Daily Devotions
John
Living with the knowledge of impending death
Text: John 13:1-20
LIVING WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF IMPENDING DEATH
Three years with Jesus already! How swiftly time sped. How the Disciples must have loved every moment they had with their Teacher! How they must have wished that time could have stood still. They loved Jesus, but surely it was because He loved them first. John could not but note the love that Jesus had for His disciples.
“Now before the Feast of the Passover,
when Jesus knew that His hour had come
that He should depart from this world to the Father,
having loved His own who were in the world,
He loved them to the end.”John 13:1
What would you do if you knew the hour of your death had come? Would you be able to cope with the knowledge of impending death? Would you be so sad that you can’t function normally? John recorded that though Jesus knew that the Hour of His death was at hand, He continued to focus on caring for those He called “His own”.
Few are able to overcome their emotions when the hour of death draws near. Tears seem uncontrollable. Depressing thoughts loom large. The mood of despair soon spreads to others! That may be the “normal” scenario in most cases, but where Jesus was concerned, He was in absolute control of Himself!
What did Jesus think about when He saw that His Hour had come? Death was nothing to be afraid of! He would simply depart from this world and return to His Father! Why should that be a cause for fear? His Father had planned His Hour most carefully! He would be the Passover Lamb! His death would not be in vain. It would fulfill His Father’s plan of redemption!
What else was in His mind as He drew nearer to His Hour of glory? Jesus thought of those He loved. Among those He loved especially were His Disciples. He had loved them from the very beginning. He had continued to love them to the end!
THE PROFOUND LOVE OF JESUS
Why did Jesus love His Disciples? What was in them that won His heart? If we were to review what John had written in the earlier chapters of his Gospel, we would have to conclude that there was nothing in the Disciples that could have drawn Jesus to them! If we were to examine the synoptic Gospels, we would also come to the same conclusion! If the Disciples loved Jesus, that would have been logical. But for Jesus to love “His own” as He did – that was truly remarkable!
John did not explain why Jesus loved His disciples, only that He did. John wrote about how He loved the family of Lazarus. John probably used His love for Martha, Mary and Lazarus to illustrate the way He loved His own. John recorded the fact that Jesus loved this family dearly.
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister
and Lazarus.”John 11:5
However, when Lazarus died, Martha and Mary could not help but express their disappointment in Jesus. They felt He had come too late! They could not fully trust Him until He raised Lazarus from the dead! How much better did the Apostles fare? John’s silence was most telling!
Jesus loved His own to the very end! That must have struck a deep chord in the heart of John! No one else could have loved as deeply as Jesus loved them!
A DEEP CONTRAST BETWEEN LOVE AND WICKEDNESS
Jesus had just had supper with His Disciples. Jesus had known all along that Judas would betray Him. Nevertheless, He allowed him to eat and drink with Him for three whole years. John noted that Jesus saw through Judas, even if His disciples didn’t.
“Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose
you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?’
He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon,
for it was he who would betray Him, being
one of the twelve.”John 6:70-71
How could Jesus have tolerated Judas for three whole years? More amazingly, Jesus gave Judas a responsible role among the Disciples. John noted Judas’ role.
“…he was a thief, and had the money box;
and he used to take what was put in it.”John 12:6
Despite the fact that Judas was an unworthy disciple, Jesus did not preclude him in any way. He hid his evil intents from the rest of the Disciples most effectively! What great love Jesus must have displayed towards Judas!
Judas had been befriended, instructed, given trust and love, and yet ultimately he betrayed Jesus! What a contrast John had described! The wondrous love of Jesus on the one hand, and the despicable heart of a wicked man on the other!
What did Jesus do to Judas that he should betray Him? We cannot think of a single reason why anyone, least of all, Judas as one of the Twelve disciples, would betray Jesus and deliver Him to His enemies!
THE DEEP STRENGTH THAT JESUS HAD
There was deep strength in Jesus! How wonderful it would be if we could learn how we could draw that same strength. One day, we too would face the hour of our death. Wisdom teaches us to seek strength so that we too could face the hour of our death with the same spirit of confident faith.
The fear of death may be conquered through our faith in Jesus! He is indeed the Resurrection and the Life! Do we believe that? When we die, we shall return to our Father in Heaven. What a glorious hope we have in Jesus! Let us be greatly challenged to cultivate so strong a faith that we too would not fear the hour of our death!