Yes! There is Good News! April 5, 2019

I was looking at a scripture yesterday that got me to thinking. It is not an unusual or obscure scripture but one that should be quite familiar. It is found in the Gospel of John chapter 14:1. But before I type it out, let’s fill in a little background.

Jesus has just spent approximately thirty-three and one half years on this earth. Of those years, He has been with the twelve apostles for about three and one half years. When we get to chapter 13 of John we encounter Jesus partaking of His final Passover on this earth and the twelve are gathered around Him.

I’m not sure if the events leading up to this Passover were any different than the others He had spent with the twelve, but He alone knew that this would be a very special Passover; He would be the true Passover Lamb – “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

He had been giving the Apostles clues about what was to happen. Four times in the book of Matthew He mentions to them that He would have to suffer and be crucified (16:21, 17:22, 20:18 and 26:2), but they never really comprehended His words. And now in the book of John 13:1 we are told, “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.”

It is appropriate for us to examine this part of scripture at this time of year, for we are only about 3 weeks from the time of Passover. The next line in John 13:1 reads, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.” Wow!! The full extent of His love!! And it is that line that leads me into the scripture that I was about to type at the beginning of this article.

Jesus is confronting His imminent death – a most torturous, hideous and painful type of death - death by crucifixion. But at this last Passover meal, His thoughts are upon His disciples and not upon Himself. He takes time to comfort His friends. John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many abodes; if it were not so would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”

Jesus had just washed His disciple’s feet. He shared a meal with them and He brought forth the symbols of His own life – the bread (“Take and eat; this is my body.”) And the cup (“Drink from it all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant.”)

And so He now takes advantage of this precious time with the twelve and begins to teach them some of the most profound things He could ever share with them!! (Read John 14, 15, 16 and 17) And yes, He begins by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled”. I am reminded of the words of a song, “Hallelujah, what a Savior”.

Yes, there is more to come on this subject