John 13:26

              Judas was the one that would betray Jesus. Think about how many times Jesus could have been arrested teaching or walking in a public place. It would not be one of the Pharisees or rulers who delivered Jesus up. It would be a traitor from His own twelve disciples. This is the source of the emotion  in Jesus from verse 21. He is betrayed by a friend. How many of us have been betrayed by someone close: a schoolmate, a family member, a close friend who turns on you or fails you. Jesus knows your hurt and He can identify with you because He too was betrayed by a friend.

             You can expect to be let down by people. They will either fail you because of their weakness or sinful selfishness. There is one friend who will never fail and it is Jesus Christ.

Consider: Romans 8:31-39

John 13:22-25

              As much as Jesus was not surprised by the betrayal of Judas, His announcement did shock His disciples. They were not sure who He was talking about. How they were seated is a key factor in clearing up confusion later in the account. They were reclining at the table, leaning on their left hand or arm so the person to the right would be very close, especially at this crowded table.  Because of his close position, Peter motions for John to ask Jesus who would betray Him. What we have in this account is Jesus talking to everyone and Jesus having a private conversation with John only.

             There may be parts of the Bible that can confuse us or trip us up, yet these questions can be answered with a little study and research. You can trust the Bible because it is clear and does not contradict itself.

Consider: 2 Peter 3:16

John 13:21

              John starts a new section with the words, “After saying these things…” We are told of Jesus emotional state. He was troubled in His spirit. Jesus was a real man and had real emotions. He knew what it was like to be hungry, in pain, tired, and betrayed.

              There is no shock or surprise. In many instances it was clear that Jesus knew Judas was not honest (John 6:64, 70, 71; 12:4-6; 13:2). It is important that we see Jesus as fully human in every way except that He never sinned. Jesus is about to expose one of His own as a traitor. It is painful, and Jesus is not cold or aloof. He is troubled in His spirit.

What troubles you in your spirit? Do you think Jesus cannot understand? Know that He can and does. He knows our struggles because He is one of us. He can help us because He is truly God.

Consider: Hebrews 2:14-18

John 13:17-20

It is of great interest to see throughout this account that Judas is there. His feet were washed. In verse 10, Jesus says they are all clean except one. He is speaking about Judas, who He knew would betray Him. Judas had eaten bread with them and now He was lifting his heel to Jesus. This again shows us that Jesus is in full control and knows what is going on because He is God. Judas’ betrayal will not be a shock as we see in the next section.

We must humble ourselves and believe in Jesus. You can come close but never have salvation. You can join a church, be active, be a leader, and still n0t have Christ or His salvation. You must accept Jesus as Son of God, risen from the dead, and Savior of Sinners. This takes humility before God. Judas did not have it. Do you?

Consider: Psalm 41:8-10

John 13:12-16

Jesus is the model of  humility for all believers. It is easy for someone to tell someone else to do something. There are many who say, “Do what I say, not what I do.” Jesus sets an example for us to follow. We are to take His model of humility and try and follow it in our lives. We are not greater than the Master. Who are we to say we will not humble ourselves when we have the example of Jesus?

We need to have a humility before God. We need to see our sin and accept His grace. This only comes by being humble before God. We need to have a humility in church. We are all equal in our rank. Even those called to lead must do so with the heart of a servant. We must have humility in all of life. People need to see the Gospel in us.

Do you see the example of humility in Jesus? Are you following His example?

Consider: 1 Peter 5:5

John 13:9-11

Peter tries another tack with Jesus. First, he refuses the foot washing. Now he goes to the other extreme and wants more washed. Jesus speaks about salvation and forgiveness. When Jesus saves you, then you are made clean before God. We are clean by the works of Christ, but since we are walking in the sinful world and have the remnant of sin in us, we will need to repent every day. Jesus uses foot washing as an example of this.  We are clean through Christ, but we still need continual growth, confession, and repentance in our walk with Him. We do not need a bath, but our feet do need to be washed.

Are you walking with Christ daily? Are you seeking repentance and forgiveness each day for your sins? Are you assured of your salvation because Christ has made you clean?

Consider: 1 John 1:7

John 13:6-8

Salvation comes from what Jesus does for us, not what we do for Him. This is shown in Peter’s response to the foot washing. Peter tells Jesus,  “You will never wash my feet.” We can understand on one level what Peter is saying, yet he is dead wrong. To be saved, we have to do more than have our feet washed. We have to have Jesus take away our sin.

