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The disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus unto the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without, then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. So John had access into the high priest, he had access into Jesus' inquisition basically, and he was able to get Peter in. So it even seems to me like within the three, Peter, James, and John, that Peter and John are even a more tightly knit group, they're even closer. Why? Because they're still following Jesus. After the others have scattered, after they've come and arrested Jesus, and everyone else has just fled for their lives, Peter and John are still following. But even amongst Peter and John, the innermost circle I believe, the closest disciple there was, was John. It means John that's letting Peter in. Look at John chapter 19, we're just going to, we're in the homestretch through John. Bear with me. Verse 25, Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene, when Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved. That's how the author is describing himself here. The disciple whom he loved. Obviously Jesus loved his disciples, but you know there's something specific about John, because that's who this is. We'll see that later, reveal at the end there. That this disciple that he's always referring to in third person is in fact the author. There's something about John that just stands out. You know I was kind of scratching my head trying to figure out what, I mean what made Peter and John, like what made John a closer disciple than Peter? And one thing I can't, the only thing I can really think of is that you don't really see John piping up much. You don't really see John objecting. You see Peter objecting when Jesus says, hey I'm going to be crucified. I'm going to go, I'm going to be given into the hands of sinners, and they're going to crucify me. And what does Peter say? Not so Lord, be it far from thee, and took him aside, and was rebuking Jesus. And Jesus got to the place where he said, get thee behind me Satan, for thou desireth not the things that be of God but of men. You see John's just willing to go along with the program all the way through. No objections. Whatever the Lord said, whatever Jesus deemed to be so, that's the way it's going to be. And I believe that's what made him a little bit closer to the Lord than Peter. That's why he's known as the one whom Jesus loved. He saith unto his mother, woman behold thy son, then saith thee to that disciple, behold thy mother, and from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home. Go to John chapter 20, John chapter 20. This one's kind of a humorous one. In verse 3, after they've learned about the resurrection that Christ has been told them, hey the grave is empty, the tomb is empty, I went to see him, and he's not there, the body's gone. And then it says that they ran to, Peter and John ran, right? Peter therefore went forth and that other disciple and came to the sepulcher, so they both ran together, excuse me, so they ran both together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter, but came first to the sepulcher. Why you gotta be like that, John? He's taking that subtle jab. I outran him. I don't know that's really what's going on there. There's probably a deeper meaning. But it's showing us that, you know, maybe John was a little bit closer because he's just a little bit more excited about the things of God. I don't know. But he did outrun him. Go to John chapter 21, verse 20. John chapter 21. And verse 20. What are we seeing in the scripture? We're seeing that there's people that are always gonna be on the outside. There's gonna be people that, you know, are the mission. They're the multitudes. They need to get saved. But then there's people that need to be the laborers that go out and win them. Then there's, you know, the people that need to be the disciples, the people that need to be devoted. And within that group of people, the disciples who are actually willing to serve God, there's gonna be different levels of discipleship. There's gonna be different depths of discipleship. Among the 12, among Peter, James, and John, among Peter and John themselves. John chapter 21. This is, of course, after the resurrection. He says in verse 20, Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved, following. So that's twice now. That's how he's referred to. Which also leaned on his breast at supper. You know, there was only so much to go around. That was a pretty privileged seat, wasn't it? And it shows you the relationship that they had. That there was something with Jesus and John, where John was so comfortable and John was so close to the Lord that he could just rest upon him and lean upon him. He sees this. That's how he describes it. He said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter, seeing him, saith unto Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If he will tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. You know, that's a good lesson when it comes to this topic of depths of discipleship. The only person we should be concerned about is ourselves and the Lord. We shouldn't, you know, the Bible says we're not wise if we begin to compare ourselves among ourselves. They that compare themselves among themselves are not wise. And people do that all the time. That's something, that's just part of human nature. That's how we measure ourselves up. Well, I'm better than so and so. Well, I go to church more often. I spend more time swimming. I do this and that's how we, but we're doing it for the wrong reasons. We're comparing ourselves to other people. The truth is, if we just love the Lord, if we just wanted to get close to him, if we just wanted to be that disciple whom Jesus loved, if we just wanted to have that immediate access, if we just wanted to have that working of God in our lives, if we wanted to be able to