Where I Am Going You Cannot Follow Me...Now

John 13:36-38

"Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, where are You going?' (Jesus had informed them that He was about to be glorified, and the Father glorified in Him; v.31) Jesus answered him, 'Where I am going you CANNOT follow Me NOW, but you shall follow Me AFTERWARD.'  Peter said to Him, 'Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.' Jesus answered Him, 'Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have DENIED Me three times.' "

We know that Jesus was about to be glorified through the cross. We know that Jesus "learned obedience by the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). He was made ready to go to the cross for the sake of mankind. Just as 'His wife has made (is making) herself ready' (Revelation 19:7,8), so was Peter 'being made ready' (as well as the majority of the original twelve disciples). Peter needed to hear that his own soul would keep him from following Jesus to the cross "to lay his (Peter's) life down for Jesus' sake". Later, Peter, in repentance, was forgiven and told: 'if you love Me, feed/tend My lambs/sheep', and Peter was well able, his own apparent strength brought low, to persevere. He was made ready to follow Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father!

Now Jesus Loved Martha and Her Sister and Lazarus

(John 11:1-7)

"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. When Jesus heard that, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it'. 

"NOW JESUS LOVED MARTHA AND HER SISTER AND LAZARUS. So (because He loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus), when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was."

Why did Jesus not immediately make His was back to Bethany to heal Lazarus whom He ultimately raised from the dead? He wanted those He loved to understand that He had whatever He said because He was one with the Father! Interestingly, the centurion approached Jesus to heal his servant and said "only say the word, and my servant shall be healed". Jesus informed the centurion that He had not seen such faith, not even in Israel. In this portion of scripture, we see Jesus teaching those He loved, in a time of high concern and emotion, this very principle: whatever I (Jesus) say comes to pass! Those He loved knew He was able to perform miraculous signs and would have appreciated immediate action! What Jesus told them came to fruition - they needed to know that more than any perception they might have!

"Whom the Lord LOVES He chastens (disciplines), and scourges every son whom He receives." (Hebrews 12:6) 

"As many as I LOVE, I rebuke and chasten (bring discipline). Therefore, be zealous and repent." Be eager and enthusiatic in your turning to Him as you are corrected/directed. They were/we are disciplined in trusting His living words to us even as He bears long with us!    

The Us/You in Him (Ephesians 1:1-14)

Ephesians 1:1-14

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed US with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose US in HIM before the foundation of the world, that WE should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined US to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He MADE US accepted in the Beloved. In Him WE have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward US in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to US the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one (John 17:20-26) all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in HIM. In Him, also, WE have obtained an inheritence, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, THAT WE WHO FIRST TRUSTED IN CHRIST should be to the praise of His glory. In Him, YOU ALSO trusted, after YOU heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in WHOM also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee (which is the down payment, earnest) of OUR inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."

What would you say the difference is between Paul/us (those with like faith) and the Ephesian faithful: the you's in this writing?  Both the us's and you's have been born again and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise: the "tools" to walk as His purchased possession. Both have been empowered by God's earnest for the inheritance Paul describes. The us's understand what Jesus calling was and are willing to persevere with Him in it. The you's are just about to find out what is required (Ephesians 1:15-23). If they are willing to accept the substance and evidence of Paul's testimony, the realization and confidence to trust the Father in what Jesus calling was, they will receive the end of their faith in Him: the salvation of their souls.