There is a humility that must come as we see our sin and what is deserved, but then see Jesus’ love for us. Have you humbled yourself and accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord? Do you see that Christ has come to save you through the cross? God’s great love for sinners like you is humbling!

Consider: John 3:16-17

John 13:5-5

Here we see Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. Jesus would have been the last person to do this according to the customs of His day. Normally it would have been a servant or a host, not the V.I.P., the guest of honor. Peter questions Jesus about this when Jesus comes to wash his feet.

If there is ever any doubt as to our need to have a servant’s heart, Jesus’ example should make it clear. Here is the God-Man Jesus Christ washing the feet of His disciples. He could have easily expected, even demanded, that they wash His feet, but He washed theirs.

We need to follow Jesus’ example. A servant’s heart is what you are called to have. Where do you need to serve God and His people with humility?

Consider: 2 Corinthians 8:9

John 13:3

We need to note well that God is in control. The Father had given all things into Jesus’  hand. Jesus had come from God and would return to God. This reinforces the understanding that Jesus went willingly to the cross for His people. He came with a purpose and a mission to bring salvation to His people.

There are some who would see weakness in Jesus because He does not resist. These men who will come and work evil are being used by God to do His will. We need to remember that our God is always in control. He always sees us and knows and controls everything that goes on in our lives. He is in control and you can trust Him!

Consider: Psalm 121

Samuel 1:12

On Monday we looked at the passage in James where he addressed his readers and said, "You do not have, because you do not ask!" It is clear in the Word of God that we are to carry everything to God in prayer, but do we do this? Do we continue to pray and seek the Lord? Hannah continues to pray and shows us steadfastness in prayer. This is the idea that Jesus speaks about in Luke 18 about the persistent widow. At the end of the parable, Jesus says how  much more our father in heaven loves us than the widow’s judge. We should be encourage to keep praying and seeking the Lord because He loves us.

Consider: Luke 18:1-8

Samuel 1:11b

We see another example of these principles laid out in James. Here Hannah is the exact opposite of the people that are being addressed in the book of James. They are selfish, however, Hannah is praying not only for what she wants but also for something that would be a blessing to the Kingdom of God. She understands that God is the giver of all gifts. She prays not with selfish motives, but with a view towards blessing God, others, and herself.

Consider: Philippians 2:3-5

1 Samuel 1:11a

We see Hannah looking to God in faith. The story of Hannah is at first heartbreaking. She is mocked by her sister wife and has no child. She remembers the faithfulness of the Lord and cries out to Him in her need, trusting that He will hear the cries of His people. In Exodus 3, we see God looking upon the need of the people and answering. To pray in faith is to believe that God hears, sees, and responds to our prayers and needs.

Consider: Exodus 3:7-9

James 1:5-8

Here James tells us that if we lack wisdom, we need to ask the Lord to give us wisdom. However, we are warned to pray with faith. The topic is wisdom, but we see another principle of prayer in this passage.  Do you believe when you pray? We must believe that God can give us the things we pray for that are good and proper according to the Word of God.

What are you saying about God in your heart if you do not believe when you pray? The issue is your understanding of the Lord and who He is! James gives strong rebuke. We see we must pray, pray properly, and pray believing we trusting in God.

Consider: Proverbs 3:5

James 4:3

There are some in our world who have a “name it and claim it” mentality about prayer. While we may need to pray for a car, we do not need to pray that the Lord may give us the most expensive car made. The Lord is not like a Santa Claus who just goes around giving away free things we want. James speaks of asking wrongly. You are not to be asking just to fulfill your passions.

Note well the balance between James 4:2 and 4:3. First James is asking if are you praying, then he asks why are you praying. What are your motives? Are you just asking for what you want, or are you humbling yourself before the Lord and asking for God to bless you with things according to His will?

Consider: 1 Peter 5:6-7

James 4:2

We are reminded here in James of the need to go to the Lord in prayer. I think too often we feel that we can only go to God for things of great importance. We learn from the world that we do not bother important people with small things. However, we are told by our Heavenly Father to bring everything to Him in prayer.

