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We are
getting close to Yeshua’s final days that are
recorded by John. You will recall that many of
the more religious Jewish people had arrived in
Jerusalem several days before Passover, to get
ritually clean by being sprinkled with the water
that contained the ashes of the red heifer, and
by washing their bodies and clothes, and perhaps
fasting and praying.
By this
time, after three or four years of serving the
Lord in the presence of Israel, Yeshua had made
a tremendous impact on the entire nation. Everyone
knew about the young miracle-working prophet from
Nazareth, and many of these more religious Jews
were seeking Yeshua, curious if He would come
to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, since they
knew the Jewish leaders were trying to arrest
Him.
Yeshua
too, had reentered Judea early. Six days before
Passover Yeshua came to Bethany - which was only
two miles from Jerusalem - where Lazarus was,
whom Yeshua had raised from the dead. They made
Him a supper there in the home of Simon the leper,
and during the meal, Mary took a pound of exceedingly
costly perfume, and poured it on the Messiah’s
feet, and wiped His feet with her hair - out of
love and utmost devotion for good and courageous
Rabbi Yeshua, who she believed to be the Messiah
and the Son of God; out of gratitude for healing
her brother Lazarus, and because Mary alone seems
to have understood the Rabbi’s prophecy about
His death, and believed Him, and wanted to prepare
Him for His burial. And because of this, Yeshua
said that Mary’s deed - a mixture of consummate
humility, great love, deep sorrow, outstanding
faith, and profound understanding, should always
be told and remembered - as it has during this
age.
The next
day, some five days before Yeshua’s final Passover,
the large crowd - hundreds, perhaps thousand of
these more religious Jewish people, when they
heard that Yeshua was coming to Jerusalem, took
the branches of the palm trees and went out to
meet Him, and began to greet Him with the words
from Psalm 118, "Hoshe-ah-nah! Please save us!
Save us now! Baruch HaBa b’shem Adonai - blessed
is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even
the King of Israel." We welcome You to Jerusalem,
Yeshua of Nazareth, and acknowledge that you are
the Messiah that God sent to deliver us, and that
you are the rightful King of Israel! We wave these
lulovs - these palm branches, as part of our joyous
welcome! We come to meet you in this way because
we believe in You!
Yeshua
found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written
in the book of the prophet Zechariah, "Fear
not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey's colt." By riding on
this young donkey, and not on a white horse like
a triumphant conqueror, in fulfillment of this
very specific 500 year old prophecy, Yeshua affirms
that He is indeed the King of Israel, but a humble
King, coming the first time in weakness, with
humility, to suffer and die, in order to reconcile
mankind to God.
There
were also some Greeks present - Gentiles, God-fearers,
among those who were going up to worship at the
holiday, who wanted an audience with Yeshua. They
too were interested in the amazing young Rabbi
from Nazareth, who seemed to love everybody, and
wanted more contact with Him.
But, instead
of meeting with them, Yeshua responded by declaring
once again that He was about to die, but He was
willingly doing so, knowing that many other human
beings - Jews and Gentiles, would be enabled to
be reconciled to the God from whom the whole world
has been estranged, and that all those who would
follow Him must follow His example, and be willing
to put their duty to God above the conveniences
of their life.
Then,
in one of the few times in human history, God’s
voice spoke from Heaven, acknowledging Yeshua
before these human beings, commending Yeshua’s
life and accepting His act of sacrifice.
These
things Yeshua spoke, and He went away and hid
Himself from them - because this ends Yeshua’s
public service to Israel as their Rabbi and Teacher
and Healer. Sadly, the majority didn’t respond
as they should have, and He will, in just a few
days, be arrested, suffer greatly, be unfairly
condemned, and then die - and He knows it.
And, in
a short commentary, in which you can sense John’s
disappointment in his people, this great sha-lee-ach
(emissary) summarizes the nation’s response to
Messiah Yeshua:
But
though He had performed so many signs before them,
yet they were not believing in Him. There
was plenty of evidence - supernatural evidence,
that could only be interpreted to mean that Yeshua
was God’s Messiah. This was to fulfill the
word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "Lord,
who has believed our report? And to whom has the
Arm of the Lord been revealed?" It’s
exactly as Isaiah, 700 years ago, told us - in
chapter 53, one of the most powerful Messianic
prophecies, that the majority of Israel wouldn’t
believe in the Messiah.