just lean on Jesus' breasts and be able to just be comforted at any time and be known as someone that is loved of God, we wouldn't be worried about what somebody else is doing. We would just serve God and we would pay any price. And we'll just naturally outrun everybody else. Because we're looking unto Jesus. We're not looking, oh, am I ahead of that person? Am I ahead of that person? Who's ahead of me? That's what Jesus is saying to Peter. What do you care? If he tarries till I come, what is that to thee? You've got your own walk to worry about. You've got your own life to live. Then verse 23, it says, Then went the saying abroad among the brethren that the disciples should not die, yet Jesus said not unto him, he shall not die, but if he will tarry that I come, what is that to thee? So these rumors start going around about John. And I know obviously that's not some negative thing. That's not some backhanded thing. It wasn't some criticism. It was just a misunderstanding of what was actually said. Verse 24, it says, This is the disciple which testifies of these things and wrote these things and we know that his testimony is true. So at the end, he's saying, That guy I've been referring to the third time as that disciple the whole time? It's me. That's who it is. That's how we know it's John. You know, John describes, you know, he lets us know what it takes to be a disciple. Why is it that John got to be that innermost? They had the deepest discipleship. It's because I believe John was just a doer, someone who just did, who just did what was asked of them, was willing to pay any price. And you know, and he wasn't asked to die, was he? Isn't that what Jesus said? Now Peter, you know, it was shown unto him, what manner of death he should die. He said, you know, when you're older, someone's going to take you whither thou wouldest not go and you're going to die. You're going to be bound, Peter, and you're going to die for me. But yet, even despite that, John appears to be the one that's known as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He's the one that's leaning on his breast. He's the one that seems to have that deepest discipleship and yet it was said to him he did not have to die. He just had to be willing. You know, that's what's so discouraging is that, you know, you tell people there's a cost to discipleship and they immediately think that it's just going to be required of them. They just think, oh, that just must be, then I must end up having to just forsake everything and everything. No, that might not come to that. But you just have to be willing. And people, you know, they don't serve God the way they ought to, because they're afraid of a shadow. Preachers don't get up and preach the Bible the way they're supposed to because they're afraid of something that might happen. I mean, I feel like, at least I've tried, I've endeavored to preach the whole counsel of the word of God. I feel like I've preached some things that are, you know, are not popular, to put it lightly, with the world today. And yet we're pretty much been in relative safety now and we've been in pretty much been in relative safety now and we really haven't had any major disruptions in five years, have we? No protesters. I mean, some stuff on Facebook, whatever. Some emails. You know, some people calling me names and a voicemail. Oh, man. Oh, oh, oh. Hide me. Save me. But here's the thing. If we were going to go through all that, if we were going to go through the things that other churches have gone through, if we were going to be protested for like four years nonstop and have the police, our local police, just say we're not going to do anything about it and they're going to disrupt your services all they want because they're a bunch of cowards. If we were going to have to go through something like that, like other churches are and have gone through and similar things, would we still be here? Would we be willing to pay that price? And even that is such a small price, isn't it? Having to walk through a picket line. But you know what? For some people, that's all it takes. Done with that, church. Nope, I'm out of there. All we have to do is be willing. That doesn't necessarily mean we're going to have to. That's what I see in John. John's the closest. John's the beloved. John is leaning on the breast. John has got the deepest, it seems to me, discipleship there is. And I'm sure there was things asked of him, but you know what? It was Peter that was said. It said of him, you're going to have to lay down your life. Because disciples just do. What makes a disciple? Doing. Just doing. Look at John 13. Did I have you go there? John chapter 13, verse 12. So after he had washed their feet, this is the time of Jesus. The Last Supper. After he had washed their feet, let that sink in. I mean, to be perfectly honest, not that it's necessary these days, but even if it were, it'd be hard for me to get over having to wash any one of your feet. I mean, good night. It's enough to get me to lift the foot and start scrubbing in the shower with my own feet, let alone somebody else's foot. Right? Obviously back then, as much more practical, people needed to have their feet washed when you walked into someone's house. They were out there walking in the dirt and everything else. But to Jesus, that's what he did. He set an example. After he had washed their feet and taken his garments and sat down again, he said, Know ye what I have done to you. Ye call me Master and Lord. And ye say, Well, for so I am. He's saying, you got it right. I am your Lord. