Reading John 13 this morning, I am deeply moved by two outstanding yet subtle observations. Firstly, Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen. Secondly, the one non-Galillean disciple did not know that Jesus knew what had been going on - or what was about to happen! I see Jesus at this point in a totally new light. Just as in friendship (and especially in courting the idea of whether to marry a person) you never really get to know someone until you see them up close and under pressure! In fact, the more pressure they are under, the clearer the picture you'll have of who they truly are. In John 13, The Christ is under pressure. He is minutes away from being grievously betrayed. And it is at this point that we see an even clearer picture of the most exquisitely unique being who has ever been among us.
During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:2-5
Someone in Christ's innermost circle of trusted leaders has been working behind the scenes to undermine Him. Added to this, he has been stealing from the group's treasury for his own personal expenses. And in addition to these crimes, he has now all but sealed the deal to have his Master brutally tortured and executed. All this has been done in secret. Or so he thought. Just minutes before he cashed in on his wicked scheme, the One he was about to demise, now half-naked so that the ordour and grime didn't spray onto his clean garments, took his betrayer's aching, tired, dusty, smelly feet, and began to caress them with a warm, wet sponge, then dry them with a towell. It was a scene that only an outside observer could have fully appreciated for the betrayer didn't even notice it happening! Why? He was too engrossed in a heated discussion about why he would be the greatest in the Kingdom to come-
¶ A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
Luke 22:24
As Jesus removed the animal manure from the festy feet of Judas, He knew full well what His betrayer was about to do. Upon reflection of this profound moment, John opens this chapter with an introductory statement about what we are about to read.
¶ Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
John 13:1
Later, as his betrayer was securing his blood-money, Jesus would leave that dining room for a garden aptly named, The Press. It was in the midst of an olive grove and it was where the harvested olives would be pressed to produce an oil used for medicinal purposes. In their tongue, it was referred to as Gethsemane. Shortly, Jesus too would be harvested and His life would also be pressed, and He too would then produce a healing oil (that it is still flowing today). The thought of what was about to happen to Him, being orchestrated by Judas Iscariot as He knelt there in prayer, caused His capillaries to dillate and exude blood through His sweat glands. Jesus was under the most intense and literally unimagineable pressure. Yet He remained composed. He breathed His prayer of renewal of dedication to His Father and entrusted His soul to the One who was worthy of it. To His disciples, seeing Judas leave the room and the door closing behind him, He began to speak sweetly and softly in a manner they had not previously heard. John carefully takes the next three chapters to retell these words. When you read John 14, 15, 16, read them quietly and softly - the way Christ tenderly uttered them. They begin with these startling words that only made sense two months after they were uttered.
So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he (Judas) immediately went out. And it was night.
¶ When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
John 13:30-31
After Judas left, Christ declared that His disciples would now see Him begin to be glorified. Jesus had an utterly different perspective from others! He spoke intimately with them about waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He was concerned about them. Truly strong men, when under pressure, keep caring for others - especially those they are responsible for. Weak men, when under pressure, blame others and lash out at those they should care for!
"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
John 13:35
No matter what dark hour you are facing - no matter what kind of pressure you are under - Jesus understands. No matter how lonely you feel, the One who begged those whom He considered His closest friends - yet was let down by them in His hour of greatest need for them - knows what you're going through. Even when it feels like no-one understands at all, Jesus "knowing all things" knows what you are going through. You can experience His comfort, His care, His friendship, because He - more than anyone else - knows how much you truly need it. When He looks you in the eye through the mist of your tears and tells you, "Trust My Father", He alone is qualified to say it - and He knows what He's talking about. Far from being under pressure and feeling out of control, because He trusted His Father, He was both under pressure and enjoying the peace that comes from knowing that God is in control.
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me."
John 14:1
Ps. Andrew
Words are only a part of our means of communication. This is one of the primary things that I endeavour to teach a couple preparing for marriage (and one of the first things I have to address when I'm dealing with a couple in crisis). As we journey through life and interact with other we learn that communication also involves-
Added to this brief, non-exhaustive, list of communicators, is the depth of connection we have with the person we are communicating with. As we get to know someone, we begin to understand them better because we learn their "language". An individual's language is not just the words, tone, expression, timing, emotion, and actions they use, but their meaning that they assign to their words, expressions, and metaphors. Husbands must attempt to learn the language of their wives. (When a wife asks her husband what he is thinking it is not so much an information gathering question as it is an request to engage in conversation with her.) Wives must attempt to learn the language of their husbands. (When a husband is silent and alone it is not that he is emotionally withdrawing, it is that he is emotionally recharging.) This highlights the problem with words.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
F.W. Boreham writes in The Drums Of Dawn of two soldiers both offered inducements to betray their country. The first one considers the bribe then concludes that it is not worth it. His sense of duty toward his country prevailed. The second soldier is offered the same bribe and doesn't even consider it. His loyalty to his country is not founded merely on a sense of duty - but on a love for his beloved homeland. He delighted in his nation and was therefore unhesitatingly dutiful. Jesus also told stories contrasting how we can relate to the Father with either a cold sense of duty or a flaming sense of delight. Why do you go to church when you do?
