Daily Meditations on the Bible
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,
Summary: Serving others is not limited to servants. We all serve somebody. Paul tells us to server wholeheartedly, and then he tells us why.
Continue reading “Ephesians 6:7 – Service, Please”
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
If I had been there with Jesus when he prayed this prayer before his disciples, I think I would have had mixed feelings at this point. The idea of being taken “out of the world” sounds rather intriguing. There are days when the idea sounds downright inviting! If you are old enough you might remember the tag line, “Take me away, Calgon!” from the 1970s. The bath powder was so delightful that it would take you away from all your problems. Out of this world, in a manner of speaking.
Staying in the world has its upside, too. Yet it can be tough. Being cast out of your social network, mentally bullied, intimidated, and physically beaten is no fun. All these things happened to the disciples after Jesus left. Yet even though he was gone, he did not leave them unprotected. Jesus prayed that God would “protect them from the evil one.”
What does that mean? What can the “evil one” do that is so bad? Why do we need protection?
Continue reading “Protection – John 17: 15”
None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
Judas is not generally a topic for discussion in polite Christian circles. The idea of having a traitor among Jesus’ disciples is repulsive to the mind. Yet, like everything else Jesus says, there is purpose and meaning in this sentence.
Jesus is talking with his Father with his disciples present. There is a lot of important information being relayed to God the Father, and the disciples are privileged to hear it. They are all listening intently. All except Judas that is.
Judas is off plotting with the Pharisees and Chief Priests to capture Jesus. He knows where Jesus hangs out, and he knows when he will be vulnerable and without the protection of the crowds. Apparently, the Pharisees and chief priests would not have been able to do this on their own. (I suspect that the reason for this is that even they had a sense of propriety about this. At some level, they could not be seen as actually hunting down Jesus. Having a disciple offer Jesus up, however, would be an entirely different matter.)
The person chosen to be a disciple and still betray Jesus to death had to meet a very special criterion. They had to be doomed to destruction.
Jesus does not elaborate on this point, but let’s apply what we know about Jesus and what he taught and see if we can make sense of this.
Continue reading “God’s Eye View – John 17: 12b”
Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
It is helpful to examine how Satan has been at work in Judas’ life. Back in verse 2, we are told that “…the devil had already prompted Judas.” In chapter 12, verse 6 John tells us that Judas was a thief. He would actually steal money from the disciple’s common purse.
Judas was a bad egg. He accepted Jesus’ invitation to be a disciple. He traveled with Jesus for three years. Yet he didn’t really see or hear Jesus. Instead, he was thinking about himself. One thing led to another and in the end, Judas became completely owned by Satan.
Dabbling in the darkness is dangerous. It opens the door to the things that live in darkness. Those spirits lead to dark thoughts and dark ways, and a fear of the light.
Continue reading “Door to Darkness – John 13: 26b-27a”
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Today’s verse is in between the verses that say Jesus “loved his own” and the Father had “put all things under his power.” Jesus has love and has power. All power. Even so, Satan “prompts” Judas.
“Prompt” is an interesting word. It can mean “incite” or “suggest.” In school, I used to enjoy the opportunities for acting that came my way. My worst fear as an actor was forgetting my lines. Having someone to “prompt” me was a comfort. In today’s verse, the comfort was all Satan’s.
He was nudging Judas. “Remember…” he seems to be saying. Remember what? John does not detail how Judas went to the chief priests and negotiated a price for betraying Jesus. The other three gospels to tell that Judas sought out the opportunity to betray Jesus for money.
There is an important lesson here. Judas could have balked at this point. He could have turned back from what he had done. He could have chosen a different path. He could have confessed. But it would have been very hard. He had already let Satan into his heart. Who knows how long he had been nursing resentment toward Jesus? Who can know why he was tempted in the first place? John tells us that Judas was a thief. (John 12: 6) Could his decision to be unfaithful in a little thing have led to being unfaithful in a big thing?
Continue reading “Prompting – John 13: 2”