All the disciples forsook him, and fled.
—Matthew 26:56
How disappointed Christ must be when disciples become deserters! By forsaking Jesus in the hour of need, the first disciples proved that they had not given strict attention to His word about taking up a cross and following Him. When the testing came, “the twelve” turned coward. Attachment, then, could not have been very deep. It is interesting to combine and contrast the two phases of the original disciples’ experience with their Lord. And after three years of training in the school of the greatest Teacher ever, these selfsame men forsook Christ and fled. Can it be that you have deserted the Master? (Compare with John 6:66.)