“I am not referring to all of you; I
know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He
who shared my bread has turned against me.’ I am
telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe
that I am who I am.
Very
truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts
me accepts the one who sent me.” After he
had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you,
one of you is going to betray me….”
…Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! (John 13:18-21 & 36-37)
In other passages detailing this evening, we’re told that the disciples started arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greatest. I believe these statements provoked that dispute. Imagine sitting at a table with a bunch of your closest friends, listening to the man you believe is the Messiah, and He says, “one of you is going to betray me.” What’s your automatic response?
I suspect I would look around the room, to try to figure who could do such a thing. I suspect you would be looking around the room with the same goal. Our eyes meet, each with the same question, “Is it you?”
And your immediate reaction would be just like mine, “No, not me. Can’t be me, after all, I’m one of the twelve. I’m one of the special ones. I would never betray Him…” I even wonder, given my own tendency to think the worst of myself, whether I would be more vigorous in my denials because I fear my own weakness. Would I? Could I? “No, I’m one of His greatest disciples.” Of course, you would know me. We’ve been friends for at least three years. You know what I wreck I am.
Then Jesus tells them He’s leaving. Again, the natural response, either He can’t go, or I have to go with Him. No matter what. Even if it means dying. And Jesus tells us the truth. It might not be before the cock crows, but we will all deny Him, fail Him, fall short of His standards over and over.
How freeing! I’m not saying any of us should ever want to either betray or deny Him. But notice what Jesus did not do. He did not sick the other disciples on either man. He didn’t reject either man.
This passage disturbs me, because I am sure that I would have failed Jesus somehow, just like Judas and Peter. I am sure that I will still do so. Some people think we should keep quiet when others are promoting behaviors we believe are wrong. How dare we judge? To me, those people are telling me to deny or to betray Jesus by rejecting His teaching on the subject. They are also telling me to not love the person I’m telling because it’s more important that the other person is comfortable and happy than that they know that they are betraying or denying Jesus, and that such has a cost that is more than they should be asked to bear. But Jesus didn’t hesitate to tell the disciples about the worst that they would do. It didn’t stop Him from loving them either.
…Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! (John 13:18-21 & 36-37)
In other passages detailing this evening, we’re told that the disciples started arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greatest. I believe these statements provoked that dispute. Imagine sitting at a table with a bunch of your closest friends, listening to the man you believe is the Messiah, and He says, “one of you is going to betray me.” What’s your automatic response?
I suspect I would look around the room, to try to figure who could do such a thing. I suspect you would be looking around the room with the same goal. Our eyes meet, each with the same question, “Is it you?”
And your immediate reaction would be just like mine, “No, not me. Can’t be me, after all, I’m one of the twelve. I’m one of the special ones. I would never betray Him…” I even wonder, given my own tendency to think the worst of myself, whether I would be more vigorous in my denials because I fear my own weakness. Would I? Could I? “No, I’m one of His greatest disciples.” Of course, you would know me. We’ve been friends for at least three years. You know what I wreck I am.
Then Jesus tells them He’s leaving. Again, the natural response, either He can’t go, or I have to go with Him. No matter what. Even if it means dying. And Jesus tells us the truth. It might not be before the cock crows, but we will all deny Him, fail Him, fall short of His standards over and over.
How freeing! I’m not saying any of us should ever want to either betray or deny Him. But notice what Jesus did not do. He did not sick the other disciples on either man. He didn’t reject either man.
This passage disturbs me, because I am sure that I would have failed Jesus somehow, just like Judas and Peter. I am sure that I will still do so. Some people think we should keep quiet when others are promoting behaviors we believe are wrong. How dare we judge? To me, those people are telling me to deny or to betray Jesus by rejecting His teaching on the subject. They are also telling me to not love the person I’m telling because it’s more important that the other person is comfortable and happy than that they know that they are betraying or denying Jesus, and that such has a cost that is more than they should be asked to bear. But Jesus didn’t hesitate to tell the disciples about the worst that they would do. It didn’t stop Him from loving them either.
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