? Would they have chosen a different path, or just stayed on the road they were on instead of following Jesus if they could go back in time?
If he could, would Matthew go back in time and stay seated behind his tax collection desk? Would Peter and John remain as fishermen rather than becoming fishers of men? Would Simon stay entrenched in his zealotry? Or would they all choose again to be disciples of the Lord Jesus?
I believe, yes, they would choose Jesus all over again. I believe they would say they wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Neither would I.
