Jesus Serves, Prepares, and Prays (John) - 01/26/20
What do we know?
What is your favorite story? Who is your favorite character in any story? Why are they your favorite?
Now, who has ever heard of Disney World? Who’s been? Walt Disney was one of the greatest visionaries to ever live. He and his brother started Disney in 1923 to create and tell animated stories. Over the years Disney, as a company, grew because of the focus on storytelling. We may know Disney now as a huge company with theme parks, TV channels and many, many movies, but it all started from a man's desire for people to experience a story. Walt was known to invest in the people who were creating and delivering the stories that made Disney famous.
Right now, we are reading part of the greatest story of all time - the story of Jesus. When we read the Bible and grow to know more about the story God has been weaving, it becomes our story. We are not separated from the Bible - we are a part of the story. As part of the story, we play a part, have a relationships with other biblical figures, and are connected with the ultimate creator of the story.
Stories have different components but they all have a beginning and an ending. We started John with “In the beginning” just like in Genesis. John didn’t create the story, he is telling it. He is in it. Stories can have heroes and they can have villains. Jesus is the hero in the Bible and in our story. We have a God who stepped down out of heaven to take care of salvation and provide the necessary preparation and instruction to be and make disciples until He returns.
The Big Idea: Jesus Serves, Prepares, and Prays
Jesus has spent 3 years with the disciples. They were witness to all He did. We know this since we have their writings and investigated accounts. He taught and spoke to many. But the disciples we know were more than just followers. He counted them as friends. Not just any friends but the closest of friends. Now is the time for Jesus to make sure they are ready for what is to come.
In John chapters 13-17, Jesus is closing in on the end of His earthly ministry and he has to make sure the disciples are ready. These few chapters, in my opinion, show us how important He held the disciples to be and how much He cared for them. John tells us in 13:1, “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.” Loved them to the end. Jesus’ love encompassed them and we can be confident it does the same for us who love Him.
Service requires care
What does it mean to serve? Why do we serve? Service is an act where we are not focusing on ourselves but on others. Jesus came in the flesh to serve and give Himself up as a ransom (Matthew 20:28). What Jesus shows us in John 13 is what the heart of a true believer looks like - it’s willing to be humbled to serve. A good way to think about humility and humbleness is this - it is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.
Jesus washed the disciples feet. Think about that. Everyone took off their shoes and socks and Jesus put on rubber gloves then took a scrub brush and cleaned their feet. Wrong! The only thing correct in the previous sentence was Jesus cleaned their feet. They didn’t have shoes and socks, just sandals which would let all the dirt and ick on the ground get on their feet. People then were not walking on sidewalks and paved roads. It was dirt, sand, and whatever ground they walked on. Rubber gloves? Yeah, no. Bare hands. Scrub brush? No again. Bare hands.
What Jesus showed the disciples (and us) was that service to one another requires us to put aside any thought of glory we may get in those acts of service. We are to serve without the possibility of praise, or honor, or recognition. We serve because we are called to serve. Hear what Jesus says to the disciples in John 13:12-16 after He was finished. “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.’ ”
When we think about our service to others, are we considering doing things that put us face to face with people or just giving a few bucks here and there? Hear me when I say giving money is a great way to help. Money is necessary to both individuals and groups. Having a heart for service is having one that isn’t locked in a safe with the money you want to hold on to. This goes for our efforts also.
Service with care means that our will to serve comes from a changed heart that wants to change hearts. It is obvious and it shows in outward efforts of our faith. Matthew 5:16 tells us, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Glory be to God, not us. God’s care is the greatest anyone can receive.
Preparation requires action
What are things you prepare for? What do you prepare for on a daily basis? If you play a sport, how do you prepare? It can feel like we are always preparing for something. I am preparing to write as I write other things and prepare to teach weekly. You are preparing for tests as you prepare a paper as you prepare for your next game. This doesn’t mean our lives are full only with preparing. You write your paper and turn it in. Gameday comes and you do your best. Our doing, though, is dependent upon our preparing. The last test you did poorly on, how much did you prepare? If little to none, you found out the value of preparation.
