by guest blogger Samantha Vitz
I watched Jesus stand in the garden talking to his disciples. I tried my best to focus, but I couldn’t help but think of my life and everything in it. I thought about all the lost people around me. I thought about how I tried to do better but I just couldn't.
But I shook the thoughts off. I had to listen to Jesus. I needed him. So I focused harder.
I looked intently into his face as he spoke. Now I couldn’t help but stare blankly at him like everyone else did, sucking in everything he said.
But I shook the thoughts off. I had to listen to Jesus. I needed him. So I focused harder.
I looked intently into his face as he spoke. Now I couldn’t help but stare blankly at him like everyone else did, sucking in everything he said.
“Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer,” Jesus said.
How sweet that he calls us children, I thought. The other disciples listened closely. Some leaned on trees while others just stood. The night breeze danced in the air and the smell of olives lingered nearby.
Jesus continued with deep focus on our faces.
“You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Everyone’s faces twisted in distress, and my heart sank as I heard his words.
What Jesus said about loving others quickly went over our heads. All we heard was that our Lord was leaving.
What? I thought. You. Are. LEAVING?? Why–
Then Peter interrupted my thoughts.
“Lord, where are You going,” he asked, looking very confused.
Jesus looked at him and answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”
Jesus continued speaking to his bewildered disciples, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”
Everyone’s faces changed, realizing what he was saying.
“But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Jesus’s words hit our hearts like a hammer shatters glass. His words seemed to break us.
The other disciples stared at him in utter confusion. They were unable to speak or move. We all just stared into Jesus’s eyes, hoping that he would explain everything.
Then Peter, who was leaning on a tree, stepped forward and spoke to Jesus “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble. Lord… Why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”
Jesus immediately answered, “Will you lay down your life for My sake?”
Peter’s face melted in confusion.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.”
But Peter spoke more passionately, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”
The other disciples murmured in agreement.
I watched as Peter’s eyes turned shiny like glass under the light of the torches.
He fell silent to keep the tears back.
Jesus looked at everyone’s pleading eyes and became sorrowful as he spoke.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go, you know, and the way you know.”
This time Thomas spoke up. “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus looked at him and then at everyone else as he spoke. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Everyone stood looking at each other in disbelief. I sat amazed at his words.
I sat confused.
I sat sorrow-filled.
I sat utterly blown away.
. . .
I sat.
Then I looked up from my Bible.
I was filled with peace, but I was also speechless at what had happened on the pages of my small Bible. My worries were all gone, and now all I could think about was about what I had read.
I looked at the clock. The clock blared 4:45 in red numbers.
Wow, time really passed, I thought.
I got up quickly, flying in my heart, thinking, I should share this!
And so I did.
This passage is based on John 13:33-14:6, where Jesus speaks to His disciples about His impending departure, urging them to love one another and reassuring them that He is the way to the Father.
How sweet that he calls us children, I thought. The other disciples listened closely. Some leaned on trees while others just stood. The night breeze danced in the air and the smell of olives lingered nearby.
Jesus continued with deep focus on our faces.
“You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Everyone’s faces twisted in distress, and my heart sank as I heard his words.
What Jesus said about loving others quickly went over our heads. All we heard was that our Lord was leaving.
What? I thought. You. Are. LEAVING?? Why–
Then Peter interrupted my thoughts.
“Lord, where are You going,” he asked, looking very confused.
Jesus looked at him and answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”
Jesus continued speaking to his bewildered disciples, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”
Everyone’s faces changed, realizing what he was saying.
“But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Jesus’s words hit our hearts like a hammer shatters glass. His words seemed to break us.
The other disciples stared at him in utter confusion. They were unable to speak or move. We all just stared into Jesus’s eyes, hoping that he would explain everything.
Then Peter, who was leaning on a tree, stepped forward and spoke to Jesus “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble. Lord… Why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”
Jesus immediately answered, “Will you lay down your life for My sake?”
Peter’s face melted in confusion.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.”
But Peter spoke more passionately, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”
The other disciples murmured in agreement.
I watched as Peter’s eyes turned shiny like glass under the light of the torches.
He fell silent to keep the tears back.
Jesus looked at everyone’s pleading eyes and became sorrowful as he spoke.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go, you know, and the way you know.”
This time Thomas spoke up. “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus looked at him and then at everyone else as he spoke. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Everyone stood looking at each other in disbelief. I sat amazed at his words.
I sat confused.
I sat sorrow-filled.
I sat utterly blown away.
. . .
I sat.
Then I looked up from my Bible.
I was filled with peace, but I was also speechless at what had happened on the pages of my small Bible. My worries were all gone, and now all I could think about was about what I had read.
I looked at the clock. The clock blared 4:45 in red numbers.
Wow, time really passed, I thought.
I got up quickly, flying in my heart, thinking, I should share this!
And so I did.
This passage is based on John 13:33-14:6, where Jesus speaks to His disciples about His impending departure, urging them to love one another and reassuring them that He is the way to the Father.
************************************
Samantha Vitz is a creative soul who finds inspiration in beauty, experiences, and the Holy Spirit. Bubbly and curious, she loves to draw, paint, write, and read, often getting lost in daydreams. With an earnest heart for glorifying God, Samantha hopes her stories reflect his wisdom and love. She cherishes her relationship with Jesus, who understands her in ways no one else can, and he is her closest friend. Through her art and words, she seeks to share the joy and wonder of life.
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