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. The disciple is not above his master neither the servant his Lord. If Jesus is willing to do that, we should be willing to do it as well. If Jesus is willing to humble himself and serve other people and even, you know, what other people might look at and say that's humiliating, you know, there's no task beneath us as disciples. Nothing. Oh, you know, I'll preach the sermons, but don't ask me to scrub a toilet because I'm way above that. You know, I'll put my face on YouTube and I'll get all the popularity and the glory and I'll have all the praise of people coming up and saying, Well done, good job or whatever, but don't ask me to do something that nobody's that's not, you know, that's the wrong motives. That's not a disciple. That's someone who's desiring vain glory, okay? There should be no task beneath us as disciples. Nothing. What's beneath us this morning? Just think of one thing. What could you do better as a disciple of Christ that you're saying no to? Why are you saying no to it? Is it beneath you? It's beneath me to show up early. It's beneath me to practice. It's beneath me to go soul winning. It's beneath me to read my Bible. It's beneath me to show an interest in somebody else, to see how somebody else is doing. It's beneath me to minister to this person. It's beneath me that you're not a disciple and you might call him Master and Lord, but a disciple does what's bidden of him and there's nothing beneath him. If Jesus can stoop down and wash the feet of other men being God Almighty, what's beneath us? That's what he said in verse 15. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you the servant is not greater than his Lord neither is he that sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things that's good enough. All you need to do is just know about this. All you need to know this morning is what it takes to be a disciple. That's good enough. No. If ye know these things happy are ye if ye do them. That's what makes disciples. That's how you deepen your discipleship. That's how you add depth to it through devotion, through being willing to do these things and not just pay lip service. Go to one last passage, Matthew chapter number 8. I'll close there. Matthew chapter number 8. Disciples are doers. They don't just pay lip service. They get in the boat. They have the access. They have the comfort. And even amongst those that are in the boat, you know, there's others that can draw even closer. And look, that's open to anyone. You know, I don't feel like I'm in the boat. You know, I don't think that Peter, James, and John were just selected at random. I think there were things about Peter, James, and John that were, you know, made them more devoted, that Jesus knew things about them, that he selected them because of their character, something about them. He said, you can come closer. It was open to anybody. It's just the other nine didn't want to do it. The other nine were lacking or missing something. They weren't willing to go that far. They were, you know, they were willing to do a lot more than a lot of other people. They were willing to get in the boat. They were willing to forsake all. They did a lot of same things Peter, James, and John did. It's just that Peter, James, and John were even able to go even further. And among them, Peter and John, you know, they were a little bit better than James. They weren't just selected at random. There was something about their character. There was something about their makeup that allowed that to happen. They were devoted. And even among Peter and John, it seemed like John could just edge out Peter a little bit more. He just ran a little bit faster. He was just a little bit more devoted. He was just a little bit closer to God because of his character, because of who he was, because of the type of person, because of the things that he determined, because of his devotion. He says in chapter 8, verse 30, as he spoke these words, many believed on him. Amen. There's gonna be a lot of people to believe. There's gonna be a lot of Christians out there. And then said he to those Jews which believed on him, if ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Many believed, and he's saying, great, I'm glad you believed, I'm glad you got saved, but if you continue in my word, then you're my disciples. What's gonna make you a disciple, just believing? No, continuing in his word. Being devoted. We're saved because God loves us. You know, many believe because they believe that God loved them. That's how you get saved. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth him. For God so loved the world. Yeah, I believe that. Great, you're saved, you're a child of God. That's what God's love does for us. But it's our love of God that makes us disciples. Look, God's love for us makes us children. Amen, many believed. But it's our love for God that's gonna make us disciples. That's the difference. That's really what discipleship comes down to. That's really why some people are gonna have a deeper discipleship than others because they're devoted. That's part of love being devoted to somebody. Let's make sure we're devoted to God. You know, that's what's gonna determine what? The depth of our discipleship. The depth of our discipleship is determined by our devotion. Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, again, thank you for the great opportunity we have in this life to draw close to you, to draw an eye to you, to know your presence in our lives, to know the fellowship of the Spirit, to know the filling of the Spirit, to hear you speak to us through the word of God, and Lord, thank you for the opportunity we have to serve you in this life, to minister to the multitudes, and Lord, to do those things which are pleasing to you. I pray it help us to be devoted to that, and Lord, help us to draw always closer to you, we ask in Christ's name, amen. All right, we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we are dismissed. Join in the song we sing of God. Join in the song we sing of God. And thus your song now goes broke with us to round the room. With all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful sun. And with all the trees we shine on, the beautiful, beautiful sun. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.