Why wouldn’t
we believe, in spite of so much overwhelming evidence?
For this reason they could not believe, for
Isaiah said again, “He has blinded their eyes
and He hardened their heart, so that they would
not see with their eyes and perceive with their
heart, and be converted and I heal them"
- quoting the book of Isaiah, chapter 6.
I don’t
believe that God blinded the people arbitrarily,
or harden our hearts capriciously, because we
know that He wants all men to be saved and come
to a knowledge of the truth.
I think
He blinded us so that we couldn’t see the Messiah,
and hardened our hearts, much as He hardened Pharaoh’s
heart - as punishment, after Pharaoh had already
hardened his own heart. Sin leads to more sin.
Unbelief leads to more unbelief. To everyone who
has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance;
but from the one who does not have, even what
he does have will be taken away.
But, not
everyone totally rejected Yeshua. Nevertheless
many even of the rulers believed in Him, That’s
good. But there is a “but” - but because of
the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for
fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
for they loved the approval of men rather than
the approval of God. Some leaders did believe
that Yeshua was the Messiah at this point, before
His death, but their belief wasn’t what it should
be, what it needed to be, what it must be. It
wasn’t the kind of belief that would stand up
boldly for the truth, that would withstand human
disapproval, that would courageously go against
the majority.
I would
say that this “secret believer” kind of faith,
that denies Him before men, wasn’t the genuine
kind of faith that saves anyone. But, perhaps,
some of these leaders, after Yeshua’s death, and
His incredible resurrection, were willing to publicly
identify with Yeshua, and come out and declare
their faith in Him, so that they could be saved,
and set an example of true faith. We know from
the book of Acts that many leaders and priests
did become Messianic Jews in the following decades.
There
are some final and very important words of Yeshua
to these people that are recorded for their benefit,
and for us: And Yeshua cried out and said,
"He who believes in Me, does not believe
in Me but in Him who sent Me.
When you
have faith in Me, the Messiah, the Son of God,
and place your trust in Me, and have confidence
in Me, you are really trusting and having faith
in God the Father, because He sent Me to do and
say all that I have done and said.
To recognize
that someone, like Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Jeremiah,
was a genuine prophet who God sent, and was speaking
God’s message, and to heed that message, was to
have faith in God. But Yeshua goes much further
than any of the prophets when He says: He who
sees Me sees the One who sent Me. When you
take a good look at Me, and understood who I am,
then you are actually seeing God Himself, because
I am Immanuel - God with us. I am the Word made
flesh - God in human form, dwelling among you.
I am the Son of God - the exact representation
of God, the perfect copy that is visible to humanity.
I am the visible manifestation of the invisible
God.
Now, my
friends, can you imagine Father Abraham, or Moses
our teacher, or Joseph the Excellent, Daniel the
Wise, or Jeremiah the Faithful, ever saying anything
like that? Of course not! For them, it would be
blasphemy, but coming from the lips of Yeshua,
it is the truth!
Yeshua
continues: I have come as Light into the world,
so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain
in darkness. This entire world made up of
human beings remains in the deepest darkness -
cursed with the curse, engulfed by sin and death,
chaotic and confused, lost and dying, alienated
and estranged and at war with God, without hope.
But Yeshua brings God's Presence, and wisdom,
truth, revelation, understanding, knowledge, victory
and salvation and eternal life. Instead of the
curse He brings blessing. Instead of chaos and
confusion He brings truth. Instead of sin and
death He bring life and forgiveness. Instead of
alienation and estrangement He brings peace and
reconciliation with God. Instead of hopelessness
He brings true hope. That’s reality my friends.
That’s the truth that every human being must embrace.
We must believe Him!
But, if
anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them
- and that would be a terrible, terrible tragic
mistake, I do not judge him - now; for
I did not come to judge the world, but to save
the world. The world made up of human beings
was already judged, and found totally lacking,
and condemned. I came to help. I came to save
and rescue that which was already lost and ruined.