The example that we are to understand is like a Father and his small child. A Father loves his child and wants to know what a child needs even if it is something small and of little consequence. Our Father in heaven wants us to call on Him for all things. He does this because He wants to give us what we need. He wants us to depend on Him in all things.

Are you depending on the Lord? Are you taking all things to the Lord.

Consider: 1 Thessalonians 5:19

John 13:2

     Included in this group of people was the one that would betray Jesus. Jesus knew what the devil had put into his heart. This was all part of God’s Plan. We might expect Jesus to be harsh with Judas, but we see in the next few verses that Jesus washes the feet of the traitor along with the faithful disciples.

     We see the power of the devil. He tempts us to do that which is wrong. We are told if we will resist the devil He will flee from us (James 4:7 ). We see the very nature of God and Satan in this verse. One is tempting us to sin and rebellion against God and the other is overflowing with mercy.

     We must follow the example of Christ in loving even those the world considers unlovable, and we must resist the devil and the evil he would tempt us to do.

Consider: James 4:6-10

John 13:1

     John 13-16 is called the Upper Room discourse. This is the last time Jesus is with his disciples before His betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection. This is just before Passover. Jesus knew this was coming and He is preparing His disciples for the terrible thing they were about to witness. He loved them, and He loved them to the end.

     He spends these chapters dealing with the traitor among them and teaching them about who He is and what He is doing. It will end with the great high priestly prayer of Christ in John 17.

     We see in this verse a transition. Jesus is turning squarely towards the events that will bring us salvation. He is going willingly, like a lamb to the slaughter, to die for our sins. He will save us from eternal death and separation from God.

Consider: Acts 8:32-35

John 12:49-50

     Again, Jesus is making the connection between Himself and God the Father. Jesus is wanting us to look up beyond what we see physically and to see the connection that He has with the Father.

     In the Lord’s Supper we see something similar. We want to “lift up our hearts” and see more than just bread and juice. We want to see the things represented by the elements, to see the Lord Jesus Christ seated in His heavenly throne. Jesus has come with the authority of God. He has also come with a commandment of God. He has come to bring eternal life to sinners.

     It is so easy for us to keep our head down, to never lift up our hearts and our minds to see Jesus for who He is as our savior and Lord. Know who Jesus is and who has sent Him!

Consider: John 10:28-30

John 12:47-48

     Many people misinterpret the words of Jesus in these verses. They see what they want to see. They pick out that Jesus did not come to judge the world. There are many who will misinterpret these words to think that there is no judgment coming on the last day. There was a book written a few years ago that spoke against the doctrine of hell. This is why it is so important to believe the Bible and not trust the imaginations of your own reasoning.

     Jesus is speaking about the purpose of His coming. His first advent was not to judge, but to save. He is clear even here that there will be a judgement on the last day. Those who reject His words will be judged by those words.

     Humans delay making provisions. We are bad at saving for the future. We procrastinate and we ignore problems. You cannot do this with the coming judgement. If you have heard the words of Christ, then you need to believe them. They will be either your salvation or your judge on the great last day.

Consider: Deuteronomy 18:18

John 12:46

     Darkness in the Bible is often used as a metaphor for sin and fallen nature. Adam and Eve had moral and spiritual light before the Fall. When sin entered the world the connection with God was lost. They were now enslaved to their fallen nature. They were lost in the darkness of their sinfulness. The reason Jesus came into the world was to take away this darkness caused by sin. He came into the world to be a light.

     Jesus has been compared to a lighthouse. The lighthouse shines in the darkness  showing the way home. Jesus has come that we will no longer be in the darkness. That we might be set free from our slavery to sin.

     Are you still walking in darkness? Are you still enslaved to your sinful nature? Do you understand that Jesus came to set you free from your sin? Jesus has come to be a light to show us the way to God and salvation. Be in the light!

Consider: 1 John 1:5-10

John 12:44-45

     Jesus cries out in testimony to Himself. He is responding to the unbelief of the people in the face of his great signs and miracles. Jesus is not just here on His own authority or mission. We see this in His statement. Those who believe in Jesus believe in the one who sent Him. In vs. 45, the idea of seeing is connected to the seeing of the miracles and signs. Jesus has not come by Himself or using His own power for His own glory. He has come to glorify His Father.

     Do you see Jesus as more than just another great man? Do you see Him as more than just a great teacher? He is God and He was sent by God. He came to bring glory to God by bringing salvation to man.

