Jesus predicts His betrayal
John 13:18-30
18″I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'[b] 19″I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. 20I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” 21After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.” 22His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”25Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 26Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.”What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him, 28but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. 30As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
Seldom do any of us know what is going to happen before it occurs. We are generally not privileged to have foresight, but instead are burdened with 20/20 hindsight. Sometimes, because of Jesus’ divinity, we think He was omniscient because He was fully man and fully God. Besides bringing salvation to fallen man, Jesus came to show us God, to show us God’s heart, and to teach us how to live our lives before God and with man. Jesus gave us the example of praying always and it was through prayer that Jesus learned who would betray Him. How terrible it would be to sit at a table with someone who had been your friend, knowing that you would soon be betrayed by that same friend.
What can we learn from the above scriptures?
- Jesus knew His time was short, and He spent the last night with His disciples, His friends.
- Jesus tells His disciples of future events so that when His predictions come true His followers would finally realize who He is
- Believers would accept His disciples because they were sent by Jesus, and they would accept Jesus because He was sent by God.
May we follow Jesus’ example always by keeping our friends close and by learning God’s heart through prayer.
God chooses Moses
God Chooses Moses
Exodus 3:1-12 (New American Standard Bible)
Exodus 3
The Burning Bush
1Now Moses was pasturing the flock of (A)Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to (B)Horeb, the (C)mountain of God.
2(D)The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a (E)bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
3So Moses said, “(F)I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”
4When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, (G)God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
Have you ever been going along, minding your own business, and suddenly a life-changing moment occurred? This is what happened with Moses. You will remember he had fled Egypt twenty years earlier after killing an Egyptian for cruelty he witnessed toward a slave. Now he was shepherding his father-in-law’s flock and he witnesses something quite miraculous–a bush that is on fire, yet is not consumed by that fire. Even more startling was the voice coming from the bush that called Moses by name.
I love that when God called Moses He called him by name. It was a personal call, and God had a specific plan for his life and for his mission. And Moses, though not completely convinced he was the man for the plan, answered “Here am I.”
God did not call Israel because they were special, He called them to be special. The plan to deliver Israel was a microcosm of the larger plan to redeem the world through a chosen people. God desired to use Israel as a beacon of light to the world, to show that there is one God and His name is Yahweh, and to share His salvation with the rest of the world. It was the nation through whom our Savior would come, it was to be a nation of priests, and of missionaries to the rest of the world. He began by calling Abraham and waited until he and his wife Sarah were far beyond the age of child bearing to begin to fulfill His plan. The plan continued through Isaac and now God was calling Moses.
May you listen to God’s call upon your life, and may you choose to say “Here am I, send me.”
Jesus washes the disciples’ feet
Jesus washes the disciples’ feet
Jesus came to save the world
I came not to judge the world, but to save it.
All men are drawn to Christ
Jesus Predicts His Death
John 12:20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27″Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
34The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ[f] will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
Have you noticed there are some people who seem to know the reason they were born from the time they were small children? Then, there are those who more or less fall into the path they take on this earth. Jesus is one of those who knew His destiny early on. I often wonder just when Jesus became aware of who is was and what he would have to do. I imagine by the time he was twelve and teaching in the temple God’s plan had been revealed to him.
Jesus knew the reason he left his throne in heaven–he knew the life he would live, the friends he would make, the disciples who would follow, and those who would not. And now, as he neared his death, he knew the agony that would soon be his, but the glory that would be his Father’s. May we continue to glorify the Father and the Son by seeking holiness and turning away from the darkness, and into the glorious light.
Two hundred feet ahead
Ribbon of road stretches
toward tomorrow, night
looms larger, vision
impaired, but car
lights illumine
the path
before me, and
I can see clearly
two hundred feet ahead.
Ribbon of life stretches
toward the unknown,
precarious, ever
changing, vision
impaired, but
God delivers
me through
the dark shadows,
for He can see clearly
the pitfalls ahead.
If I can depend on car
lights to transport me
over potholes and around
the next bend, how much more
can I depend on my Savior,
whose vision is limitless
whose love never ends.
God is always with me
of that I am sure,
the need to know
unimportant,
the need to see,
petty somehow, faith’s
headlights shine the way
before me, and I am
two hundred feet closer now.
(c) 2009 Carol J. Grace
Seeking Holiness 