Coming to the Father

 

“…no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6b

 

The essence of life is coming to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

It is coming to the Father through Jesus as His individual sons and daughters, and it is most certainly coming to the Father in koinonia with one another (1 John 1:3; Hebrews 10:19 – 25).

 

Those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes have the Lamb’s Name, and the Father’s Name, “written on their foreheads” (Rev. 14:1). That is, they have the Nature of the Lamb and the Father infused in their minds, their hearts, their souls. We learn to live by the Light of the Lamb and of the Father exclusively, and we have no Temple but the Father and the Lamb (Rev. 21:22 – 23).

 

And so we see that our Father is “bringing many sons [and daughters!] to glory” through our Lord Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother. (Hebrews. 2:9 – 13).

 

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3).

 

The Upper Room, John chapters 13 – 17, is about coming to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Gospel is about coming to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. In John 13:1 we see that Jesus is departing from the world to the Father, in John 17 we see Jesus bringing us to where He is in the Father.

 

In Matthew’s Gospel, in the beginning of the teaching of Jesus Christ, we see Jesus teaching us to pray “Our Father” and teaching us to be perfect and mature “as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt. 5:9, 45, 48; 6:9, 32).

 

Paul writes that we cry out, “Abba! Father!” “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:15c – 16).

 

Are we declaring the Name of our Father to our brethren? (Heb. 2:12).

 

Do we realize that the creation is travailing for the manifestation of the sons of God? (Rom. 8:22).

 

In the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, the wayward son comes to his senses while in a far country and eating the food of pigs, as wonderful as this story is, and by no means to diminish it – there is yet the story of Advent, the story of the Word being made flesh and living among us and giving His life for us (John 1:1 – 18).

 

For in the Incarnation it is the Elder Brother who leaves His Father’s House and goes into the far country, goes into the place of the unclean with its unclean food, in order to bring His wayward brothers and sisters back to their Father (Hebrews 2:9 – 18).

 

The essence of life is our returning to the Father through Jesus Christ.

 

Isn’t this a message worth sharing?

 

“When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.” (Luke 2:17 – 18).

 

 

Jesus, our Life?

 

 

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” John 14:6

 

Is Jesus our life?

 

Is He our source of life? Do we feed on Him throughout each day and night? Do our hearts beat for Him? Do we worship Jesus?

 

John writes, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men” (John 1:4). Do we see all things in, and through, the light of His life, the life that He gives to us?

 

In John’s first letter he writes of the “Word of Life,” “and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us…” (1 John 1:1 – 2).

 

Jesus says to the Father, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3).

 

When people are in love there is often a glow about them, an excitement, an ongoing anticipation of looking forward to the next time they see their beloved. The hearts and minds of people in love are often consumed with feelings and thoughts for their beloved.  People in love hopefully know, and are coming to know, their beloved. That is, they are in a relationship with their beloved – they are coming to know and coming to be known.

 

For myself, there is nothing quite like seeing friends who have been married for many years love and care for one another; there is a special beauty in seeing a couple advanced in years holding hands in a restaurant or other public place. As Vickie and I come to frequent medical facilities in our own advancing age, we often see other older couples together – walking with one another in the final season of life, supporting one another (sometimes literally), encouraging one another, being there for each other.

 

Do we see that Jesus is our Beloved? That our life is in Him, in our union with Him? Do we know Him as our life? Do we only speak about Jesus as someone whom we have never really met, or do we speak of Him because we know Him? Do we have firsthand knowledge of Jesus Christ?

 

I am writing to the professing church, for we have a Bridegroom who loves us, who gave His life for us that we might live by His life, a Bridegroom who has given us His Name – and yet we live without wearing our wedding ring, we live not as married to Christ, but rather in promiscuity – for we have many “lovers” – many substitutes for our Bridegroom…some religious, some political, some economic, some hedonistic – we have so many idols and so many excuses for them.

 

As I have said and written before, if we loved Jesus we would talk about Him to one another and to others – but we don’t. We speak of church, we talk of religious programs, we market leaders, we engage in therapy, and we justify our exclusion of Jesus in daily life – we wouldn’t want to offend anyone with the Cross…that wouldn’t be nice…whether they are within or without the professing church.

 

O beloved, there is something amiss in a marriage in which one spouse lives as if the other doesn’t exist.

 

Jesus desires an intimate relationship with us, with you. How intimate? As intimate as the Trinity (John 17:20 – 26). We are called to live securely in God’s love (Romans 8:28 – 39) and His peace (Romans 5:1 – 11) – the Bridegroom can indeed take perfect and eternal care of His Bride.

 

And so I ask again, is Jesus Christ our life? Whether we are in our early years of just getting to know our Beloved, or our advanced years of mature and deep relationship…or in between…is Jesus Christ our life? Are we married to Him? Are our congregations married to Him? Are our souls living in union with Him?

 

Shall we ask Jesus to reveal Himself to us as never before? Shall we ask Him to draw us closer and closer into a deep relationship with Himself?

 

Shall we ask Him to make us a Bethlehem, a House of Bread, so that others may partake of Him through us?

 

Might this be an Advent season unlike any we’ve ever experienced?

 

“Come Lord Jesus.”

Is Jesus Our Truth?

 

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” John 14:6.

 

What does it mean when Jesus says, “I am…the truth”?

 

As I pondered this question I was drawn to the following portion of the Nicene Creed:

 

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.

 

I love the following, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.

 

I often think of this passage in the Creed (consider John 1:1 – 14 and Colossians 1:13 – 20), both in my own meditations and when I encounter professing Christians who don’t seem to know Jesus, who seem to consider Jesus as being far away from them and more of a figurehead than a Living Person radiating the glory of God…who don’t appear to be worshipping Jesus. (Now if you think this too harsh, then explain to me why we don’t speak of Jesus when we are with one another.)

 

It occurred to me this morning that the Creed is like wedding vows, and that when we recite the Creed that we renew our vows to the Trinity and to one another in the Trinity.

