Then Jesus brought them to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go on ahead to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he began to be filled with anguish and deep distress. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”
Matthew 26:36-38
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL LINK
Our Daily Bread - 08/02/06
Like Job and Daniel, Jesus had an inner circle of friends. It is interesting to see the different responses of friends. In Job’s case, his friends all turn on him. In Daniel’s trials, his friends were always at his side. For Jesus the scenario was different. The reaction of his friends was all different.
We don’t read specifically what James did as Jesus was arrested, tried and crucified. We must assume that he was among the disciples who ran away. We learn that Peter stayed close to the action but denied knowing who Jesus was. John went to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and supported her as they witnessed the cruelty of the Cross. John was standing with Mary at the foot of the Cross as his friend Jesus took His last breath and life went out of Him. Despite the different response of Jesus’ friends, we learn that each returned after the resurrection and continued the work to build the early church.
Our friends will respond to us in different ways. We can expect that. Their response to us is something over which we have no control. What we do control is how we respond to our friends. Which Bible example of a friend will you follow?
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