Jesus as CEO

+JMJ+

Come Holy Spirit.....

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” John 19: 26

The above conversation happened while Jesus was hanging on the cross, and the disciple whom He loved was John, himself. Throughout the gospel, it was obvious that John had a close relationship with Jesus, more-so than the other apostles. It's also worth noting that John is the only disciple who was not martyred. And, as we see in the Gospel reading above, Jesus gives John to His own mother to be like her very own son. He was truly the disciple whom Jesus loved.

Jesus' relationship with Peter was quite different. Jesus often had to rebuke Peter for one reason or another. Peter was rather brash and aggressive. He loved the Lord, no question, but sometimes that caused him to do things that were well-meaning, but not always what Jesus had in mind. And, as we all know, Peter denied knowing Jesus 3 times during Christ's Passion.

There is no question Peter loved the Lord, and everything he did was out of that love. But, his personality and his other traits were different than the other apostles. He was clearly the leader, he was the strong one, he was often the bravest (when he saw Jesus walking on the water, he was the one who immediately jumped up and asked to join him on the water) and he was usually the very first one to defend the Lord, as he did literally when Jesus was arrested and he attacked with his sword.

But, between the two, John is the one whom Jesus, according to the Gospels, loved the most, and gave to His mother, Mary.

So, by today's standards, you would expect Jesus to show favoritism and let John be the leader of Christ's Church, right? After all, for whatever reason, John had found favor with the Lord, so you'd expect the Lord to give such a prominent role to John. But He didn't.

He chose Peter.

Obviously, Jesus saw characteristics in Peter that He knew would make him the best candidate to build his church on. He was "the rock" that the church was built on, as Jesus worded it, i.e. the cornerstone. This was no small task, and it would not be easy, so Jesus needed someone who was strong enough, and fervent enough, to withstand the adversity of building His church. He knew Peter was that man.

Because of this decision, Jesus showed us how to be the ideal CEO, or manager, or boss or whatever title you choose. He gave the most important job to the best qualified person, not the one he loved the most.

If only more leaders followed that example.

God bless.