 

Do we know Jesus as the Creed portrays Him? Certainly the Creed is faithful to the Scriptures and portrays Jesus as the Bible reveals Him, if we will have eyes to see Him. Do we know Him as the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father? Is Jesus the truth of our life?

 

This goes far beyond believing in, or affirming, a set of statements or propositions about Jesus Christ; this has to do with the Person of Jesus Christ being our truth – realizing that He is the Truth. Jesus Christ is the Truth because Jesus Christ is God, and to live in Jesus Christ is to live in the Truth, it is to live in God – it is to live in the Throne Room of Revelation chapters 4 and 5, and in the City of Revelation chapters 21 and 22.

 

To know Jesus Christ is to know the unfolding reality of John 14:23: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

 

Consider that the primary image of God’s relationship with His People is marriage – we see this throughout the Bible, and we see its consummation in the Bride of Revelation chapters 21 – 22. Paul writes that we are to have one husband, Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 11:1 – 3). Our Husband, Jesus, is to be the Truth of our lives, as His Bride we are to exhibit a “simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” This simplicity and purity and devotion means that anything that impinges on our intimacy with Jesus Christ is to be immediately rejected – this becomes the truth of our relationship with Him; He is our Truth – and this Truth, because it is Him – His very Person – surpasses statements about Him, doctrines about Him – as true as those statements and doctrines may be. This does not mean that doctrines and true statements are not vital, but it does mean that doctrines and true statements do not equate with an intimate relationship of the Bride with the Bridegroom.

 

In the world of mankind, historically a wedding ceremony does not make a marriage, nor does a marriage certificate. Historically there must be a wedding ceremony with vows, a certificate attesting to the marriage, and then the marriage must be consummated. A ceremony and a certificate without a consummation is not – historically speaking – a marriage. Is it possible that many professing Christians have yet to actually enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ? Is it possible that He has yet to become their Way, Truth, and Life?

 

How many of us who are married hide the fact that we are married? Do we take our wedding rings off when leaving our homes? Do we leave them in the car before going into our places of work? What would our spouses say to such behavior?

 

Well then, how many professing Christians fail to speak of Jesus during the course of their days and weeks? How many professing Christians hide their relationship with Jesus at work? In civic life? In their social lives? In their neighborhoods?

 

O dear friends, can we not see that something is deeply amiss when so few professing Christians share Jesus Christ with others? When so few professing Christians do not even speak of Him when they are among themselves?

 

Is Jesus truly the Truth of our lives?

 

Are we wedded to Him?

 

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.

How Do We Know The Way?

 

“And you know the way where I am going.”       

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:4 – 6.

 

Here we have more steps in the dance of Jesus going and coming, of us following Him, of us knowing how to follow and where to follow, and of us not knowing where to follow and how to follow. As we’ve noted, this is a theme, a point and counterpoint, throughout the Upper Room of John chapters 13 – 17.

 

Is this not a motif of our lives? Do we not know moments of where to go and other moments of mystery? Do we not see Jesus clearly at times, then at other times does He not hide Himself? Why O Lord do we see You clearly, and then not so clearly?

 

Jesus has just said (13:33, 36), “Where I am going you cannot come.” Now Jesus speaks of the disciples knowing the way where He is going. When Thomas responds that they don’t know where He is going nor do they know the way, Jesus tells him that He is the Way. Jesus is leaving and Jesus is coming (John 14:3, 18, 23, 28).

 

We tend to think of Jesus has having left and that He will come back at some point in the future, but Jesus is always with us (Mt. 28:20; Jn. 14:23), calling us into intimacy with Himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit…and with one another (1 Jn. 1:3). Yet, we do have this dance of seeing Him and then not seeing Him, of understanding Him and not understanding Him. We also have the exciting assurance that when He seemingly leaves us that we can look forward to another of His glorious appearings.

 

Has not Thomas been listening to Jesus? Why does he say, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going?” Hasn’t Jesus been speaking of His Father's House? In a few minutes Jesus will say, “I go to the Father and you no longer see Me” (Jn. 16:10). And yet they will see Him. Jesus will refer to this as “figurative language” (16:25) in a few more minutes – and confusing it may see at first. This is one reason why we must read and ponder the Upper Room as a unity, a whole – we must stand back and view the painting in its completeness, again and again and again. We can draw closer to it, then we can sit here or there and stand over there for perspective, but to approach John chapters 13 – 17 piecemeal, to see it as a verse here and there, a chapter here and then a chapter there, is to ensure that it will never be our home in Christ. (Indeed, this can be said for the entire Bible and for the books of the Bible – they must be lived in, not visited.)

 

Thomas asks, “How do we know the way?”

 

Don’t we often ask the same thing? What is the will of God? How do we know the way? What shall we do? What does God want of us?

 

Jesus says, “I am the Way.” Jesus also says, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (17:3). Can we hear Jesus saying, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent”? (6:29).

 

When our thinking about the “way” becomes our realization that Jesus is indeed the “Way” our lives move from black and white into Technicolor; they are transformed from flat and linear into multidimensional with texture and height and depth and breath and length (Eph. 3:18). Jesus is the food we eat that the world knows nothing about; He is the food we have that much of the professing church knows nothing about – so caught up are we in our earthly religion of man’s knowledge and efforts and righteousness, our own version of scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.” (Jn. 6:53 – 55). And may I say, the person who confines this passage to the Eucharist misses the holistic sacramental glory of Christ, and our Way of Life in Him; and the person who excludes the Eucharist does the same thing – partaking of Jesus Christ the Bread of Life is seamless…and in fact it includes partaking of one another in Him! (1 Cor. 10:16 – 17; 12:12 Eph. 4:16; 1 Jn. 1:3).

 

Is the Person of Jesus Christ our Way of Life?

 

I am not speaking of a distant knowledge, I am not writing of an ideal, I am not talking about adherence to a confession or a creed (as vital as I consider the Creed to be) or a set of doctrinal statements; I am talking about loving Jesus Christ and worshipping Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. I am speaking of a Bride being excited about her Bridegroom, about her waking up every morning to be with Him, about every day being a Day of enjoying His Presence, delighting in Him, and being faithful to Him and to Him alone.