Jesus spent 3 years with the same guys. Not meeting for breakfast on Saturday to talk about the week. Not to watch the game on Sunday. They were together everyday, with the exception of times Jesus sent them away to proclaim the kingdom (Matthew 10:5; Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1). Throughout this time, He was preparing them for the time when he would not be there in the flesh.
When you have a limited amount of time to teach and help to understand what was taught, you focus on what is most important. John’s gospel differs from Matthew, Mark, and Luke by showing us instances of intimate teaching we don’t see elsewhere. All of Jesus’ teaching is important. He proclaimed large, important ideas to groups and multitudes of people that are vital to truth. His teaching to the disciples, just He and them, were critical. They were going to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8) and take the gospel to the nations.
What actions did Jesus tell the disciples to take in this final night as a group? We already covered how he modeled serving, so what else? What He taught to them can be grouped into three actions - Obey Me, Trust Me, and Imitate Me.
Obey Me
Love one another 13:34-35, 15:12-14; Keep my commandments 14:15; Keep my word 14:23-24; Abide in me 15:4-5 (9-11); Remember my word 15:20, 16:1-4
Early in the gospel of John, we see Jesus assembling His crew - the disciples. He doesn’t do this through threatening words or coercion but by invitation (John 1:39,43). We as mere humans, subject to the sin in the world and challenges around us, are skeptical. Especially in this moment in history we can have a hard time determining our allegiances. If left to ourselves, without the gospel, we can easily pick what seems good for today then change to pick what seems good for tomorrow, even if it is not beneficial for us. We would go from one idea to another without a consistent foundation. This is why the truth of the gospel is so so important.
Jesus taught us that we should love our neighbor (Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18). We hear this, preach this, but have a hard time living it. Not all people around us are “lovable”. These could even be people in your own family. What does it mean, then, when Jesus gives a new command to love one another just as Jesus loved them (John 13:34-35)? Love your neighbor was a simple standard all can strive to do. Love one another just as Jesus loved us makes Jesus the standard for “how” we love. To what extent, meaning how far will you go to love your brothers and sisters in Christ? The cross? This is the model Jesus is leading to obey (John 15:13).
“You are my friends if you do as I command you” (John 15:15). Kind of hard to avoid this cause this leaves us only two options - we can be Jesus’ friend or not. What do we need to do to be Jesus’ friend? We do what he said (commanded) to do. When has a friendship in this world depended on doing all that another person said? We don’t tend to look at those as friendships. We see those as toxic relationships. So how does doing all Jesus commanded not make for a toxic relationship? Because He is God. Following Jesus means we want to do as He has instructed, even the commands we see as impossible. This is why we depend on Him in all things. There is a very popular verse in Philippians 4:13 where Paul writes, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” which isn’t always used properly in context. All that Jesus commands us to do, even the things that seem impossible to us, when we are satisfied (content) with Him. To put it plainly, when He is our ultimate love, His commands are easy to follow because we need nothing else to make us happy.
Trust Me
Don’t be troubled, believe in God, believe in me 14:1; Have peace and give peace 14:27; Take heart 16:33
Trust. That means to hope for the best but expect the worst, right? You ever heard that phrase? That’s not trust but people use it anyway to lower expectations and avoid being disappointed. It's a way for us to not get our hopes up. The gospel is not that way. The gospel says trust what the Lord has done and will do. This trust isn’t an expectation that since we love Jesus we will only have sunny days and easy times. Jesus tells us the opposite in our reading of John 13-17. He doesn’t do this to scare us. He does this because he knows the truth prepares us and so we trust in Him.
There are three words connected to the meaning of trust - confidence, faith, and hope. Jesus is going to be leaving soon, and we know it isn’t for a vacation. His earthly ministry is done. Even though He has poured into the disciples for three years and revealed all He was told, they are still uneasy. So what does He do? He gives them confidence, faith, and hope. He tells them not to be troubled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this!”
