Where?

John 6:68-69

       Simon Peter answered Jesus, "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Besides, we believe and we know that you are the Holy One of God."

       Martin Luther wrote, "Yes Peter, you speak the truth! This is written as a comfort and an example to us. Even one of the 12 could fail, which in itself is an important lesson to us, yet God chose to hold Peter high! Everything rests upon God's kindness, power, and Word to such a degree that we can't even trust the apostles. The one who claimed he was so strong he would never fall, fell hard!  But God blessed him and said to him, "Nevertheless, I have chosen you!" The reason the apostles were able to prevail was because Christ said, "I have chosen you, you did not choose me." Even though Judas would fall and remain fallen, Peter, by comparison, was held so tightly by God's Word, that he couldn't stay down. When he stumbled and fell, he stood up again".

       We don't know much about Peter's life after the book of Acts. There are legends, and some historical accounts several centuries old, but we do know much except that he founded the church in Rome, the only church of the first century that exists to this day. 

       The Church of Rome as you know is known as "the Vatican". Ever wonder why?  Because it was built on one of the hills outside Rome called Vatican Hill. 

       There was a book published several decades back titled "Quo Vadis?"  This is a Latin phrase meaning, "where are you going?" The old story goes that during the persecution of Nero, at the urging of his congregation, Peter  was escaping Rome. He hoped to return to his homeland and continue his work as a missionary. As he was leaving, he passed a man he thought he knew. That person stopped and asked him in Latin, quo vadis, Where are you going? Peter said he was leaving to escape the persecution. And then he asked the man quo vadis, where are YOU going?  And the man replied, "I am going to Rome to die for my people a second time!" And the man disappeared. 

       Peter was said to have taken the staff he was carrying and placed it in the ground, turned around and went back to Rome. There he was arrested by the authorities, and taken to be crucified at a place called Vatican Hill. He protested however, that he was not worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord, so at his own request they crucified him upside down. To this day the symbol of the Roman church is an upside down cross. 

         We know of this story because it was related to us by a church historian named Eusebius, in the third century several hundred years after it happened. And yet it resounds with Scripture where in John 21 Jesus tells Peter the day will come when someone will take him by force, stretch out his arms and take him someplace he does not want to go. 

       Well, where are you going? For this is the question we are all being asked - regardless of our age or situation in life - by the lord Jesus Christ. Where are you going? How you answer will not only change your life, but the lives of those around you and perhaps. the life of the world!