 

If we are loving Jesus then we do not need artificial inducements to assemble together – we do not require entertainment (but we are called to freedom in the Holy Spirit!); are we not joined to Him (and to one another) in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, in good times and bad times, in seasons of great light and those of deep darkness? Are we married to Jesus Christ or do we have a relationship of convenience?

 

How many lovers does the professing church have? Money? Country? Fame? Success? Religious pride? Politics? Morality (which is in the eye of the beholder)? Sports? Entertainment? Possessions? Therapy?

 

Do others know that we are married to Jesus, or do we hide our wedding rings?

 

Are our congregations married to Jesus – or to doctrinal distinctives, traditions, and denominations (or to being non-denominational)?

 

Is Jesus our Way of Life?

 

When we know Jesus, we know the Way…for He is our Way.

 

Ponder that little word “w-a-y.”

 

Who, or what, is your way of life?

 

Many Dwelling Places – In Him

 

 

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2 – 3.

 

There is a sense in which all that follows in John chapters 14 – 17 is the unfolding of these words of Jesus about His going and coming, our Father’s house, the Trinity living in us and us living in the Trinity; Jesus receiving us to Himself so that we may be always with Him. Jesus wants us to be with Him today and tomorrow and forever – do we realize this?

 

Jesus’ final words in Matthew’s Gospel are, “I am with you, always, even to the end of the age.” In John 17:24 Jesus prays, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am…”

 

The heartbeat of Jesus Christ is that He may be with us and that we may be with Him. In John 15:4 Jesus says, “Abide in Me, and I in you.”

 

In the very first chapter of John, when two disciples ask Jesus, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Jesus replies, “Come and you will see.”

 

O dear friends, everyday Jesus says to us, “Come and you will see.” Everyday Jesus comes to us, everyday Jesus calls us to Himself, everyday Jesus presents new opportunities for us to come and see Him. These opportunities are often not what we expect, they are often not what we immediately see and discern and understand – anymore than Jesus’ impending betrayal and torture and crucifixion and resurrection were things the apostles expected and “saw” and understood.

 

In Hebrews 3:6 we read that we are the House of Christ, and in Ephesians 2:19 – 22 we see that we are God’s “household” and that in Christ “the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

 

Peter writes that we are “living stones” and that we “are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood…” (1 Peter 2:5).

 

We are the Father’s House and the Trinity is our House.

 

If we never move beyond our cleansing in John Chapter 13, if we cannot see and live in the reality of justification, if we do not embrace the glory of 2 Cor. 5:21, we will never accept and see and live in the intimacy of John chapters 14 – 17.

 

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Do we believe this? Do we see that this is imputed and imparted in Christ? Do we see our union with God in Christ, our blessed koinonia in the Trinity? A koinonia so sure and seamless that John says in effect, “If you have koinonia with us then you will have koinonia with the Father and the Son” (1 John 1:3).  

 

It is a scandal, or at least it ought to be, that we are not permitted to wear the white robes of righteousness with which Jesus Christ has clothed us. It is a tragedy that many who use the term “grace” refuse to live in the righteousness and holiness which the grace of Christ Jesus has imputed and imparted to us – and that they insist that others live in soiled garments. We may employ New Covenant terms but we function in the sin consciousness of the Old Covenant, a covenant of condemnation and sin and death! (2 Cor. Chapter 2; Hebrews chapters 7 – 10; Romans 3:21 – 8:39). It seems that every Sunday morning we sew up the veil (Hebrews 10:19 – 25), not permitting God’s People to enter into intimacy with Him.

 

Such thinking and teaching blinds us to the glories of John chapters 13 – 17; indeed, they blind us from the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is like touring a stately mansion in which most of the building is roped off – you must stay on the walkway, you must not go beyond the ropes, you must not sit on the furniture and enjoy it! You may look but you may not touch!

 

Is it not absurd for the children of God not to be relaxed and joyful in the House of their Father, the House which their Lord Jesus Christ has brought them into? And then we wonder why we have such conflict in the professing church. Then we wonder why people leave congregations. Then we wonder why professing Christians fall into sin and apostasy. If we cannot sit on the furniture, if we cannot eat at our Father’s Table – then why are we here?

 

Is this not Babylonian captivity? Have we not been stripped of our inheritance in Jesus Christ? Are our harps not on the willow trees?

 

Jesus wants you to be with Him every hour and every moment of every day – every day He has places prepared for you.

 

Shall we go and see what Jesus has for us today? How shall He come to us today? How will He draw us to Himself? Where shall we discover Him?

"Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled"

 

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” John 14:1 – 4 (NASB).

 

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27.

 

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.” John 16:33a.

 

Jesus will shortly be betrayed, arrested, mocked and tortured, and then crucified. Yet, His desire is that His followers know His peace. He follows His words to Peter about Peter’s impending denial of Him with the words, “Do not let your heart be troubled…”

 

Much of what Jesus is saying in the Upper Room is shrouded in mystery for His immediate hearers, the unthinkable and the unknowable and the unbearable and the unbelievable is about to descend upon them, envelope them, disorient them – until they are overwhelmed with ever greater unfolding mystery and glory on Easter, Pentecost, and beyond. What Jesus says in John chapters 13 – 17, in the Upper Room, is dense – its depth and height and breath are ever expanding – what we may think is simple is not so simple, and what we may consider mysterious and complex is yet something we can experience in Christ as we are drawn into the koinonia of the Trinity. When Paul writes of “the peace of God that passes all understanding” (Phil. 4:7) he means exactly that, we cannot comprehend the peace of God, we can experience it but we cannot understand it – it simply doesn’t make sense.

 

We must look foolish to the angels with our substitutes for the peace of God, our therapies, our diversions, our self-centered preaching and teaching – when Jesus desires for us to receive His peace, when His peace is offered to us again and again, and yet we think it too simple to receive – we refuse to acknowledge our dependence on our Lord and Savior, we must find a more reasonable way to have peace, a way that has the approbation of mankind, that humanity approves of, that makes sense to the world – that we can take some credit for devising or participating in, or at least paying for. Why would we rather be dependent upon humanity than upon Jesus Christ? How foolish we are in our supposed wisdom.

