What would you do if you knew you were going to die?

John 13

Jesus knew that in less than 24 hours he would be dead. On the road to his crucifixion He would be beaten, whipped, spat upon, ridiculed, denied by friends and betrayed by another. What would you say to or do with your closest friends if you knew this was going to happen to you?

Jesus was consistent in nature and character. He ate with them then showed them the way to love each other, serve one another. Jesus began His last night of ministry before His death with a meal, a Passover meal. The Passover was a celebration of the Jews to remember God’s deliverance from slavery. A lamb was slain and his blood poured out on the house so that death might “pass over” them. Jesus was showing He was the final “Passover Lamb” through him, the slavery of death was defeated. His shed blood would cover our sin of this human house; that shed blood gave us access to the presence of God the father so eternal death no longer is a threat to those who follow Him.

Love those who do not love you! Even the Gentiles love those who love them. Those were some of Jesus’ words as he walked with his disciples. After the final meal together, Jesus knelt down as a servant, and washed the feet of the disciples, including the feet of Judas. Would that be your response to someone who betrayed you? Peter wrote that God’s desire is that none should be sent to hell but that all would come to repentance. I believe Jesus’ showed Judas the love that He had for him, in the hope that He would remember that love even after he betrayed Him. Freewill can be a problem. God is sovereign and in His sovereignty He gave man freewill. One had to be chosen to be the betrayer but I do not believe that meant that He was destined for hell. God’s desire is for “none” to go to hell and that included Judas. Jesus lived love before him and Judas rejected it. Jesus cared enough for His betrayer to show him unconditional love in His last few hours.

After displaying acts of love, Jesus was very clear with His disciples as to what He expects from all of His disciples, including you and me. Love one another! He showed us how He expects us to act toward each other, with servant’s hearts. He commands that we live a life of loving one another. Many times we will “share” the Good News with others but Jesus is challenging us not just to share with words but actions as well. People will see our actions and judge our relationship with the Lord by them. If you have children they are judging whether this life with Christ is real or not by our actions and reaction. Do we live at peace in our homes? Do we love others or talk about them? Are we afraid all of the time or do they see that we believe the Lord is in control. Are we nasty and unforgiving or do we walk out forgiveness everyday? These are the things our children and others who are closest to us see in our lives and determine if our faith is real.

Are these the things you would be living and saying if today were your last day on earth? None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Live each day as if it were your last. Plan as if you will live another 100 years. Our lives need to be examples to all people all the time, of God’s great love. Jesus gave us that example, even the night before His death, so let’s live it each day.

Tomorrow John 14