"In the thirteenth chapter of his Ecce Homo, Sir J. R. Seeley draws a striking contrast between two men. Both are patriots; but one is passionate, while the other is merely a languid, patriot. Each is offered a bribe to betray his country. Both eventually decline it. The languid patriot refuses the bribe after a terrible inward struggle, his fingers itching to grasp the proffered gold. But, in the case of the passionate patriot, there is no struggle at all. He feels that the offer is an insult: he rejects it instantly and with scorn. The difference between the two men, Sir J. R. Seeley points out, is that, whilst the languid patriot is incapable of crime, the passionate patriot is incapable of temptation." (F.W. Boreham, "The Drums of Dawn", 'Remember Lot's Wife', page 205)
There is a (not-so) silent cry arising from the deep recesses of this generation. It's a soul-chilling shriek that says, "I must be worthless!" Social researchers are bewildered at this. They merely look at the symptom and oversimplify the diagnosis: we have rising rates of depression. #duh One Tasmanian academic in his book, Born Bad, even blames Christianity for our current malais! He argues that Christians teach that the world is fallen, every person is born corrupted by inherited sin, therefore we are conditoned to feel worthless. But this gross misdiagnosis distorts the hope that the teaching of Christ's Word brings. This academic's criticism o Christianity fails to distinguish between worthless, and, the vastly different concept of, unworthy. No person - irregardless of their size, location, environment, or development-stage (SLED), is worthless. On the contrary! Every person - irregardless of their abilities, intellect, achievements or potential - is of immeasurable worth and always has a divinely appointed purpose from their Maker!
Too many times as a pastor I have seen a parent not take their spiritual responsibilities seriously enough. When this happens there is an almost predictable peril that creeps in. Such other lesser, but none the less still, serious matters are also treated flippantly. They begin to neglect their spouse and thereby cease taking their marriage vows seriously enough. They begin to neglect coming to the house of God together as a family seriously enough (note Hebrews 10:25) and instead thereby teach their children that God isn't really that important and His Word shouldn't be taken so seriously (Deut. 6:7; 11:19). They begin to compromise in ways that causes them to turn to self-made idols for comfort and to calm their nerves and thereby negate their witness to their neighbours and broadcast to the world that everything they had previously told them about God being their Saviour and Lord was just a joke (2Cor. 3:2; 2Tim. 4:2).
Have you ever beaten yourself up? You know, scolded yourself for being so far less than perfect? As a recovering auto-beater, I have a few tips for those who still practice self-beating. All of these tips are based on the words: do your best. The problem with this expression is that the perfectionist actually hears something unattainable which means they haven't heard it all!
Have you ever been afraid to start something or even trysomething because you thought you wouldn't be good enough? Chances are you a closet-perfectionist. Perfectionists need to understand: There is a world of difference between being the best and doing your best. We can't all be "the best". But we can do our best. And sure, we could always do better than what we've just done, but doing your best involves elements such as- at this time, with what you have, and according to what you know at the time. At a different time, you might do the same thing differently and perhaps better. But when you did it, you didn't have a different time at your disposal (those who sit exams know what I'm talking about). Similarly, when you did what you did, you did it with what you had at your disposal (remember your first car?). And, perhaps you know more now than you did at the time you did what you did. But most of life's actions were done by people who were exercising what they knew at the time rather than what they were going to know! (You might have to talk with a seasoned parent to understand what I'm talking about here.)
"He came to my desk with a quivering lip,
It's remarkable to survey the lives of outstanding people and notice how they finished their life-races. Some people live great lives and achieve great things but don't finish well (note King Hezekiah). Others, like the Apostle Paul, start off their race being legalistic and destructive. Despite Paul's Damascus Road experience it seems he was still a prickly character. He fell out with his mentor. He offended his travelling companions. His relationships with several ministry colleagues became so tense that wanted nothing further to do with and did all they could to slander him. Paul's return fire is recorded in the annuls of Scripture for all to read. But we observe something extremely unusual about this mysterious man. The older he became, the sweeter and softer he became. After beatings, betrayals, abondonments and slandering, he had every reason to be a grumpy old man.
As Paul got older it seems that his reverence for Christ grew. But something else was happening in the heart of Paul. In the earlier stages of his ministry he describes himself as-
From "Jesus" to "Christ Jesus our Lord". From "super-apostle to "foremost sinner". I can't help but think that these two trends are connected. The older Paul got the more he grew in his depth of relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord. As the depth of this relationship grew he invariably became increasingly aware of his true position before the One he would finally describe as King of kings and Lord of lords (1Tim. 6:15 - which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords).