 

“If it were not so, I would have told you.” Does not life come down to this, the Word of Jesus? Can we trust the Word of Jesus? Can we trust Jesus Christ?

 

Did the disciples remember this statement through the tragic events they were about to live through? Did they hear Jesus’ voice saying, “If it were not so, I would have told you”?

 

Jesus has a place for us with Him and in Him. Jesus is preparing that place, He has prepared that place; it is a place of discovery and peace and rest and joy and wonder – a place beyond human words. If it were not so, He would have told us – do we believe this? Do we look into the eyes of Jesus and believe Him? Do our hearts beat with trust in Him?

 

This is not about amassing the evidence of others that tells us that Jesus can be trusted, though we may indeed rejoice in the testimony of others. This is about me and you encountering Jesus Christ, one to one – however He may graciously bring this about – and saying, “I trust you Lord Jesus with all that I have and all that I am. I give myself to You and I receive You into my heart and mind and soul, into the depths of my life.”

 

When we are disoriented, in confusion, in hurt, in despair – when our earthly certainties turn into nightmares, this is about hearing Jesus saying, “If it were not so, I would have told you.”

 

When the suffering and confusion and hatred of this world bombard us, are we hearing Jesus say, “If it were not so I would have told you.”

 

Jesus has prepared a place for us, a place deep within the holy Trinity – He invites us to that Place today. Jesus says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

 

Jesus is saying, “If it were not so, I would have told you.”

 

Can Jesus be trusted, and do I trust Him?

 

Can Jesus be trusted, and do you trust Him?

 

End Times

 Good morning dear friends,

Below is a link to a sermon my friend  Dr. David Palmer (Ph.D. Hebrew Union) preached last Sunday at his church, Kenwood Baptist in Cincinnati.

David says that this may be the most important message he has ever preached. 

What do you think? 

The sermon begins around 30 minutes into the service, so you can fast forward to there depending on where the link takes you. 

I hope you will share this with others.

Love in Christ,

Bob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ8yH7dmmmc&t=1819s&pp=ygUWa2Vud29vZCBiYXB0aXN0IGNodXJjaA%3D%3D

How Much Do We Really Know?

  

“Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, where are You going?’ Jesus answered, ‘Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.’ Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.’” John 13:36 – 38.

 

I think it was Oswald Chambers who talked about “the graciousness of uncertainty.” While I don’t recall the context of the phrase, it is a reminder that our Lord Jesus reveals Himself in uncertainty – an uncertainty often manifested in the midst of certainty. That is, when we are so certain that we know the truth of ourselves and our situations, God often leads us into whitewater and upsets our equilibrium.

 

We can receive God’s graciousness in uncertainty when we realize that we don’t know as much as we think we know, whether our purported knowledge is about ourselves, about our situations, or about others (especially others!). Is it not the mercy of our Lord Jesus that He upsets our self-centered knowledge rather than allowing us to continue in our misconceptions and delusions? Is it not His graciousness that brings us to the end of ourselves, again and again and again – driving us back to His Cross?

 

Peter wants to know where Jesus is going; he will find out soon enough. This will not be the last time that Peter has the experience of following Jesus into unlikely places, of seeing Him and then not seeing Him and then seeing Him again.

 

Peter will later write, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps…Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” (1 Peter 2:21; 4:12 – 13).

 

From the home of Simon the Tanner, Peter will follow Jesus to the house of Cornelius – a place where Peter would not have expected to go (Acts 10). In Antioch (Galatians 2:11 – 21), Peter will receive Paul’s rebuke, again, a place Peter would not likely have chosen to be.

 

In the Upper Room Peter did not understand the situation he was in, he did not understand his surroundings, he did not understand what Jesus was saying and doing (recall John 13:6 – 9). This reminds us of Peter’s confession and denial in Matthew 17:13 – 23; one moment Peter is receiving the revelation of the Father, the next moment Peter is playing the role of Satan.

 

O dear friends, it is good and proper that we be sure of Jesus Christ and His faithfulness and trustworthiness; it is not very smart to get caught up in ourselves for we just don’t know as much as we think we know – not about ourselves, not about our situations, and most certainly not about others.

 

Jesus says, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.”

 

This is, dear friends, a motif of discipleship, of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus must do a work in our souls, in our hearts and minds, for us to follow Him. Jesus brings us onward and upward, He leads us through valleys and up mountains, into places of bright light and shadows of death – into times of rejoicing and seasons of sorrow. Our Good Shepherd leads us thusly that we may know Him and be blessings to others. Jesus teaches us the Cross, then He teaches us the Cross again, and then again and then again. We experience Easter one morning, and then another morning, and then another morning. We are transformed into His image from “glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:17 – 18; Rom. 8:29).

 

Peter’s denial of Jesus will cause him to “weep bitterly” (Luke 22:62). Yet, Jesus has not only told Peter, “I have prayed for you,” (Luke 22:32), but Jesus has told all of the disciples, just as He has told all of us, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me” (Jn. 14:1).

 

Let us remember that chapter breaks were not in the original New Testament manuscripts, therefore let us not stop after reading John 13:38 but rather continue reading to listen to Jesus. What do you hear?

 

“Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times. Do not let your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” (Jn. 13:38 – 14:2).

 

In our uncertainties, in our confusion, and even in our times of denial, Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me.” Jesus has prayed for us (Jn. 17:20), Jesus is going away for us, Jesus is coming to us again, Jesus is taking us with Him so that where He is, we may be also. We have His assurance that He wants us to be with Him (see also Jn. 17:24).

 

Jesus Christ wants to be with us! He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Jesus Christ is the Guarantor of our faith, the One who guarantees that He will be with us and that we will be with Him – for without Him we can do nothing, and “nothing” means just that, “nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

 

When we were “dead in our trespasses and sins” we were “made alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:1 – 10). We are “His workmanship” – we are not our own. We were marked out in Christ “before the foundation of world” that we would be “holy and blameless before Him” (Eph. 1:3 – 12).

