Day 5
Thursday, April 09, 2020
1 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” 8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” 10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.
John 13:1-17
When Jesus knew that His hour had come what did he do? This question is important because what He did in those last hours are critical. It reveals what was most important to Him. The record tells us that He took time to wash the disciples feet demonstrating for us how we should treat one another. We should be washing each others feet. It means serving one another in a way that glorifies God. Do you love the Jesus enough to extend grace to your brothers and sisters in Christ? Let us pray that God soften our hearts to love one another as He loves us.
What else do you see in those scriptures? There’s always plenty!
Jesus mentioned “one of you is not clean” referring to Judas whom the devil had gotten to. I know Jesus was fulfilling prophecy but my comment is why did He rebuke Satan out of Peter when Satan was messing with Peter but not rebuke him out of Judas.? Was it just to fulfill prophecy or another reason.
The bible tells us clearly that satan entered Judas. There’s a big difference. There are three stages of demonic influence. Obsession, oppression and possession. The first two are external the third is internal. Judas so engaged satan in his stealing and two timing it was very easy for satan to enter him. When Jesus rebuked satan in Peter he was rebuking a behaviour instructed by Satan’s influence. Don’t forget Peter also in Matthew 16 received revelation from God about who Jesus was. But every time Judas was mentioned he always seemed to have contrary views for example falsely suggesting that the perfume be sold and the money used for the poor. Not that he cared for the poor. He was the treasurer and helped himself to what was in the money bag.
He spent His last free day preparing His disciples for the world, sharing His ‘nuggets’ of wisdom, so that when life hit them, they would remember what He said.
Exactly
I was struck by the following verse: Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. (v3)
I work with teenagers. While not true of all teenagers, many struggle with their sense of identity; who am I? This was not Jesus’ struggle. Because he knew who he was and what his purpose was he could do the job of the servant and not lose any credibility and authority.
As believers, our identity is secure. No virus, loss of job, or social distancing can change the fact that we are dearly loved, highly favored sons and daughters of the most high King. That makes us royalty.
Therefore, since our identity is secure in Christ, we can step boldly into the world and serve each other and those around us. May I be so bold to serve as Jesus did! Amen.