24th April 2026

Whose side would I have been on – the outlaw David or Saul, the man who represented the existing, legitimate government? It’s an uncomfortable question. Fear might have driven me to support Saul – fear of what might happen to me if I had declared support for David, or fear of what it would mean if I threw my lot behind David, and left my home comforts, accepted a life hiding in caves, always on the move, always pursued by people who would certainly kill me if caught. It’s a question that many would have been asking themselves back at that time.

Many who attached themselves to David were already on the margins of society: people in debt, maybe on the wrong side of the law; people who had nothing to lose, and maybe something to gain from following him (1 Samuel 22:2). So would I have been happy to be part of this apparently lawless group? Would my instinct for disruption have been enough to convince me that this was a better way forward than life under the rule of an increasingly unpredictable and angry king? The people of the time would have been asked these questions – are you for Saul or are you for David? It was a polarised society with all the dangers that it encompassed: doubt, suspicion, and mistrust were everywhere.

It’s a justifiable question to ask of ourselves, because a similar question arose about 1,000 years later – are you for Herod or are you for Jesus? Are you for the chief priests or are you for Jesus? The wise men chose Jesus, and rejected Herod (Matthew 2:7-12). The man healed from blindness chose Jesus, and rejected the power of the religious leaders (John 9:1-38). When Pilate was asked the same question, he tried to avoid it, but, by default, chose the chief priests (John 19:4-13). 

The disciples wavered: they initially rejected the man who had changed their lives, turned their world upside down, and showed them the power of love. They turned their backs on him during his trial and crucifixion (Matthew 26:56), but Jesus did not turn his back on them. He was not finished with the men he had taught for more than three years. The evidence of his resurrection was a catalyst for a renewed commitment from them. They chose Jesus – even to the point of death.

Are you for Jesus? It is still an uncomfortable – and justifiable question. But behind it is the reality that Jesus is for each one of us, each of his creation. He has not finished with us, even when we make wrong choices.

Local congregation:
GCI Market Harborough
9 The Point
Rockingham Road
Market Harborough 
LE16 7QU

Meeting time:
Sunday 4.00 pm

Local congregational contact:
Sinead Henderson 
Email: sinead.henderson@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church