 

O dear friends, in one sense we don’t know as much as we think we know, not about ourselves, our situations, or about others. However, in another sense, if we know Jesus Christ then we know all that we really do need to know – for we will find Him coming to us again and again and again, never leaving us, never forsaking us – in our uncertainties, our denials, our arrogance, our fears, our selfishness – Jesus is always with us, coming and going, convicting and healing, wounding and making us whole; bringing us onward and upward in Him, guiding us into the depths of the Trinity and life with one another.

 

Life in Christ in the Upper Room means that Jesus uses even our denials to bring us to the Cross and Resurrection. Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be troubled…”

 

Jesus brings us to the end of ourselves so that we may know Him as our All in all.

Is this worth knowing? 

A New Commandment, A New Way

 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34 – 35.

 

Consider the context of what Jesus says, how do verses 34 and 35 work in the passage?

 

In verse 33 Jesus says, “Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’”

 

Then in verse 36 we read, “Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, where are You going?’ Jesus answered, ‘Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.’”

 

It is as if Simon Peter ignores the New Commandment and wants to get on with what Jesus is saying about going away and coming again, about being seen and then not being seen, about the disciples not being able to follow and then being able to follow. (Recall the passages on this theme listed in the previous reflection that we find throughout the Upper Room).

 

We tend, I think, to view verses 34 and 35 in isolation from its context, an enigmatic context if we will follow the theme of Jesus appearing and leaving and appearing, of Jesus being seen and then not seen and then seen, of us not being able to follow and then following. (Do we not see this motif in the Song of Solomon, with the Bridegroom appearing and then withdrawing, and then appearing again? Do we not see the Bride searching for her Beloved?)

 

Is this not a dance of the Bridegroom and the Bride? Can we not “see” that when our Beloved withdraws Himself it is an invitation to follow Him into deeper intimacy?

 

The depths of this invitation to intimacy are seen yet again in John 15:12 – 13 where the New Commandment contains the “greater love” of laying down one’s life for our friends. For us to love as Jesus loves means that we lay down our lives for the brethren, it means that we know Him in the koinonia of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10).

 

“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16).

 

The way to follow Jesus, the way to go where He is going, is to love one another as He loves us, and this is to be how all men are to know that we are His disciples.  (Note also John 17:23. Our love for one another and our unity in the Trinity are the marks by which we and the Gospel are to be known – they are our testimony!).

 

Living in the Holy of Holies of John 17 entails the ever-present and unfolding Way of Life of John 13:34 – 35 and John 15:12 – 13.

 

There are at least two great dangers in pondering the New Commandment, the first is to gloss over “even as I have loved you” and say, “That is impossible. We’ll just do the best we can.” The second great danger is to think that we can obey this command in and of ourselves.

 

We have no warrant to edit the Word of Jesus Christ, to dumb it down, to lower the standard, to make excuses – including the excuse, “Well, I’m just a sinner saved by the grace of God.”  God forbid that we should think that, in Christ, we are anything but saints – the sons and daughters of the Living God, born of the Holy Spirit and made new creations in Jesus Christ! (2 Cor. 5:11 – 21; Rom. Cp. 8; Jn. Cp. 17).

 

To love as Jesus loves means that the Cross, the laying down of our lives, is ever working within us and through us. It also means that we know the reality of abiding in the Vine and that “apart from Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:1 – 5). Jesus Christ is our organic source of life – not a religious or moral or ethical system, no matter its Christian trappings, and certainly not a political or economic or nationalistic system – no matter the pressure exerted upon us.

 

The New Commandment brings us to the end of ourselves and to our new life in Jesus Christ. It brings us to the end of ourselves because we cannot obey it – we have not the life to do so. It brings us to our new life in Jesus Christ because in Him, in the Vine, we have resurrection life – the working out of the Cross and the Resurrection in the ebb and flow of life throughout our entire being and in koinonia with the Trinity and with one another.

 

The life of the Trinity lives in us, through our redemption in Christ, and this life finds expression in community, in koinonia – leading us together in Life in which God is all in all.

 

And yet we gloss over the New Commandment as if it were some sort of high and lofty unattainable ideal – when it is to be the bedrock of our life and witness in Jesus Christ. We make excuses when our Father will have no excuses.

 

Let us make no mistake, living in the New Commandment will cost us our lives – for it leads to the Cross and it is empowered by the Cross – the Cross working in us as individuals, in marriages, in families, in congregations, and (if we must have them) in our traditions and denominations.

 

Jesus is saying, “I’m going away, but here is how you can follow Me. Here is how I will reveal Myself again and again and again. I will go away and come again, then I will go away again and come again. You will see Me as you follow Me in my love, as you love as I love, as you die as I die, as you rise as I rise, as you give as I give, as you forgive as I forgive…as you live in Me and as I live in you.”

 

O the glory our Father has given to us in Jesus Christ! The joy of being His daughters and sons!

 

Galatians 2:20.

His Going, His Coming, Our Following

 

“‘Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, Where I am going, you cannot come.’” Jn. 13:33

 

“Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus answered, ‘Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.’” Jn 13:36

 

“’…for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.’” Jn. 14:2c - 4.

 

“After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.” Jn. 14:19.

 

“You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’” (Jn. 14:28a).

 

“’A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.’” Jn. 16:16

 

The Upper Room theme of His going, His coming, our seeing Him, and our following Him flows through Jesus’ words, His unveiling of Himself to His followers. Here is an example of why living in the Word and meditation on the Word is critical, for there is no sermon, no book, no commentary, and certainly no footnote in a Bible that can explain these words. We are called to live in the Upper Room with Jesus, to know its furniture the way we know the furniture in our homes so that we don’t need to turn the lights on at night to walk through our rooms.

