Have you ever fallen into the pit? I don’t mean literally, although that would certainly apply here too. I mean the metaphorical pit that the Psalms describe as a place of despair, darkness, and hopelessness.
Whether you dug it yourself or landed there innocently, the most natural thing to want when in the pit is out. Saving. Rescue. Relief. And we should. The pit is not a place where life flourishes. It certainly doesn’t sound like the place Jesus had in mind when we read his words in John,
“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10.
I really love the Gospel of John. Throughout it, John never refers to himself by name, only as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” I don’t think he wanted to prove that he was better than all the others or that Jesus had a special favoritism toward him. I think that being loved by Jesus was the thing he knew to be most true about himself. It was his identity even more than his own name.
This is the same John who, in Acts 12, loses his brother.
“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.” Acts 12:1-2
His brother was killed because he too worshipped Jesus. John would go on to lose even more loved ones and be banished for proclaiming Christ. John knew the pit. He knew grief, darkness, and injustice. Yet John didn’t define himself by his suffering. He didn’t define himself by what he’d lost or by what he’d endured. He defined himself by how loved he was in the midst of it all.
Even before John’s brother was killed for the Gospel, there was Stephen. He was a leader in the church chosen to oversee food distribution for widows. He faithfully preaches the truth of Jesus and becomes the first person martyred for His name. Right before Stephen was stoned to death, we see,
“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55-56
Jesus is typically described in Scripture as seated at the right hand of God, signifying His finished work and authority. Yet here, Stephen sees Jesus standing. Scripture doesn’t explain why. Maybe He is standing to welcome Stephen home. Maybe it’s to show Stephen nothing can separate them, not even death. Whatever the reason, Stephen gets a glimpse of the unseen. And what Stephen sees is a Savior who is not distant or indifferent, but fully present in his darkest pit.
Jesus did not defeat death, ascend to heaven, and take his throne, only to leave you to figure it out from there. He isn’t asking you to crawl out of your pit through determination, positive thinking, or by distracting yourself enough to pretend you aren’t there. The heart of the Gospel is that you have a Savior who left His glorious throne to enter your pit.
I can’t tell you why the pit exists. I can’t tell you why God doesn’t always pull us out of it as quickly as we want Him to. But I can tell you this – Jesus is in the pit with you.
The same God who can save you from the pit can also save you in it. Because He is there too. As the disciple whom Jesus loved reminds us,
“The light shines in the darkness; and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
So even if you find yourself in the darkest pit today – the truest thing about John is the truest thing about you too. You are the one whom Jesus loves.
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