John 13:1

 

John 13:1 says, Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.  Jesus and His disciples were together for supper before the feast of the Passover.  We are told in verse one that Jesus knew that the hour was at hand when He would pass out of this world unto the Father.  We are also told that having loved His own in this world, He loved them to the end.  The disciples were His closest followers, and He was preparing them for His departure.  We can be sure that God through the Holy Spirit will always be with us to prepare us to better serve Him.  He will love us and be with us in this world until the end.  Verse two adds, And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;   We find that the devil had put it in the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus.  Again, we can attempt to portray Judas as a misunderstood person who wanted to force Jesus to become an earthly king, but he was simply a man who gave into the Devil. We can be sure today that not all who profess to be Christians really are. Some are in it for their own reasons.  Verse three states, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God. Verse four adds, He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.  Verse five concludes, After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Jesus knew that the Heavenly Father had left everything in His hands and that He had come from the Heavenly Father and was going to return to Him.  We as Christians did not come from heaven, but we will one day go there to live forever.  Jesus girded Himself after supper and began to wash the disciples’ feet.  He was teaching them that they should be humble and serve others, and so should we.   Verse six states, Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?  Peter asked Jesus if He would wash his feet.  The implication is that Peter thought it would be beneath Jesus to do so.  We need to understand that Jesus Christ came to earth not to be a physical ruler but a spiritual one.  We should learn to be as humble as He was.   Verse seven adds, Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.  We may sometimes question God because we don't know what is going on in our life, but we should always accept by faith that He does.  Verse eight continues, Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.  Peter told Jesus that He wasn't going to wash his feet.  When we start to tell God what He can or cannot do in our life, we have a problem.  Jesus, in the same verse, told Peter if He didn't wash his feet, then Peter had no part with Him.  We must accept what God is doing in our life without questioning Him if we are to have a part with Him. Verse nine says, Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.  Peter said to not just wash his feet but all of Him.  We may sometimes feel that we deserve more of a blessing than God has given us, but we need to simply accept what God gives us graciously.  Verse ten adds, Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.  Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are completely clean, but when sin enters us again, we must let Jesus wash that spot clean.  Verse eleven continues, For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.  Jesus knew who would betray Him, so He said not all were clean.  God will always know our heart. 

 

 

John 12:45

John 12:45 says, And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. Jesus said that those who saw Him saw the Father.  We need to realize that when we come to Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, we no longer need to question Who God is or what He is like.  We have to recognize Him as the God of love and redemption.  After God created man, He did not say that He had created something evil, but something good.  Still, He gave man a choice about serving Him, and when they chose to rebel against Him, He no longer walked in the garden with them.  Sin separated man from God, but Jesus came to walk with them again and restore the fellowship. Verse forty-six adds, I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.  Jesus said that He came to bring light into the world, and we need that light today more than ever.  Sin brings darkness to our spiritual life, but because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we do not have to abide in that darkness.  Verse forty-seven continues, Jesus said, If any man hears my words and believeth not, I judge him not: for I have come not to judge the world, but to save the world.  If Jesus didn't come to judge the world, then why do we attempt to?  Our calling is not to judge, but simply to proclaim salvation. Verse forty-eight declares, He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.  We are told that those who reject Jesus will be judged by the Father on the last day.  Again, Jesus did not come to condemn, but to save. Verse forty-nine adds, For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.  Jesus says He didn't speak of Himself, but the Father gave Him a commandment that He should speak.  Verse fifty continues, Jesus says, And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak.  The commandment that Jesus gave was that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  This is the commandment that we must follow.  We will break the Ten Commandments, and through Christ, we will have forgiveness.  We cannot break or ignore the One He gave and have hope.  We must come to the Father through the sacrifice of the Son.  There is no other way. 

 

John 12:42

John 12:42 says, Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.  Many among the chief rulers believed on Him, but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.  That is a really sad commentary, to believe in Jesus, but not confess it to the world.  Some of the religious leaders did believe, but they would not confess Him because of fear of what others might think or do. There are people today who believe that Jesus was Who He said He was but refuse to acknowledge it because of what their peer group might say.  When we truly believe in Jesus as our Savior, nothing will stop us from confessing it to the world.  Verse forty-three adds, For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God, We are told that they did this because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.  If we love anything more than having a relationship with God, we can never really be His servant.  The problem at times is that the world promises us praise, and God calls us to service, so that one day, He will give us His praise.  Verse forty-four continues, He that belieth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me.  I have heard people say that they believe in Jesus, but not in the God of the Old Testament, but the God of the Old Testament sent Jesus as Redeemer, and they are One.  We cannot divide God and decide to accept part of Him and not all.  We need to proclaim our belief in Jesus to the world.  We cannot be His followers and let the world have power over us, whether it be from fear of rejection by our peers or fear of the rulers of the world.