 

It is not enough to preach through the Bible verse by verse (the way most of us think of this today), the Bible was not written that way and we are not meant to “see” it that way, we are called to see Jesus and to see the glorious images and narratives and interconnectedness of the Bible. When the Fathers, such as Augustine, preached the Bible verse by verse, they did so by unfolding the interconnectedness of the Scriptures – they roamed the entire book in Christ as they were centered on Christ – much as the Apostles did when writing the New Testament letters – including Revelation.

 

We have a microcosm of this challenge in the Upper Room, for what is introduced in John 13:1 – 3 and continued in 13:33, expands throughout chapters 14 – 17. The only way to see and experience what Jesus is saying about going away and coming again, about not being seen and being seen, is to live in these chapters with Him (and others). Therefore, in our preaching and teaching and reading we must keep coming back and coming back, and reading and reading again in order to hold the entire image and Word of Jesus before us, allowing the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and plant Him in our hearts – taking us farther up and farther in, deeper into Jesus Christ – the inside is larger than the outside. I suppose we might say that the Upper Room holds all that is outside it…and beyond.

 

And may I say, that we are called to be in the Upper Room as we read this passage, we are called to see Jesus – we are not called to read about what Jesus said, we are called to hear what Jesus is saying – for He is the Living Word. The Upper Room is birthed in the eternals before creation, it comes forth into time and space and history, and it continues onward and upward in Christ and in His People – it flows from the Father and returns to the Father – John 13:1 – 3; 16:28; 17:24. I may be in my office or in living room when I read John chapters 13 – 17, but I must also be in the Upper Room with our Lord.

 

Here, in the Upper Room, we have the vision of the “mystery of His will” (Eph. 1:9) in the “the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.” (Eph. 1:10b – 12).

 

As you read what Jesus is saying above, what do you see? What do you wonder about? What themes? What patterns? As someone in the Upper Room, what do you hear? If you imagine yourself as being one of the Eleven, for Iscariot has now gone out into darkness, what are you hearing and thinking and feeling? What is Jesus saying to you about His going and coming and your not seeing and then seeing and following Him?

 

Do you know this experience? Have there been times when it seems that He has left you? Do you know what it is to look for Him but not find Him…if only for a season, if only for a moment? Do you know what it is to see torches in the night sky and for a mob to come and take Him away? Have your hopes and dreams and expectations been shattered?

 

Have you seen Jesus on trial before religious leaders? Have you heard the crowds crying, “Crucify Him!”? Have you denied Him three times?

 

Well, whatever our experience, whatever season of life we may be in, Jesus says to us, “Do not let your heart be troubled…Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (Jn. 14:1a, 27).

 

 

 

Glorification - A Mystery

 

“Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.’” John 13:31 – 32.

 

Now that Judas Iscariot has “gone out” we are called to go further in with Jesus. It may take a while to get a sense of what I mean, to experience what I mean – for most of our religious experience is linear, we move through the Scriptures as if we are checking off boxes, as if we are watching a car’s odometer, verse by verse, chapter after chapter, frame after frame of a movie, scene after scene of a play. We are captives of a naturalistic and humanistic approach to Scripture, one that is the antithesis of Biblical “epistemology” and “hermeneutics” – technical words that speak to the questions of how do we “know”? or how “should we know”? and how are we to interpret, receive, and understand what we read? We will encounter these questions of knowing and understanding as we experience the Upper Room; I raise these questions now to prepare us, so that we won’t be surprised (too much) at what we find.

 

(I hope we’ve seen in previous reflections that there is more to feet washing than the natural eye can see).

 

What do we see in John 13:31 – 32? Ponder what Jesus is saying. What do you see regarding His relationship with the Father? What do we see regarding glory and glorification? Allow the play of words, the point and counterpoint, to speak to you – for here the veil is pulled back and we glimpse a Divine mystery, a holy interchange. What do you see? What do you hear?

 

Let’s recall John 12:27 – 28: “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ‘Father, glorify Your name.’ Then a voice came out of heaven: ‘I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.’”

 

Let us also anticipate John 17:22: “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one…”

 

As well as John 17:24: “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

 

Between John 13:31 – 32 and John 17:24 we will encounter more of the mystery of glory – a mystery that incorporates the sons and daughters of the Living God, that is, a mystery that incorporates us – you and me. How do we respond to John 17:22?

 

“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them…”?

 

O dear friends, it was once true that “All have sinned and fell short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23), but such is no longer true of the saints of God in Christ – for the Son has given us His glory and we cry out, “Abba Father!” (Rom. 8:15).

 

Consider that His glory empowers us to be one as the Trinity is one (John 17:22). His glory is to be our biosphere, our breath, our joy – our ever-present experience. And in His glory we glory in Him and in one another in Him.

 

Paul prays that “the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:12). Paul sets forth the vision of God coming to be glorified “in His saints (2 Thess. 1:10). Do we see the similarity between 2 Thessalonians 1:10 – 12 and John 13:31 – 32? The Father is glorified in the Son and the Son is glorified in the Father; God and Christ are glorified in the saints, and the saints are glorified in Christ and God.

 

In Romans 8:17 – 30 Paul writes of the glory of the children of God, of us being glorified with Christ, and of the Father glorifying us.

 

Then in Hebrews 2:10 we see that the Father is “bringing many sons to glory.”

 

How sad that there are many who – intentionally or not – seek to rob the saints of their present inheritance in our Lord Jesus Christ. How sad that the Gospel is truncated and that we are forbidden to claim and live in the glory of our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. What a tragedy that the veil is sown up week after week on Sunday mornings, in books, on the radio, on podcasts – and that the Bride of Christ is thrown rags to wear rather than the glorious glory of her Husband – Jesus Christ.

 

How ironic that many who use the term “grace” do not desire us to live in grace – but in bondage to self-flagellation and a perpetual consciousness of sin – rather than in the fulness of justification, sanctification, adoption, and life in the Holy Spirit.

 

The account of Jesus Christ in the Upper Room is our story too, for we are in Him – and we are explicitly called into the koinonia of the Trinity by the Father and the Son, through the Holy Spirit. We are the sons and daughters of the Living God, we are saints in Christ and no longer sinners – and we are called to be broken Bread and poured out Wine to our generation.