He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings
- and that would be a terrible and tragic mistake,
has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what
will judge him at the Last Day. For I did not
speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself
who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what
to say and what to speak.
So, what
is going to happen is that on the Last Day, on
the great Day of Judgment, each and every one
of you will appear before the Great White Throne,
and there you will be judged. And you will be
judged on the basis if you have listened to, believed
and obeyed the things that I, Yeshua of Nazareth,
have said to you. Why? Because My words are the
very words of God Himself, and are absolute truth,
and the only thing that can save you! The infinitely
holy and powerful Creator of the Universe, My
Father, sent Me here to planet Earth, and told
Me specifically what to say to you, which I have.
Everything that I have said to you was from God.
All of this was His plan, and His words, and so
to reject Me and My words is to reject God. It’s
as simple as that.
And, the
opposite is also true: I know that His commandment
is eternal life; God has made it one of the
mitzvahs of the universe- a holy commandment that
can not be broken, that all those who listen to
Me, and embrace Me and My words, and keep them,
will be saved, and live with God, and with Me,
and with the righteous of all the ages, and with
the holy angels, in the New Heavens and the New
Earth, forever and ever, in a glorified, resurrected
body. They will be forgiven, atoned for, every
tear will be wiped from their eye, and they will
experience never-ending joy and unending bliss.
Therefore
the things I speak, I speak just as the Father
has told Me." I am faithfully and accurately
communicating to you the very words of God! So,
don’t reject Me and don’t reject My sayings! Don’t
make a terrible, tragic mistake and lose out on
everlasting life, and face the judgment of an
angry God whom you have offended!
Now, the
scene changes. Yeshua has less than 24 hours to
live. If you had only one day to live, what would
you do?
Now
before the Feast of the Passover, Yeshua knowing
that His hour had come that He would depart out
of this world and return back to the glories
of Heaven, back to the Father, having loved
His own who were in the world, He loved them to
the end. In other words, John is telling us
that Yeshua loved His disciples fully. He loved
them completely. He reached the goal for which
love strives. Yeshua had loved the disciples throughout
His time on Earth with them, and He will demonstrate
the fullness of His love for them in the events
of this day.
John,
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, continues
setting the scene for us: During supper
- so they are in the middle of their Passover
Seder, the devil having already put into the
heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to
betray Him - so, Satan, the head of the fallen
angels, had already been at work in the heart
of Judas, and Judas, cooperating with the Devil,
had made plans to betray the Messiah.
Yeshua,
knowing that the Father had given all things into
His hands, and that He had come forth from God
and was going back to God... So, John is informing
us that Yeshua fully understood that He was the
Son of God, and that He had been given all authority
in Heaven and on Earth, and was the Lord of all
things in the universe. And He knew that He had
eternally shared the glory of God, and was soon
returning to again share God's glory, in Heaven,
at God’s right hand. So, knowing all this, He
ordered His disciples to serve Him, right?
Of course
not! We know the answer: He got up from supper,
and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel,
He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the
basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and
to wipe them with the towel with which He was
girded - a task that would normally be done
by a servant. The Lord of Glory, the One
through whom the entire universe and everything
in it, was made, and is sustained, acted like
a common household servant or slave, and washed
the feet of His disciples.
But not
everyone present appreciated their Rabbi setting
such an example of humility and servanthood and
sacrificial love. So He came to Simon Peter.
He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?"
I don’t think so my Lord! Not my Rabbi! Not
the One who so many in Israel, myself included,
believe is the Son of David, the Messiah, the
King of Israel (and I also believe that You are
the Son of the living God), who will soon lead
Israel’s and defeat our enemies!
Yeshua
answered and said to him, "What I do you
do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter"
- after My death, when you comprehend that I have
come the first time, not to lead great armies,
and defeat the Romans, but to suffer and die,
setting an example for My followers.
Peter
said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!"
I don’t care what You say Rabbi, there is absolutely
no way that you are washing these feet! I am refusing
your embarrassing and undignified offer to wash
my feet!”
I like
Peter! He wears his shirt on his sleeve. You know
exactly what he thinks. Unfortunately, like many
of us, he thinks that he is wiser than the supremely
wise Son of God, and that his thoughts are higher
than Yeshua’s thoughts. But the realty is that
the foolishness of God is far wiser than our very
limited wisdom.
