“Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!” The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?””
John 13:21-25 NLT
The Gospel of John records that Jesus loved one of His disciples, who was assumed to be John, and the writer of the Gospel we are following. But does that mean that He showed John special favour? There was also the time when Jesus took three disciples with Him up the “high mountain” (assumed to be Mount Tabor), where He met with Moses and Elijah. We can read the account in Matthew 17:1-3, “Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus”. Was Jesus closer to these three disciples than He was to the rest? John was with Jesus on the visit to what we call the Mount of Transfiguration so why didn’t he include a mention in his Gospel, although it was included in the other three?
We know that at a basic level, every child of God is His favourite. He does not provide special favour to one person and refuse to grant it to another. But the reality in practice is that God chooses certain men and women for special assignments. This does not mean favouring one person over another. We can’t all be Peters. Or Johns. Closer to home and our own age we can’t all be pastors, or missionaries to foreign lands. We also know that many who God has seemingly favoured over others end up in a difficult place, persecuted and suffering. We look at the life of the Apostle Paul and wonder about the hardships he suffered – we can find out what he recorded in 2 Corinthians 11. Perhaps being in a favoured place like Paul is to be avoided!
But we pilgrims have a special and favoured relationship with God. He is our Heavenly Father and we are His children. His love for us is limitless and one day we will be with Him in Heaven. That surely is favour enough.
Dear Father God. Thank You for Your grace and favour, Your love and kindness. We worship You today. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 