Something transformational has happened in the heart of Paul. His estimation of Christ has grown immeasurably. As you get older, is yours? Secondly, he estimation of himself became more accurate. To the spiritually unfamiliar, it might sound like he suffered from an increasing lack of self-esteem and was sorely in need of a boost. But to those familiar with descent of maturing discipleship, it is perfectly inline with what happens with all who grow in their surrender to the Lord of Glory. For Paul, his lowering estimation of himself was not a bad thing or even a thing to be corrected, it was a fruit of his commitment to lay his down and "decrease" so that Jesus would "increase" in his life (John 3:30).
This relationship, like a natural relationship between parent and child, is not the result of the child's efforts. Those who teach that people must do certain things to have a relationship with God clearly do not understand the indispensible role of God and His grace to make this relationship possible. But those who confuse relationship with God with fellowship with God similarly do not sufficiently understand the grace of God.
No person or their efforts can add any value to God or His worth! This is because God has aseity. This is the quality of 'needing nothing' not merely in the sense of 'contentment', but in the sense of absolutely complete, self-sufficient. God doesn'tneed mankind, neither does He need mankind's permission, invitation, petition, or direction. God alone has aseity. Then why has been gracious to us? Because of His great and infinitely undeserved love toward us. Consider this truth the next time you hear someone declare that God can't do something (bring revival, heal a sickness, save a soul) because people are not letting Him / inviting Him / praying enough / worshiping long and intensely enough ... and then compare these appeals with what the Bible actually teaches about God's grace and His aseity.
Accepting God's grace is the only means of being made right with God. This is where God reaches out to a person who is spiritually 'dead' (that is, infintely estranged from Him) and enables them to be reconciled to Him (Eph. 2:1-5). This is why it is utter self-deception for a person to believe that they acceptable to God without ever being reconciled to Him by a received act of His grace.
If we can only be brought into right relationship with God by His grace, then it sounds logical to say that our relationship with God could never be established, sustained or enhanced by any of our efforts. Many very popular preachers have built their ministries on this apparent Biblical fact of grace. The grace of God which brings a person into relationship with God has nothing to do with our performance - it is despite our performance! If you are trying to convince God that He made the right decision in forgiving and saving you by performing a level of religious devotion and service within the Church you are going to burn yourself out, suffer misery, and languish in self-loathing. May Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in 1:17-18 be my prayer for you - that the eyes of your understanding might be opened to the wonderful work of God in saving you. But God's grace doesn't stop with your salvation. God's grace enables you to fellowship with God. And I suspect that this is what many so-called "Grace teachers" confuse when they fail to make the distinction between relationship and fellowship.
I have a relationship with my wife. It's called marriage. Fortunately, for me, she's also my bestess friend. But when I neglect her, ourfellowship is strained. Restoring my fellowship with her requires intentional time, focus, sincerity, listening and talking, and taking a renewed interest in her. Fellowship is not performance-based but it is the result of the choices we make and the level to which we are prepared to sacrifice those things that detract from it. Thus, when a Pastor urges his congregation to forsake compromise, engage more with the Scriptures in their private devotions, spend more intentional time in prayer, make sacrifices to attend Sunday church services, he is not preaching "salvation by works", rather he is pointing out what always hinders a believer's fellowship with God and shedding light of God's grace onto how this can be addressed. Even his ministering of the Scriptures highlighting each of these exhortations from the New Testament is itself a work of grace in his hearers' souls. To claim that God's saving grace means that a believer never has to work or strive to develop their fellowship with God is to ignore those Scriptures which plainly state that working (Eph. 2:10) and striving (Luke 13:24; Rom. 15:30; 1Cor. 14:12; 1im. 4:10) are indeed required in following Christ (as distinct frombecoming a follower of Christ).
The idea that followers of Christ are exempt from keeping God's laws because they have been saved by grace is called "antinomianism" ('against the Law'). The Law was never designed to save a soul. The Law's purpose was to reveal the glory of God. When the first of the Ten Commandments thunders that there are no other gods but the True God, it is giving due glory to God. When the Law statutes against murder, it is reinforcing that God's image and glory are seen in those who bear His image. Thus, the Law reveals what falling short of the glory of God looks like (Rom. 3:23) and brings a person to recognise their sin and thus their need for God's forgiveness.
One final thought for those who are sharply criticising those of us who make this distinction between between relationship by God's grace (Eph. 2:8-9) and fellowship empowered by God's grace (Eph. 2:10; 2Cor. 9:8). Do you realise how you sound when you ridicule/mock/denounce preachers like myself when you do so on your blogs, Facebook walls, and YouTube channels? I personally find it bizarre that often the most viralent promoters of divine grace are too often quite among the most ungracious toward those they disagree with. The venom and nastiness with which they promote the love, kindness and grace of God while attacking those who call for holiness is quite literally disgraceful. Surely the measure of how much a believer appreciates God's grace is seen in how they they display that same grace to others?