It was the night that everything crumbled. Jesus had lost plenty of disciples in ministry before, but he hadn’t lost the twelve. They were both his team and his friends, and they had been through every struggle together.
But they wouldn’t stay together for this one. Not this time. When the guards came to arrest Jesus, all his disciples fled.
Jesus knows what it’s like to have his ministry crash. He knows what it’s like when an issue comes up and suddenly everyone that loves you abandons you. He knows what it’s like to have people pretend they never knew you. He knows what it’s like to have someone notice you walking toward them and then look at the ground so they don’t have to make eye contact. He knows what it’s like to be alone in a calling. He knows what it’s like to be faithful to a vision when no one else will go with you.
He knows what you’re like and what you’ve been through. And he shows us his scars and reminds us, “There is life after this too.”
*This devotional was created out of the themes of Matthew 26:26-35 found in today’s reading at CommonPrayer.net.
Jamin Bradley 