Imitate Me
Do the works I do 14:12; Ask me 14:13-14; Go and bear fruit 15:16;
We are imitators. We may think we are original but we aren’t. We are a collection of things we have learned from other people. So the question is, are you learning from people who know the Lord and work to imitate Him, or are you learning from the world?
In another letter by John, 3 John, he tells us in 1:11, “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” The word imitate in this verse is the same Greek word used in 1 Corinthians 11:1 where Paul writes, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
As imitators of Jesus we need to know what He said and did in order to do as He did. Will we be able to grant miracles and perform signs as he did? Or even as the disciples did? For the large (large) majority of us, probably no. Then what do we do? We give grace, show mercy, teach scripture, pray, and make the gospel known.
Prayer requires relationship
What do you think I mean when I say relationship? In the least, 2 persons have to have knowledge of one another and have met. At its best, those 2 persons will have spent significant time together being vulnerable with emotions, true with words and care, and giving and gaining trust. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the least and 10 being the best, where do you think each of the disciples fit in their relationship with Jesus? I’d guess that several would be high on the scale with 8 or more. Judas Iscariot was probably low. He walked around and spent time with Jesus but did he really have a strong relationship with Him?
How about you? On a scale of 1 to 10, where are you in your relationship with Jesus? If you are a believer of Jesus, it is because He has given you His saving grace from your belief in Him. Our salvation is individual meaning He saved me or He saved you, not He saved my dad so I am also saved. I say all of this to talk about prayer and specifically the relationship with Jesus in prayer.
In John 17, what is commonly called the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus is praying to the Father after He finished His teaching to the disciples. From what we can tell, Jesus is still with the disciples when He is praying to the Father. He just finished giving final instructions and teaching to them. He had told the disciples they are His friends since He has revealed all that the Father told Him (John 15:15). Now, Jesus is
There are 2 things I want you to notice here - Jesus’ relationship to the Father and to the disciples. Throughout John we see Jesus telling us He does nothing unless the Father says, does, or commands it. When we know Jesus stepped out of heaven, the statements He makes about being one with the Father make sense. We can be challenged by their meaning and significance because we are mostly accustomed to having interactions with people around us. Our prayer life is so important and it is also challenging. What we can rely on, as Jesus portrays in His prayer, is we have a heavenly Father prepared to hear.
Remember, the disciples are still with Jesus. They are hearing this prayer. When we read through John 17, and put ourselves in the place of the disciples, we hear the Lord speaking truth and giving us confidence. And I don’t mean confidence like “You can do it if you try!” or “I know you’ll do great!”. I mean confidence that we who proclaim Jesus’ name and put our trust in Him are His. Here are several things He says that gives me great confidence:
I am praying for them. (v 9)
All mine are yours (v 10)
Keep them from the evil one (v 15)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth (v 17)
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world (v 24)
Our friendship with Jesus is greater than the friendships we have on earth. Our friends care for us, laugh with us, and help us when we need it. Jesus cares for us also. He made the truth known to us. He prayed for us. He responds to our prayers. And, He became a sacrifice so we can have a life eternally with Him. It’s hard to imagine in our “right-now” life what our eternal life will be because we can’t see it. What we know from scripture though is it will be greater than anything we have here and now. What we can be doing right now is to talk with Jesus more. Pray to Him. Thank Him. Give all to Him.
Now what?
Part of being a disciple is learning, which we do on Sundays and throughout the week on our own. A disciple that is making disciples is always learning. Part of this message was about preparation. We are always in a state of preparing and we are always doing. It would seem like we are a people who are going non-stop and struggle to prepare cause we are always doing. There’s truth in that. But like God calls us to rest, we need to prepare. Prayer helps us to prepare. Scripture helps us to prepare. One of my favorite verses is 1 Peter 3:15 which says we should “always be prepared”.
I’d love to be prepared for everything. I’d love for you to be prepared for everything. We can get better the more we know Jesus who will prepare our minds, our hearts, and our efforts.