The Dinner Party That Went South

Don’t let your hearts be troubled.   John 14:1

It was the Passover, and Jesus had been looking forward to this last meal with his disciples before going to the cross. Early on in the evening, Jesus shocked his friends by saying that someone at the table would betray him. How do you carry on a dinner party after that?

There was more bad news: “I will be with you only a little longer” (John 13:33). Can you picture the faces around the table when Jesus said this? These men had left everything to follow Christ. They had built their whole lives around him, and now after just three years, he told them he would be with them only a little longer.

Peter could not imagine being separated from Christ, so he said he was willing to lay down his life for him. Jesus replied, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me” (John 13:38).

In a matter of minutes, the disciples discovered that one of them would betray the Savior, Jesus himself would be taken from them, and his leading disciple would make a total denial of his faith before the night ended.

Jesus’ next words must have been staggering, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1). How could Jesus say this in light of all he had just said? I can imagine the disciples saying, “You tell us one of us is a traitor, you’re about to leave, and Peter’s testimony will collapse. Then you say we shouldn’t be troubled?”

I imagine Jesus looking around at his disciples at this point in the evening saying, “Here’s what I need you to do right now—trust God! Trust in me!” Jesus was not asking them to believe blindly. They’d seen his miracles, heard his words, and walked with him for three years. In this moment of great darkness, Christ called them to trust what he had taught them in the light.

For further reading, see John 13