Well,
you don’t give the Lord ultimatums! Yeshua
answered him, "If I do not wash you, you
have no part with Me." Peter, you in
particular are one of the leaders of the Apostles,
one of my 12 specially chosen men, who will sit
on one of 12 thrones ruling over Israel. It is
essential Peter, that you learn to be my kind
of leader - a servant-leader.
Simon
Peter said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only
my feet, but also my hands and my head."
OK Lord, if that’s the way it is, and you are
so insistent, and the consequence of refusing
you are so bad, then I want it all - even more
than You mentioned at first! Lord, I’ll take 200
percent! Give me the works!
Yeshua
said to him, "He who has bathed needs only
to wash his feet, but is completely clean;
No Peter, I don’t need to wash your hands and
head. You have already been cleansed because you
have been washed by following Me. O, you haven’t
always understood everything the way you should,
and you have made some bad mistakes, and you will
make others, but you have bathed yourself in Me
and My word, and so you are basically clean. You
just need a little freshening up now and then,
and so when you dirty yourself, and make mistakes,
and sin, and you are not living the way you should,
come to Me and I will clean you right up once
again. Come to Me and I help you get a fresh start.
O, I like that my friends. That’s glorious good
news, isn’t it?, because none of us consistently
live the way we should.
But not
everyone present was a true follower, who had
been cleansed. There was one who appeared to be
clean, but all along he was dirty. And you
are clean, but not all of you." For
He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this
reason He said, "Not all of you are clean."
So
when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments
and reclined at the table again, He said to them,
"Do you know what I have done to you? You
call Me Rabbi - Teacher and Lord; and you are
right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the
Rabbi, washed your feet, you also ought to wash
one another's feet. For I gave you an example
that you also should do as I did to you. Truly,
truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than
his master, nor is one who is sent greater than
the one who sent him. I am so much greater
than you, my disciples. If I can conduct Myself
this way, as a servant, with sacrificial love
and humility, you certainly can too. If you
know these things, you are blessed if you do them
- so make sure that you don’t hear them and forget
them. Make a conscientious effort to humble yourself
and serve those around you. Consider no task to
be too low for you, too demeaning, and below your
dignity. If the Lord of the universe can conduct
Himself like this, you can too!
Yeshua
continued speaking to them: I do not speak
of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen
- and the one I did not choose; but it is that
the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats my
bread has lifted up his heel against me.' Just
as David, from whose royal line I come, was betrayed
by one who was close to him, who he ate with,
who he trusted, so I am. From now on I am telling
you before it comes to pass, so that when it does
occur, you may believe that I am He. Remember
later that I knew this! I am not being taken by
surprise! God is in control, and this terrible
betrayal is fulfilling His plan. So, always be
loyal to Me. Remain faithful to Me!
Truly,
truly, I say to you, - so pay careful attention
to what I am about to say, but it is based on
absolute truth, and is utterly reliable - he
who receives whomever I send receives Me; and
he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."
You eleven will come through this. You will remain
loyal and faithful. I will send you out into the
world with My message, and those who embrace you,
My emissaries, will embrace Me, and I am joined
forever to God. There is a divine chain, from
God the Father, to Me His Son, to you My emissaries,
to the rest of the world. And that is very good
news, my friends, isn’t it?
Have you
received the message of the Emissaries?
Let’s
pray:
Our Father
and our King, thank You for the light that is
shining through Yeshua, and that He brings Your
Presence, and wisdom, truth, revelation, understanding,
knowledge, victory and salvation. Help us to live
in such a way so that we benefit by the truth
that He brings.
Thank
you for the Emissaries, that they were faithful,
and gave us the true teaching of the Messiah.
Help us
to learn from this lesson, but not think too highly
of ourselves, but to understand that if He who
is the Highest could willingly lower Himself to
be a servant, we can too.
Thank
you for the cleaning that comes from embracing
Yeshua - the initial bathing that takes place
when we turn to You, and the subsequent cleansing
as we confess our sins.
Help us
to be more loving, faithful loyal servants, and
please extend your salvation to the ones around
us, especially our friends and family.
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