Have you ever witnessed something so profoundly beautiful and meaningful that for a brief moment in time, you forgot everything else? I can remember a few such experiences:

• The day I got married, standing at the end of the aisle and watching my bride move toward me.
• Watching a play in Trafalgar Square. I was so lost in the scenery and the music that I forgot where I was!
• Singing worship songs with 80,000 men at a conference. The music and passion for Jesus was so heavy that I had goosebumps!
• Sitting on a rock overlooking the Great Smoky Mountains, and praying that the God who created these majestic mountains would create something new inside of me. It was the first time I had actually been still in some time.

Each of these moments consumed me; enthralled me; filled me; changed me. Even today, I can go back in my mind and relive the experiences. I can hear the orchestra at the theater; the glad voices of the men singing praise; the pounding of my heart at the altar. When I feel anxious, I can go back to that mountain and feel the breeze against my skin and remember how God’s voice spoke to calm my turbulent heart.

‍

‍

For the past 40 days, we have been reading about a time like that in the lives of Jesus’s followers. For three years, these men had traveled with Jesus; eaten meals with Jesus; questioned Jesus; marveled at Jesus; struggled to trust Jesus. During that time, their lives had become increasingly noisy and tense. As they drew to Jerusalem (and the cross), the angry voices became louder and bolder and angrier, until these guys must have known that a battle was brewing. They had no idea of what that battle would entail.

But on this night, as the world around them raged, Jesus carved out a space and poured Himself into it. He served these men by washing their feet. He challenged them with straight talk about what was to come. He comforted them with the promise of the Holy Spirit. He confused them, enthralled them, ministered to them and prayed for them. As He did, the noisy din faded and the world stood still.  For the first time, these men only had eyes and ears for Jesus.

If only the night had lasted forever.

But it didn’t. It couldn’t. Even as Jesus knelt in the Garden to pray, fighting the great cosmic battle against his flesh, forces of evil gathered in the distance. Torches and shouting voices pierced the dark night, bringing this glorious oasis between Jesus and His Disciples to a jarring end.

Before the friends understood what was happening, Jesus had been arrested, bound and dragged away. The next 24 hours were a blur of agonized wails, mournful sobs and confused shouts. The Disciples were frightened, and disillusioned. That last night with Jesus was but a painful memory.

‍

‍

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. John 20 tells the greatest story in the history of the world — how Jesus stepped out of the grave, risen and glorified! When that news broke — that His tomb was empty and that He had been seen by the women of the group — it was as if a terrible storm finally subsided and the sunshine broke through the clouds. His Disciples came out of hiding to gather and pray and try to make sense of it all!

Then Jesus appeared among them and said: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”  And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” From that day forward, they would never be separated from Jesus again.

‍

‍

Life was never easy for these men. The angry voices that raged around the cross followed them for their entire lives. They experienced tremendous hardships and faced daily persecution, but they were never alone.

Of course, sometimes anxiety bubbled back to the surface and doubt clouded their thoughts. But during those times, they could travel back in their memories to that glorious night with Jesus, when He tenderly and lovingly poured into them and prepared them for this new season of ministry. And those memories comforted them, as it should us!

After all, we still live in the same in-between time as they did — the time between Jesus’s first coming and second coming, when God is patiently calling people to come to Him. To that end, Jesus has comforted us with the same message. The Holy Spirit inspired John to faithfully record His words for us, and He has given us the same Holy Spirit, to bind us to those who have come before and to the great God we serve.

As we close out our study, draw near to the one who prayed for you that night, and allow His words to fill you with the same wonder and awe that those who first heard them experienced. After all, this prayer is for you:

“Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”

Amen.