(JOHN 13:21-26) After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
In the story above, Jesus revealed that someone among His disciples was going to betray Him. This group of people ate and slept together for three years and for Jesus to make such a statement is profound, shocking even.
I can almost picture the scenario; It was dinner time and the disciples could have been exchanging stories with one another, it was another fine day where they got to witness Jesus' ministry. Then suddenly, Jesus, in a very serious manner said the statement "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me". To make the matter even more serious than it already was, Jesus said the word "truly" twice which was a gesture of emphasizing His words. I can almost imagine the pin-drop silence from the disciples as they exchanged looks, the awkwardness of gauging each other all the while trying to know how to respond to the situation. If I was there, my mind would have been so relentless to know whom among our group is Jesus referring to. Therefore, I cannot blame Peter for being curious. However, Peter, instead of asking Jesus directly, motioned John to ask Jesus the question as to who among them is the traitor. This would have been an opportunity for Peter to hear directly from God but missed it.
Maybe we are like Peter, we have tons of questions that we would want to ask God but we are afraid, perhaps intimidated, or downright lazy to ask God Himself. It could be that Peter thought that it was only fitting for John to ask since "he is beloved" (as described in the scripture) by Jesus. Unknowingly, this could have been the same excuse that we use in our pursuit of God. We try to get our answers through different channels or through the "special set of people" whom we think God only speaks to like our Pastors, Church Leaders, Prophets, and those who "seem" to walk closely with God.
God loves each of us uniquely and passionately, it may be true that the scripture described John as the beloved of Jesus but at the same time, we are all God's beloved. The scripture clearly says that "God so loved the world", it did not give emphasis on a certain race or set of people. If this is the case, then I can say for sure that Jesus loved Peter as uniquely and passionately as He loved John and He loves us as fiercely as He loved them
God is not a God who doesn't answer, He is the same God that advises us to ask wisdom from Him if we are lacking, and He certainly is not a God who will not hear us out. God is true to His word when He said that those who seek Him will find Him if we seek Him with all of our hearts, and that if we knock He is faithful to open the doors. With this, we should learn to never settle for an indirect revelation or a secondhand experience, we need to start hearing directly from God. You can either be a John today and come boldly into the presence of God, pursuing Jesus without excuses, or you can be a Peter.
If Peter was the one to ask the question, do you think Jesus would have denied him the answer?
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