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Monday, 11 April 2011

Day 28 - Love Wins

Posted on 04:32 by Unknown
Today's reading is from John 13: 21 - 38

The night of Jesus' arrest - Maundy Thursday - he washed his disciples feet. From the text it's clear, that means he washed Judas' feet also. The lesson of washing feet came at an important time. It was one of the last clear lessons he disciples received from Jesus. When it was over he declares....

John 13:21 (NIV)
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."

A dark shadow comes into play here. Jesus knows what Judas is about to do. It does not make Jesus deviate from his decisions of what to do next. He treated Judas as he treated the other 11, with dignity and honor, washing his feet also. Judas is ruled by his own desires, his own sense of rightness, and the "truth is not in him". The others at the table are not aware of what Judas is about to do. In the style of Jesus' mysterious way of teaching, he leaves it wide open...Judas receives the foot washing, and also receives the bread and cup...along with the others. But, even in the midst of these deliberate acts of Christ, Satan still comes into Judas.

John 13:22-30 (NIV)
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.
23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.
24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means."
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
26 Jesus 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.
27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him,
28 but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.
29 Since 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.
30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.


"And it was night" is an apt description of what is going on in Judas. He is a traitor, and he will soon do his deed, only to feel the remorse of it all and end up committing suicide. He makes his own choice. We must not say God destined him to do these things; nor should we say the devil made him do it. He turned his back on Jesus, and he gave himself over to do Satan's desires. At this point, evil wins.

The work of Jesus is not deterred. John 13:31-35 (NIV)
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.
32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."


Evil will not be gone from the earth...the creation is corrupted and it groans under the weight of it's sin and corruption. God knows that and so he sent his Son into the world to redeem it. The curse is being reversed. Satan is still real, but he cannot win. Love wins. God's glory is still that which outshines the darkness. God's glory is in Jesus' death on the cross. He goes up against evil and he defeats it. Sin, death, hell are overturned in the great act of God's love.

And so, we have this commandment...Love. In love we show the world that evil cannot win. In love we most demonstrate that Christ Jesus rules over our hearts and minds, our desires and our will. In love, we defeat the enemy of God who seeks to destroy, but cannot, because Love wins!

Peace

If you're reading along in the-Bible-in-a-year with me, we begin reading 1 Kings 1 and 2 today.
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