When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:14-16)
What a lesson for us to learn here! Jesus, knowing that this Passover would be a prologue to His suffering, set His heart upon this pleasant event with His closest companions. Knowing full well what He was about to experience, Jesus kept His focus on the fact that His future suffering was necessary for man’s redemption and for His Father’s glory. Suffering is oftentimes the prelude to glory.
Oh if we all could only look at life through those lenses! We must not scorn the pain, the hard work, the trial, the obstacle. Rather, we must seek to see what God will produce in and through us. As we embrace our circumstances with joy, by focusing on what it will inevitably produce, we bring God much glory. We must never forget that Jesus chose to die for us, because of the outcome His actions would accomplish.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
Pain is pain. We should never marginalize or minimize others afflictions. I remember once being told when I was going through a rather trying time that at least I was not in a concentration camp! I don’t know your pain tolerance, but being one notch better off than a concentration camp experience brought me little, if any, comfort. The promise of Scripture, on the other hand, brought peace to my troubled soul.
Paul’s words in Romans reverberated in my weary spirit:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)
All things are not good; rather God works all things for our good. There is a huge difference between those two statements! The cross was not good, but what God worked by that action was extremely good–the salvation of mankind!
All of our works will one day be tested by fire. Everything done apart from God’s will goes up in smoke:
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)
Our goal as believers in Jesus is what Epaphras prayed for the church at Colosse:
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. (Colossians 4:12)
Take It to Heart
“A depressed, dejected, dispirited believer is a poor recommendation for the Christian faith. We’re to be hopeful people–optimists–who have grasped the reality of Romans 8:28 and its guarantee of God’s all-encompassing providence over the lives of His children.” (Robert Morgan)
Standing firm and fully assured even when the winds of trial and dire circumstances are blowing is a mark of a mature Christian. It is also a mark of one who brings God much glory. It is easy to be “on fire” when circumstances are favorable, but let a little rain fall on our parade and we are often found wallowing in self pity, groaning and complaining. How much better for us to season our lives with the spices of contentment and joy rather than to harbor bitterness and resentment which will corrode our vessels like acid.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:12-17)
As believers in the Lord Jesus, we are under an obligation to follow the example of our Master. What Christ has done we should not disdain to do. Our freedom in Christ was never meant to be a license for laziness and self indulgences. This ultimately results in slavery as sin always gains a foothold in a life when it is consistently allowed. The goal of freedom in Christ is loving service.
The Bible says:
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6)
Jesus tells us:
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave–just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)
The wording Jesus uses in our verses for today confirms and points to the fact we are to follow in His footsteps. The word translated “should” in verse 14 is from the Greek Word opheilo which means “to owe, to be indebted” (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible–New Testament Lexical Aids).
The word “should” oftentimes in our day leaves us more with the impression of suggestion rather than obligation. This is not what Jesus means here. As His followers, He is our Teacher and Lord and it is our spiritual obligation to follow. It is the highest way and it is the best way for our lives. The loving pattern Jesus demonstrates to us by the example of His life is the best way for every human.
This is not legalism, but love. And when we begin to follow the path Jesus set forth for His followers to follow–acting according to His example through the power of the Holy Spirit it–our actions often turn from being motivated by duty to being motivated by desire. It is a high calling unearthly in its satisfaction and pleasure.
“To love God, to serve Him because we love Him, is … our highest happiness … Love makes all labor light. We serve with enthusiasm where we love with sincerity.”
(Hannah More)
In our verses for today Jesus gives us the promise that obedience to our knowledge of the truth will always be blessed. Knowledge can be a very funny thing.
The Bible tells us:
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (1 Corinthians 8:1)
Nothing is more common than for one to sit, soak … and sour regarding the teaching of God’s Word. Professing to know truth yet remaining in disobedience. People seem to flatter themselves in thinking that there is something redeeming and credible in knowledge alone yet they remain barren of fruit in heart or character. Sadly, to know what we ought to do and what we ought to believe and what we ought to be yet remain unaffected by this knowledge only adds to our guilt in the sight of God. Where much has been given, much is expected. We who live in a land inundated with Bibles and commentaries and sermons and churches and more Biblical resources than one can imagine should take heed to this. Unfortunately, we oftentimes are careless and indifferent to what has been graciously allowed to us.
Take It to Heart
Obedience and practice is the very life of our relationship with God. We will never truly be happy in our Lord’s service if we are content with only the head knowledge of duty. Doctrinal orthodoxy apart from practical love and humility is worthless before God. We shrink the Holy Spirit within us through our lack of willing obedience. God does not force our obedience; we always have a choice.
