Christ Goes Before Us

“But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” – Matthew 26:32

Buried in Jesus’s final discourse before the cross, Matthew 26:32 shines as a gem of hope amid the disciples’ fear and uncertainty. Jesus promised to go before them to Galilee and wait there after His passion. Even as He steeled Himself for the cross and its sufferings, He cared for His disciples’ distress, reassuring them in His final days. If we had been in His place, we might have scolded them for their selfishness: How dare they worry about themselves when their Master is about to endure the wrath of God and crucifixion? Yet Jesus chose selflessness.

Paul reminds us that Scripture was written not merely for knowledge but to give us hope:

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” – Romans 15:4

So how does Jesus go before us as 21st-century believers? Although many ways could be listed, this article will highlight four: Jesus goes before us personally, militarily, as God, and as Man.

Jesus Goes Before Us Personally

David marveled in Psalm 8:4:

“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?”

Why would the God of the universe notice twelve uneducated, fearful fishermen? By human sight, they were a lost cause, yet they were precious to Jesus. He is a personal Savior who loved those twelve as if they were the only people in the world. Through His atonement He redeemed millions, yet His attention rests on each believer individually. What other faith can claim a God like this? Satan, the father of false religion, cannot imagine such love—for even his “tender mercies” are cruel.

Jesus Goes Before Us Militarily

The author of Hebrews writes:

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” – Hebrews 2:10

As our captain, Jesus goes before us into battle. He endured suffering on the cross and thus sympathizes with His people’s trials. Like a good officer, He shared in His followers’ hardships. He conquered death so that ours is only a passage from sorrow to endless light. He bore God’s wrath on our behalf, taking responsibility for the sins of His people. Finally, He rose in glory, receiving a new body as a foretaste of our own future resurrection. Just as a unit shares in its leader’s victories, so we share in Christ’s triumph.

Jesus Goes Before Us As God

Jesus alone can declare the future with certainty. James exhorts us:

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city…’ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor… Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’” – James 4:13–15

As believers, we say “Lord willing” because only God controls tomorrow. What Jesus wills will surely come to pass. Neither Satan’s schemes, the world’s opposition, nor the rebellion of our sinful flesh can hinder His plan. In fact, He bends even these forces to serve His glory.

Jesus Goes Before Us As Man

Christ also goes before us in His humanity as the firstfruits of resurrection. Though many saints died before Him, none received a glorified body until He did. The Father reserved that honor for His beloved Son. The Old Testament faithful still await resurrection, for God ordained that all His people will be perfected together:

“And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” – Hebrews 11:39–40

Just as Adam received the first mortal body, Jesus received the first immortal one. As the God-Man, He alone could reverse the curse of the Fall, bridging perfectly the divide between God and humanity.

Conclusion

As we endure the trials of this life, we must keep Christ in view through the eyes of faith. He has promised to go before us. Therefore, no loss or change can overwhelm us when He is at our side. Personally, militarily, in His deity, and in His humanity, Jesus has blazed the trail to the throne of grace. Is there any greater triumph than this?