John 12:37

John 12:37 says, But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: We are told that though Jesus did many miracles before them, they didn't believe in Him.  We have records of many of the miracles that Jesus did, but we do not necessarily have a record of all. According to this verse, He had done many miracles that they had seen.  Even if we have seen God perform a miracle in our life, we have not seen anywhere near all the miracles He is performing in the world today.  Like the people in Jesus' day, even when people see a miracle today, many still do not believe. Verse thirty-eight adds, That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord be been revealed?  John cites this as the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:1, which says, "Lord, whom hath believed our report?  And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?  When God's people, who knew the Scriptures, didn't believe His word, then He removed Himself from them.  If we today, as His followers, don't believe His word, then we cease to be effective witnesses.  Again, John did not immediately that day see this as a fulfillment of prophecy as if he were checking off a list.  We today can fall into a thought pattern where we try to check off prophecies to determine when Christ is coming again. We cannot force world events determine the return of Christ, but we can put faith in His return. Verse thirty-nine continues, Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,  Verse forty states, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.  Verse forty-one adds, These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. John again cites Isaiah as saying God hardened their heart and blinded their eyes to Him.  Again, God has never stopped anyone from coming to salvation, but He does allow them to harden their hearts and turn a blind eye to Him.  Again, this is my belief about the Scriptures.  Man always has and always will have free will to accept or reject salvation.  

John 12:34

John 12:34 says, The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?  The people still did not understand the true nature of the Messiah. People today easily miss the true nature of God. He is a God of love and mercy, but many would try to make Him a God of anger and wrath. After Jesus referred to His death, the people were attempting to fit Christ, the Messiah, into their understanding of the scriptures.  People today attempt to use the Scriptures to validate their beliefs, even when those beliefs are against the true teachings of the Scriptures.  They were citing a part of the Scriptures but ignoring the parts that referred to His death.  Verse thirty-five adds, Yet a little while the light is with you.  Walk while ye have the Light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not where he goeth.  Jesus, the Light of the world, was going to be with them but a while longer, and they needed to use this time to learn as much from Him as possible.  We have the advantage that the Holy Spirit is with us at all times, so if we are walking in darkness, it is a deliberate choice to ignore God.  Verse thirty-six continues, While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.  Jesus again told them that while they had Light to believe in the Light that they might be children of the Light.  We are to be His children and shine His light into the world.  That is our calling today.  We, through the power of the Holy Spirit, are to shine God's light into a dark and dying world. After telling them this, Jesus departed from them.  We must always choose whether to believe in Jesus or not.  If we do, He will always be with us through the Holy Spirit, but if we don't, He will depart from us.  The choice is always ours. 

John 12:29

In John 12:29 says, The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. The people said that the voice of God was thunder while others said it was an angel.  When something miraculous from God cannot be denied, there will always be those who attempt to explain it away. Had they acknowledged that this was the voice of God, they would have needed to accept Jesus as Who He said He was.  If people cannot in some way explain away the miracles of God, they will need to accept Him. Verse thirty adds, Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Jesus said the voice came not for Him, but for those gathered around Him.  If God performs a miracle in our life, He does not have to tell us He did it, but for the benefit of those around us, we need to make sure that it is known that He did it.  Verse thirty-one continues, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the Prince of this world be cast out."  They may have still seen Jesus as only a carpenter's son, but He was indeed the Prince, the Savior, of this world.  Ever since Jesus came into the world, people have been attempting to cast Him out, but they will never succeed.  In verse thirty-two states, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.  Verse thirty-three adds, This he said, signifying what death he should die. They were seeking Jesus because of the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, but Jesus was saying by His death, burial and resurrection that He would draw all men to Him.  Death was not defeated just for Lazarus, which was a temporary victory, but for everyone for an everlasting victory.  We are drawn to Him in this life, and what we do here will determine how we face Him some day.  People may want to believe that everything ends with death, but Jesus was victorious over death for everyone for all time.  We just have to decide in this life where we want to live everlasting life.

John 12:27

John 12:27 says, Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?  Father, save Me from this hour:  but for this cause came I into this hour.  Jesus was taking on the sins of the world, so it is natural that His soul would be troubled.  When sin enters our life, our soul should be troubled.  When we attempt to make Jesus more God than man, we are making Him less than what He was.  He was fully human, subject to all the same temptations we are, but without giving in to them once.  He could look to no one for answers except the Father.  When we are in our deepest despair, we need to look to God for the answers.  Jesus knew He couldn't ask to be saved from Hie coming death, burial, and resurrection, because that is why He came.  If we know God has called us for a particular purpose, we don't need to pray that we won't have to follow, even if it leads us to death for God's glory.  Verse twenty-eight adds, Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. Jesus said, "Father, glorify thy name."  Jesus might have been troubled in His soul, but He never wavered in His determination.  We may be troubled as we follow Him, but we should never waiver in our dedication to God.  In the same verse, God responded.  He said, in a voice from heaven, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."  His name was glorified by the birth and life of Jesus and would be glorified again by His death on the cross and resurrection as Lord of all.  When we have doubts in our Christian life, we need to simply turn to God in prayer and listen for His answer.  We can always be sure that He will comfort and assure us.