“In the kingdom of God, service is not a stepping stone to nobility. It is nobility.” (T. W. Manson)
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
(John 13:3-9)
Well aware of His own sovereign authority, origin, and coming destiny, Jesus fleshes out for His disciples (and for all of us as well) a wonderful example of servant leadership in action. He had been from eternity with God and He was going back to God, knowing all the dignity and majesty of His office. And yet, He condescends to perform the most menial task.
Believers comfortable in their own skin–knowing who they belong to, knowing their lives are filled with purpose and power and hope, knowing they are fully loved and accepted, have no trouble grasping this great truth of Scripture: Whoever desires to be great must be a servant. Those most highly esteemed in God’s kingdom are those who serve, those who willingly humble themselves.
Our Master has shown us true servanthood and has paved the way for our obedience. He is our great teacher of lowliness of heart, stripping off one glorious robe of honor after another until we find Him naked on a cross pouring out His lifeblood for each one of us. How then do we dare have the audacity to be proud?
Paul tells us in Philippians:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8)
We care so much about what man thinks. This thought has permeated our churches and our ministries as well as our lives. We oftentimes rate our success or failure on the approval and accolades of man. I doubt seriously if Mother Teresa began her ministry caring for the poorest of poor on this earth in Calcutta with the Nobel Peace Prize in mind. She was simply humbly serving her Master by stopping to love and care for those who could not help themselves–and it was the Lord who exalted her in the eyes of man.
Our confidence lies in the fact that Christ is genuinely concerned about our welfare. He is acutely aware of all we are going through and has promised the grace sufficient to meet each need. He loves us and desires for us to fulfill His purposes!
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
To Peter’s credit, his opposition was motivated by humility. What he couldn’t accept was the reversal of the roles the Lord appeared to be initiating. Peter was the servant and Jesus was his Master. He had been privy to see His Master’s hands heal the leper and restore sight to the blind. He had seen Jesus raise the dead and believed Him to be the Son of God … and now He stoops to wash the feet of His disciples? Peter should be the one washing the Lord’s feet! It was a paradox beyond his comprehension. Yet Jesus’ purpose in this act of service was to teach a great spiritual lesson to His disciples and to all of us as well. We are all in need of continual cleansing and renewal to remain in fellowship with God. We sin, we fall, we break fellowship, we humbly repent, and we are then restored. This is not regarding our salvation, rather our abiding fellowship with Him.
Take It to Heart
Nothing eternal is ever accomplished in the flesh. When our fellowship is broken through sin, we unfortunately begin to operate in ways that seem right in our own eyes. Jesus tells us that apart from Him we can do nothing.
Jesus silences Peter’s objections by stating his lack of understanding. His vision was now veiled, yet later he would comprehend. How often that happens to us as well. Our vision is blurred by our circumstances and we raise objections regarding God’s best for our lives. Often, like Peter, we oppose what we do not understand. It is only through our willing obedience that our eyes will be open to more of His ways. Never forget, Christ’s way is supremely the best way.
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. (John 13:1)
Our Lord’s appointed “fullness of time” was nearing. His death and resurrection were now imminent and He was readying for His departure home.
We find Him telling His disciples this a little later in John:
“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” (John 16:28)
In Christ’s incarnation, He came from the Father. In Christ’s humiliation, He uncloaked His glory, entered this world and subjected Himself to the despising of those He came to save. He further humbled Himself by taking upon His sinless body the full chalice of God’s wrath against every sin committed by man–past, present, and future.
By having these sins nailed to a cross and bearing the full weight of them upon His body, He lovingly provides a way for mankind to regain access to God. Every evil deed, every act of gross vileness, every sinful word spoken, every slight, every selfish act–all depravity and all evil–He bore upon His perfect flesh. Therefore, in Christ’s exaltation, He was resurrected and ascended back to His Father’s side in all glory.
Praise His Name! I am reminded of Paul’s words to the Philippians:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)
In our verses for today, realizing His time is drawing near, Jesus is about to show to His sheep–those He dearly loved–the full extent of His love. This love He is readying to demonstrate appears to be all wrapped up in selfless serving.
In reading the Biblical definition of love we find the following:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)
Jesus was patient with His disciples, bearing with their infirmities and never taking away His loving kindness from them. Though He reproved them, He never removed His love from them and they remained in His constant care and concern. He rejoiced when they “got it”; He protected them; had high hopes for them; persevered to the end with them; He served them. He perfectly demonstrated Biblical love to His closest companions. This remains true of His disciples today. He has a warm and friendly love for those that are His own. Nothing can separate the believer from the love of Jesus.
I am reminded of Paul’s encouraging words to us in Romans:
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
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(Romans 8:31-39)
Take It to Heart
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What actions do we choose to do when we are leaving someone we hold dear? How is it that we manifest our love towards those we care for deeply?
“Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved.” (Thomas Merton)
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