BUT JOHN STAYED

Early this morning sometime between 3:00 and 5:00, halfway between sleep and awakening, this phrase was quickened to my spirit, “BUT JOHN STAYED.”  My first thought was what an odd thing to have pop into my mind.  I don’t remember if or what I was dreaming but it had nothing to do with JOHN!  I drifted back to sleep, but when God wants to burn something into your heart, it doesn’t matter whether you are sound asleep or fully awake, God invades your space. So for the next 2 or 3 hours, “BUT JOHN STAYED,” continued to echo through my consciousness until it had buried itself into the very fiber of my being.

Matthew records that as Jesus began his ministry, walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew, casting their nets.  He asked them to “Follow Me” and they obeyed.  Going on a little further, Jesus encounters two more brothers, James and John, mending nets and repeats the same request.  The brothers leave their father and their nets and follow Jesus.  That in itself is amazing, 4 men leave their livelihood to follow a man of which they know nothing.  But soon they would experience a life they could have never imagined; truly a “GOD THING.”

For three and a half years a group of 12 men followed, listened, ate with and slept beside this man called Jesus.  They all witnessed many miracles, they were all fed with 5 loaves and 2 fish, they all heard the prophetic words and the words of wisdom that were uttered daily as they sat at the feet of Jesus or walked along the road, side by side.  So what made JOHN STAY when others left?  Was there a point in time when John not only believed but was TRULY CONVERTED? The word, CONVERTED means “to change to transform.”  So what could transform a person from a fisherman, mending nets with his father to the Beloved Disciple John, the MAN WHO STAYED?

Mark 9:2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.

Perhaps it happened on the “Mount of Transfiguration.”  The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record this amazing event in which Jesus goes up on a mountain with Peter, James and John.  I find it curious that neither Matthew, Mark nor Luke were on the mountain but described in detail the “transfiguration” of Jesus, while John, one of the three to actually witness the event doesn’t mention it in the Gospel he penned.  Perhaps to John, the EVENT WAS NOT AS MOMENTOUS AS THE REVELATION!

Peter, in his usual impulsive, rambunctious manner declares in Luke 9:33 “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said.  Obviously, Peter was quite impressed with the EVENT but had little REVELATION.  The three gospels do not record any comments by John but perhaps John’s own words will give you insight into the momentous REVELATION, he had received. 

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Yes, John was definitely impacted on the “Mount of Transfiguration,” perhaps more than the others, maybe even more than Peter.  And maybe, just maybe this was the moment in time when John became TRULY CONVERTED.  Could it be possible this is the reason JOHN STAYED!

John 6:66-68 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."

Jesus had finished some "straight to the point" and difficult teachings. In John 6, it is recorded that the commitment was just too much for many of Jesus' followers and they returned to their previous pursuits.  Jesus looking at the twelve faithful followers that remain, asks, "Will you leave, too?"  True to form, Peter quickly replies, "to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life." 

WAIT A MINUTE!!! Let's jump ahead in time...Jesus has been arrested and is on trial and we find this same "faithful" Peter warming himself by the fire outside the court.

John 18:26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"  Peter then denied again; and immediately the rooster crowed.

As we continue the journey of Jesus, through his trial, his beating and torture, we come to the crucifixion...WHERE IS PETER?  It is not recorded.  WHAT ABOUT JOHN?  Was he TRULY CONVERTED?  Would he STAY at the feet of Jesus or like Peter DISAPPEAR?

John 19:26-27 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus  His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”

27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

In his final hour, Jesus looks down from the cross and sees the small group gathered.  His eyes settle on His mother and YES, there he is, standing by, His beloved disciple, JOHN, the MAN WHO STAYED.

NOW, let’s get personal, what about you?  What about me?  Are we TRULY CONVERTED?  Do we disappear at the very possibility of a trial?  What happens when after years of faithfulness, someone else gets the promotion, the attention, and the accolades?  Remember, it was Peter, the man who denied then ran away, not faithful John, the man who stayed that received the “Keys to the Kingdom.”  BUT, it was JOHN, THE MAN WHO STAYED, that has the last word.  It was to him that the REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST was given to be recorded and handed down over two thousand years to be declared today.

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

You may have been wounded by fellow believers, betrayed by those you trusted, and persecuted by those who refuse this great salvation but I would dare say, you haven’t been boiled in oil.  You may be going through a storm or the darkest trial in your life but I’m pretty sure you have not been exiled to solitary confinement on a deserted island.  Like John, you can become TRULY CONVERTED and purpose in your heart that you will be known as the PERSON WHO STAYED.