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!