Following Jesus... at a distance.

Read this yesterday in the Grand Story from Luke 22 and it caught my eye...

"Then they seized [Jesus] and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance." (Luke 22:54)

Peter was "following at a distance." What does that mean? 

Peter was following Jesus, no doubt about it, and in every sense of the word. He had devoted the last three years of his life to becoming a Christ follower. He had left his career, left the comforts of home, left the security of a steady paycheck to follow a rabbi from Nazareth of all places. He was all in, no question.

But when Jesus was arrested and led away to be tried by a kangaroo court and executed, Peter followed "at a distance." By putting some space between himself and this now very unpopular Jesus, he hoped to escape notice, to blend in. "Aren't you one of his followers, too?" The question must had made his blood turn to ice in his veins even as he warmed himself by the fire that night. "Who, me? No... no, I'm not, I... I don't even know the guy."

Following Jesus is not what people do who want to blend in. It's not where you go to be under the radar. It frequently places you in the cross-hairs in the war of cultures. This is the guy who said, "Don't think that I came to bring peace; I came to bring a sword that will divide even families against each other."(Matt. 10:34) All over this one issue: who He really is. 

Because if He is who He said He is, then we are obligated to take seriously that what He says is true. And He makes some pretty bold and unpopular claims on our lives, loves, dreams, desires, money, relationships... If He is who He claimed to be, He has the right to tell us how to live. And that's not popular. Following a guy like that can get you crucified.

As a result, many Christ followers can find themselves "following at a distance." When the predominant views of the culture we live in pinch us between following Jesus faithfully and falling into line with the majority, the temptation to blend in can be strong. Will we try to slide in unnoticed next to those who warm themselves around the fires of sophistication and enlightenment, or will we fearlessly but humbly acknowledge Christ as King, and His Word as the unchangeable authority over every area of life?

Acceptance and approval have been a distraction for the modern church for decades now, and is to blame for much of its anemia. The Bible's unflinching stance on controversial issues like marriage, sexuality, parenting, and abortion (just to name a few) makes it pretty near impossible to court the approval of the culture and maintain faithfulness to Christ. In fact, Jesus promised His disciples that to follow Him was to invite the hatred of pretty much the rest of the world. (John 15:18-19) 2000 years of worldwide persecution, which continues to escalate right up to this very day, would prove Him right. To put it bluntly, the cross just isn't cool. It wasn't then, it isn't now, and it never will be. 

Every time we distance ourselves from Christ by backing off what He said to make it more palatable, or water down the scriptures to avoid being vilified in the press, or remain silent on an issue that demands we stand up and speak the truth even at great cost, it is a betrayal. We are abandoning Jesus to suffer alone at precisely the point we are called to "share in the fellowship of His sufferings."(Phil.3:10, NASB)

"And immediately while [Peter] was speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord... And he went out and wept bitterly." (Luke 22: 61-62)

The story does have a happy ending. Jesus rises from the dead. Peter is forgiven and restored and reaffirmed by Jesus. Later, he would be crucified himself for his refusal to ever follow at a distance again. But even so... I bet he never, ever forgot that look from Jesus that night. In fact, I'd wager it was precisely the memory of that look, seared into his mind and burned into his heart, that brought him to his own cross finally. And into the Kingdom where he could see that face again, and see those eyes, but with a different expression altogether.