One of the first things Jesus did after His resurrection was to look for the disciples who’d failed Him so badly. ‘On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you”’ (vv. 19-21 NIV). One of them was Peter, who’d walked on water, whose hands had distributed miracle food to five thousand hungry people, who’d witnessed Moses and Elijah standing next to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was Peter who said, ‘Even if I have to die with you…I will never deny you!’ (Matthew 26:35 NLT). And he wasn’t the only one. ‘All the other disciples vowed the same’ (v. 35 NLT).But the Bible tells us ‘all his disciples deserted him and ran away’ (Mark 14:50 NLT). Saint John, Saint Andrew, and Saint James – all guys depicted on the stained glass windows of churches worldwide – abandoned Jesus when He needed them most. But when He rose from the dead, He never mentioned it. Instead, ‘He showed them His [wounded] hands’ (John 20:20 NKJV) to let them know He still loved them. Instead of turning His back on them, He said, ‘As the Father has sent Me, I also send you’ (v. 21 NKJV). And today He’s saying the same to you.
What Now?
Have you been let down by someone? Today, make a commitment to give them a second chance.
