John Blog 2

While there are countless things that the Gospel of John has to offer for readers even today, there are two things that have been on my heart during this read-through of John. The first is how Christians are supposed to be servants and the other is the importance of intimacy with God. Part of being a servant in God’s eyes is to love one another. Through love, the gospel of Jesus Christ is able to come alive to a person.
Turn to John 13 and what do you read first? The very first thing s that come up in verses one through twenty have Jesus’ intimacy with his disciples “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Jesus, the Son of God, took of his outer robe and washed his disciples’ feet.
After He finished washing their feet Jesus said this, “You call me teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them” (verses 13-17).
When I was a kid I remember first learning about when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. The name of the church was Mountain View Bible Church and I was in the basement at Sunday school. The pastor’s wife taught us that day. She had us take off our shoes and socks and she washed each of our feet telling us the story of when Jesus did the same. Today that memory sticks with me not because it was a good way to teach us about being a servant, even though it was. Rather it sticks with me because it was the pastor’s wife who served us.
Later on in John 13, Jesus gives a new command to his disciples “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love fore one another” (verses 34-35). Then in chapter 15, Jesus continues to talk about love, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (verse 12). How well did Jesus love the disciples? He called them and walked with them. He ate with them and taught them. He prayed for them and he died for them.
If Jesus asks us to love others the way He has loved us then there should be no limit to our love for others. It is easy to hang out with them and eat with them. It can be easy to learn from them or to teach them. Of course it can be hard to learn from them or to teach them. Do we love our Christian friends enough to pray for them? Most likely. Do we love our Christian friends enough to die for them? Maybe a few of them.
Jesus hangs out with us all of the time. He loves us when we are in a good mood and when we are in a bad mood. How many times do we turn from friends when we are in a bad mood or when they are in a bad mood? Isn’t it easier to walk away from them? This reminds me of a song by Chris Rice called “Sometimes Love.” The chorus goes “Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand…” You know what, that is love. If “love” is not willing to do that then one must question if what is going on is really love.
One thing that I really enjoyed during this reading is something that I noticed about a year ago when I read John was the extent that Jesus prayed for his followers. In my spiritual walk last year I was struck at how Jesus prayed for those who had not yet been born. What I was thinking was how amazing it was that Jesus prayed for me. It is amazing, the more I learn about Jesus, the more I know what I am supposed to be like. More importantly, the more I learn about Jesus the more I love Him.