     Our faith is not just in a man. It is not just in some guy who healed and fed people. Our faith is in the all powerful God of creation and redemption. It is in His Son whom He sent to take on human nature and save us. Know your God!

Consider: 1 Peter 1:20-21

Saturday, November 5, 2016 - John 12:42-43

It is with great hope that we see there are some who see and believe in Jesus. Their eyes have been opened to the truth of who Jesus is. However, they would not confess it because they feared the Pharisees. We see another theme added here to our discussion. It is not simply that they are blind. They have a heart problem. They love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

This is a serious issue. Who are we going to fear? This issue was a temporal one. They feared being put out of the synagogue by the Pharisees. This would mean a great loss to those in authority who were unwilling to lose their earthly power and glory for the sake of Jesus.

What are we to make of this? Are we not still in this danger today, fearing man and the loss of worldly things more than God and the loss of  eternal things? It does not seem correct that people would think this way, but they do.

Consider: Proverbs 29:25

John 12:36-41

We see that the unbelief is not to be a surprise. It was foretold by the prophet Isaiah. It is going to take God opening their eyes for them to see the truth of the scriptures, the truth of what is right before them in Jesus Christ. John writes that He had done so many signs before them they still would not believe.

Do you ever miss something right in front of you? I often will be looking for something or someone only to have it pointed out that it is right in front of me. This is the problem for the people. They have been looking for the Messiah to come and save them, and now the messiah is right in front of them. He is teaching and doing signs of great power that could only come from the Lord, but they still do not see Him.

We must still be careful to look for the true Messiah and not the one the world wants. There are those who will take Jesus and turn Him into a god of their own design and desire. They make Him in the image of man to justify their own wants and sin. Pray that the Lord will show you the true Christ and that you may believe in Him!

Consider: Romans 10:16-21

John 12:34-36

The people still cannot understand what Jesus is talking about here. They are genuinely confused about the nature of the Christ and what He was coming to do for the world. Jesus speaks of the light being here just a little longer. They are told to walk in the light and believe in the light.

Why do people not get it? This is a problem that we still see today. Jesus is presented even more clearly in the gospel. We are living in the post-resurrection age, so that we know how the story ends. We are at a better advantage than those who are speaking to Jesus in our verses today, yet people still do not understand when presented with the facts of the Bible.

It takes more than just facts for men and women to believe. As we will see,  their hearts have to be moved and changed so that they can believe the truth that is just before them. It is easy to say if we could just see God, or hear God, or have a sign from God. These folks are standing with Jesus, hearing the voice of God, knowing He brought Lazarus back to life. Yet, they do not believe.

Consider: John 3:1-8

John 12:32-33

I do not think it can be said enough that Jesus was not captured, tricked, or ensnared by Judas’ betrayal. Jesus went to the garden knowing that Judas was going to betray Him to the Jews. He knew that He would go the Cross. This Jesus did willingly to save us. He was a lamb led to the slaughter.

He gives more foreshadowing of this death to come in these verses. He speaks of being lifted up from the earth. This is a clear reference to His death on the cross. There is also a promise attached to this statement. He will draw all people to himself. How true this is even today. All around the world people are drawn to Christ through the power of His death on the cross. Here is the hope of all people, that in Jesus our sins are forgiven on the cross. The very thing that the Jews were plotting to wipe Jesus and His work off the face of the earth is the very thing God used to spread Jesus and His work across the face of the earth.

Consider: Isaiah 53:7

John 12:31

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. (John 3:8b) His work on the cross would undo that which Satan had done in lying to our First Parents and causing them to sin against God. Jesus will open the way for men and women to come back to God by taking away their sin and paying for it on the cross. He would open a way to new life and eternal life. This Jesus did by his life, death, and resurrection. Satan had been cast out of heaven because of his rebellion against God. He is about to be cast out of this world as well. King Jesus had come to destroy his works and claim His People.

I am always worried about the hit and miss nature of Christian Education. Do we have a full understanding of what it is that Jesus has done for us? Winston Churchill, after Sandhurst, undertook a study of economics and hired a tutor so that he would not just know bits and pieces of the subject. Do you have a hit or miss knowledge of the Gospel or do you understand all the basics of it? Jesus, by His death and resurrection, is destroying the works of  Satan.

Consider: Genesis 3:15