It is hard to accept the fact that at the awful moment of the crucifixion those select few whom Jesus called apostles were not all at hand to support their Master. Yet the Bible records that one, the beloved disciple, was beside the cross. Dare we ask ourselves, "Were I faced with the problems of the apostles, would I be found standing at the foot of the cross?"
The pressures which these chosen twelve faced before the crucifixion were many. Pressures of worldliness, misunderstanding, ridicule, and hostility of the mob, together with their own limited understanding of the spiritual teachings of the Master, caused them to have a faulty sense of discipleship. Had the apostles understood before the crucifixion the true role of Jesus, would they not have been more alert about doubting, denying, or betraying the great Teacher? In the Garden of Gethsemane would not Peter and James and John each have kept his watch, and would not all of them have been found supporting the Master at the crucifixion?
In the light which Christian Science throws upon the life of Jesus, one can accurately evaluate the role of discipleship. Mrs. Eddy makes a clear distinction between the human Jesus and Christ, the divine idea of God which he expressed. Mrs. Eddy defines "Christ" as "the divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." Science and Health, p. 583; This definition helps one understand true discipleship. Accepting the definition, one readily sees that doubt, denial, betrayal, and the crucifixion of Jesus were really an attack upon the idea of the Christ, Truth, for which he stood. Jesus himself embodied the perfect concept of discipleship. At no time did he forsake his highest sense of right revealed to him by the Christ.