 

And dear dear brother or sister, who protests and ignores this Gospel teaching, insisting that God will not give His glory to another. Can you not see that we are bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh? We are one in Trinity. We are the Body of Christ. We are not another.

 

Is this not a mystery?

 

 

 

A Slave and His Master – Betrayal

 

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me…Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” (John 13:21 and 31).

 

If the slave is not greater than his master, (Jn. 13:16, 15:20), then since Jesus was betrayed we ought not to think it strange when we are betrayed, nor should we hesitate to embrace the Cross of Christ when we are betrayed, for are we not called to know the koinonia of His sufferings?

 

However, let me hasten to add, that betrayal carries a particular pain and sorrow in its cup that touches the depths of our souls – and I suppose we carry its scars just as Jesus carries the print of the nails. To be admitted to the “fellowship of the betrayed” is not something anyone ought to aspire to, nor is it something that we should glory in – for betrayal is beyond words and is costly – both to the one who is betrayed and to the one who is the betrayer.

 

“For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend; we who had sweet fellowship together walked in the house of God in the throng.” (Psalm 55:12 – 14).

 

In his Inferno, Dante reserves the depths of Hell for traitors. Barbara Reynolds describes Dante’s depiction of the city of treachery thusly:

 

“It is a freezing of all human bonds, of kinship, loyalty to country or party, hospitality, and gratitude for benefaction.”

 

We may contrast betrayal with the love of God, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Great love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12 – 13).

 

Betrayal sacrifices others, God’s love sacrifices itself.

 

Consider that not only does Jesus wash the feet of Judas, His betrayer, but that in the midst of this betrayal Jesus continues to love and serve His disciples. That is, Jesus continues to focus on loving His friends, and in loving His friends who were in His immediate presence, He is loving us who will come to know Him (John 17:20; Heb. 12:1 – 2).

 

When we are betrayed, the pain and uncertainty and surprise is so great, the threat is so unexpected, that the betrayal can absorb our attention and energy to the exclusion of all else, to the exclusion of loving others. The betrayer can loom larger than anyone else in our lives. Yet should anyone be larger than God in our hearts and minds and souls? Is not Jesus Christ our Lord, does He not remain Lord of all?

 

Judas’s betrayal did not alter Jesus’ commitment and obedience to the Father, in fact, if anything it confirmed and highlighted it.

 

“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.” (John 12:27). The “hour” that Jesus speaks of includes the great betrayal.

 

When Judas leaves the Upper Room to consummate his betrayal of Jesus, Jesus says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.” (John 13:31 – 32).

 

The Betrayal plays a role in the glorification of the Father and the Son – then and now.

 

Peter writes, “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you…Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” (1 Peter 4:14 & 19).

 

In the midst of being betrayed, Jesus continues to commit Himself to the Father, trusting that the betrayal is in the Father’s plan for glorification and for the salvation of others. Likewise we also, when we are betrayed, are called to continue our commitment to our Father and Lord Jesus, trusting in the Holy Spirit to fill us and rest upon us as we walk through the betrayal; trusting God to use the betrayal for His glory, for our glorification in Him, and for the blessing of others.

 

We must not allow betrayal to distract us from loving and serving others, we must not allow betrayal to make us bitter and vindictive. In the midst of betrayal, we ought to embrace our call to follow Jesus Christ and to take up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34 – 38) and to view betrayal as an opportunity to allow the Cross to work within us for the glory of God. Is the slave above his or her Master?

 

This, my friends, is one of the differences between a spiritual child and an adult – a child sees betrayal as all about himself, while an adult offers betrayal to the Father for His glory. A child tells everyone about the betrayal, an adult only speaks what is necessary, when it is necessary. Indeed, to the adult betrayal is an element in the pilgrimage of the Cross. Indeed, the adult realizes that at one time he (or she) played the role of Judas himself – for we were all enemies of God at one time.

 

None of this lessens the pain and anguish of betrayal, and the more we have trusted the betrayer the deeper the pain. I recall a time when an employee who I had poured myself into and opened many doors for betrayed me. I could not believe what she had done. Even though my eyes told me the truth of the betrayal, my heart could not accept it – until I had another trusted employee review and confirm the theft – only with this additional confirmation could I accept what my mind told me was true.

 

I have also experienced betrayal within the professing church, and I will frankly say that this scar tissue remains with me – I am writing about something I have experienced. There is perhaps no pain like the pain of betrayal by professing Christians, by brothers and sisters (other than betrayal within marriage and family).

 

But here is the thing, no matter the degree of betrayal, no matter its results, we are still called to serve Christ and others, we are to embrace the Cross, we are to love – and we are to wash the feet of Judas well as the feet of Peter. We are not better or greater than our Master, and we ought to be thankful that Jesus trusts us enough to call us into the fellowship of those who have been betrayed…for we know that the Father will be glorified, that Jesus Christ will be glorified, and that we…individually and as Christ’s Body, will be glorified in the Trinity.

 

If you are bitter about a betrayal in your own life, please meditate on our Lord Jesus Christ and what we see in Him in the midst of the great Betrayal by Judas. Are you greater than your Master?

 

How might you allow Jesus to walk with you and speak to you?

 

Please ask your Father for grace to forgive the betrayer(s) – let us not forget that we are to forgive others as we desire God to forgive us (Mt. 6:12; Eph. 4:32).

 

Let us guard against the trap of closing ourselves off from others because we have been betrayed – let us rather embrace the Cross and the comfort of our Father and love and serve others out of our broken vessels (2 Cor. 4:7 – 12).

 

After all, life is about Jesus Christ…and if we are to find ourselves, our destiny, we must lose ourselves in Him.

 

A Slave and His Master

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (John 13:16 – 17).

 

Later that night Jesus will remind them, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:20).

 

How often do we expect and insist on special considerations that were never given to our Lord Jesus? How often do we assert our privileges and supposed rights, how often do we advocate for special recognition in areas which are contrary to our status as slaves of our Lord Jesus Christ? That is, how often do we insist that we are treated better than Jesus was treated?

