It’s Nice When Somebody Goes with Us
During this time of Lent, we’ve been going through Christ’s journey to the cross. Two weeks ago, we talked about knowing where our treasure is and Mary’s anointing of Jesus with the expensive oil. She knew where her treasure was. Last week we discussed Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem and many of the people missed out on who Jesus was. They were expecting a different kind of king.
This week we’ve made it to the first Last Supper.
Jesus got up from supper, took a towel, poured water into a bowl, and began washing His disciples’ feet. He explained that this act of service was an example of how we should treat others. He even washed the feet of Judas who was going to betray Him.
This act of washing feet was done by the lowest of servants. Jesus told them that He—as their Lord and Teacher having done this—was an example of what we should do for others. There are a lot of ways that we can wash people’s feet.
Be willing to “wash people’s feet”.
At this last supper that Jesus shared with His disciples, he knew that one was going to betray him. At this point it wasn’t too late for Judas to turn back and ask for forgiveness … but he didn’t. If we’re still living we have the same opportunity. We can repent and ask for forgiveness.
Don’t wait too long to repent and ask for forgiveness.
This meal was a Passover meal. It commemorates death passing over the homes with lambs’ blood on the door posts in Egypt. Jesus held up the bread, representing His body broken for us. Then He held up the cup. Reminding us of His sacrifice He made for us. Without eating and drinking we will perish.
Accept the gift of His body and blood so you don’t perish.
We need to remember these acts and the promise that comes with them.
There are hundreds of words in the English language that use the prefix re-, which mean “back” or “again.” Some examples are reject, recede, reduce, reflect. returning, revert, rearrange, rejuvenate, regenerate, and recapitulate.
For instance, when you reject a plan, you throw it “back.” When a man’s hair recedes, his hairline continues to move “back” as he loses hair. When you reduce the amount of money you spend, you lead it “back” to a smaller amount. When light reflects off a surface, it bends “back.” When you are returning home from an outing, you are turning “back” home. And when a criminal reverts to being good again, he turns “back” to morally upright behavior.
Another primary meaning of the prefix re- is “again.” For instance, when you rearrange the furniture in a room, you arrange it “again” into a different configuration. A marathon runner can become rejuvenated or etymologically made young “again” by sleeping and eating after a long race. Some newts regenerate limbs once they’ve lost them; that is, they grow them “again.” When a teacher recapitulates something she’s just taught, she goes over it “again” by summarizing it.
If we remember the covenant that Jesus made, we become a member of His followers again.
Remember this covenant He made with us.
Another thing to remember is that He is with us on the journey of life. Even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Jeff gave an example of the importance of remembering in the children’s message. He shared a story of when he was in his mid-teens and his uncle, who was five years older and like a brother to him, died at twenty. In his loneliness and missing his uncle, Jeff asked God how He could let something like this happen. He did not hear any answers. In the silence, Jeff ran away from God for a few years.
Over time he figured some things out. One of those things was that…
The teacher is silent during the test.
Tests are a part of life, and we need to be willing to take them. Just because we can’t hear the teacher when we’re taking tests, doesn’t mean they’re not there looking over us.
In James 1:12 it says, “A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
There are some hard lessons in life. But if we use the things the Teacher has taught us and remember that even in His silence He is with us, we will pass the test.