 

I cannot think about this without pain and shame because I cannot begin to count the ways I have thought myself worthy of more consideration that Jesus was given.

 

Now to be sure there are complexities to these questions, for example, in the workplace my sense is that we ought to assert our rights and protections against discrimination and harassment in its insidious forms – not solely for our own sakes, but for the sake of others. I write “for the sake of others” because if one person is being discriminated against it is usually a pattern, meaning that others are being discriminated against. Discrimination is respect of persons, and it is using a false balance, which is an abomination to God (Proverbs 11:1).

 

Paul asserted his right as a Roman citizen to be treated according to Roman law and to appeal to Ceasar. His appeal to Ceasar led to his witness to many in authority over the course of his imprisonment and journey to Rome. His invocation of Roman citizenship both protected his witness and expanded his witness.

 

I wonder why Paul didn’t immediately assert his Roman citizenship in Philippi. (See Acts 16:22 – 40). Whatever the reason, the beating of Paul and Silas and their jail experience was quite a testimony to our Lord Jesus and led to the jailer’s conversion and that of his household.

 

The heart of the issue is whether we see ourselves as slaves of Jesus Christ, whether He is our Master and we are His servants. Do we see ourselves as being purchased by His blood and as belonging to Him? Paul writes in 1 Cor. 3:23, “…you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.” Then in 1 Cor. 6:20, “For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”

 

To identify with Jesus Christ is to bear the reproach of Jesus Christ. The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews were reminded of this in the midst of persecution, “So let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.” (Heb. 13:13 – 14, see also Heb. 11:13 - 16).

 

Peter writes, “For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrow when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps…” (1 Peter 2:18 – 21, of course please read the context to get the full import!).

 

Then we have, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing…If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rest on you…but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glory God in this name.” (1 Peter 4:12 – 16 passim).

 

But the idea of Jesus as our Master and we as His servants is not limited to our witness and the world’s response, as critical as that understanding is – it is to encompass all of life, hence Jesus not only speaks of the Master – slave relationship in the context of persecution (John 15:18 – 16:4), but also in the context of feet washing and serving one another.

 

Jesus washed the feet of Judas knowing that Judas was betraying Him. While I hope to consider the subject of betrayal in the next reflection, for now let me say that if the Master washed the feet of His betrayer that we, His slaves, are called to wash the feet of our betrayers and those who would destroy us. (See also Matthew 5:38 – 48).

 

Have we considered that when Jesus was washing the feet of the other apostles that they did not understand what He was doing and what we can learn from this? The apostles did not thank Jesus for washing their feet – or if they did it isn’t recorded. In fact, the apostles had just argued about who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom (Luke 22:24 – 27), so their minds and hearts were hardly focused on servanthood.

 

Jesus was serving the apostles and they had no idea what He was doing and, as far as we know, they didn’t express appreciation for His service to them. Do we serve others when we don’t receive recognition? When we do serve others and do not receive thanks and recognition, how do we think and feel and act?

 

Consider that Jesus would shortly be betrayed and abandoned and tortured and crucified – and yet the Master is still serving His servants – without receiving thanks or recognition. In fact, as the Upper Room unfolds in John chapters 13 – 17, Jesus not only continues to serve, He invites His servants, His friends, into intimacy with the Father, the Spirit, and with Himself, the Son. That is, the Master calls His servants into the love and life and joy of the blessed Trinity; He loves His own to the end (John 13:1). Jesus is holding nothing back, He is giving Himself away to those who, at the moment, do not understand what He is doing, do not appreciate what He is doing, and are not thankful for what He is doing.

 

How does this compare with us?

 

Are we willing to serve, to wash the feet of others, without thanks and recognition? Are we willing to be like our Master?

 

If we consider the sacramental element of feet washing, as explored in a previous reflection, the reality is that if we wash the feet of the saints with the Word that few will know what we are doing, for few of us live in the Word and are therefore aware of the Word. O for sure we may know current “Christian’ jargon and pithy sayings and the latest songs, but we typically don’t breathe the atmosphere of the Word of God. We may know the title of a Christian best - selling book or DVD series, but we don’t live in the Word, we don’t speak the Word, we don’t recognize the Word. We know more about “Chrisitan” therapy than we do the disciplining and molding and convicting of the Holy Spirit.

 

If we are not speaking the Word to others (Col. 3:16), how will we know when someone is speaking the Word to us?

 

When we consider other forms of service in the Church and in the world (Rom. 12:3 – 21), are we willing to give and to serve without recognition? (See Matthew 6:1 – 18).

 

Is there not something amiss in the professing church when those in vocational ministry are elevated to pedestals? It is one thing to honor those who faithfully serve our Lord Jesus and His People, but to make them (and often their families) the objects of veneration…how does this harmonize with what we see in our Lord Jesus and His life and ministry?

 

But are we not all infected with pride and a desire for recognition? Do we not insist on others being thankful for us and on being given, despite what we may say, some measure of the spotlight? Some acknowledgement?

 

While we all need encouragement, how easy it is to move beyond a desire for encouragement to a hunger for glory centered on ourselves. I know what it is to drink from this poisonous cup.

 

What would our congregations look like if we were willing to wash the feet of others without recognition? What would we look like, as God’s People, if we served one another out of love, without thought of reward and recognition? What would we look like if we served others whether or not they realized our service?

 

While I have seen much beauty within the professing church, I have also seen ugliness. I have seen more ugliness and destructive behavior in the professing church than I have seen in decades in the business world – much of this has been about recognition, praise, and honor; much of it has been about who is the greatest. O that we would learn to wash one another’s feet. O that we would learn that the servant is not above his or her Master. O that we would learn the high calling in Jesus Christ to serve others, to wash others with the Word, with loving service – whether or not they recognize what we are doing, whether or not they recognize us.  

 

When we serve others, we serve our Master (Matthew 25:31-46).

 

Is this enough for us?