Read John 16-18
As we read John 16-18, things seem to get a bit confusing,
especially John 17 for me. But there are three profound mysteries that are
contained within these chapters that will help us understand the love of Jesus
even further.
1) The first mystery can be found in John 16:33, as Jesus
states,
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Did you catch that? What looks like a beautiful statement
seems to have a contradiction. How can Jesus say that in Him we have peace, but
then RIGHT after that state that we will have tribulation? Jesus seems to
indicate that in the midst of tribulation we have a peace, as Paul states in
Philippians 4:7 that “surpasses all understanding” and “will guard [our] hearts
and [our] minds in Christ Jesus." The only caveat for this verse is that, in
order for us to have this peace, our Father had to send down His only Son, to
be tortured and brutally executed and lose His peace on the cross. The Son of
Man had to be broken into pieces in order for us to obtain true peace in this
world. This is the same Son who had all the riches and glories in Heaven. The
same Son who was being worshipped in heaven by the angels and lacked nothing.
As all of John 17 states, Jesus and the Father were one, and He gave up the
comfort of all his glory to come down in order to give us eternal life.
2) What exactly is this eternal life?
As John 17:3 states, “And this is eternal life, that they
know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”.
The second mystery is revealed in this! Often we believe
that eternal life begins when our lives on this earth ends. But Jesus seems to
indicate something particular here, that eternal life begins when we enter into
a relationship with Him. How could this be? Until we accept Jesus into our
lives, we are spiritually dead. We are basically, as a retreat speaker Brad
Cauley put it, walking zombies on this earth. But just as God spoke words and
gave the world life, it is the Word (who became flesh) that gives us life. Even
though God knows all of our sins of our past and all the sins that we will
engage in the future, He offers us a chance to actually experience life for the
first time.
3) Though Jesus knows our sins, He still loves us
unconditionally. This leads us to the third and final mystery that is contained
in John 18.
I always wondered one thing, how could Jesus love Judas,
especially when He knew that Judas was going to betray Him? One of the 12
disciples, one of His best friends is going to betray Him, yet Jesus allowed
Him Judas to be so close to Him, even though He knew that Judas was going to
lead Him to death. I often think about if I had a close friend, and if I knew
that they were going to shoot me. How would I react? I know that I would avoid
them because I knew my life would be in danger. But Jesus knew that in order
for the Scriptures to be fulfilled, He had to endure that pain; the pain of His
own disciple betraying Him. Often times, I also ask how Judas could betray
Jesus for just a couple of silver coins. How could anyone betray the Son of Man
so quickly? Then one day I heard something that really convicted me. The radio
said something along the lines of, “I am sorry Lord. Judas chose 30 pieces of
silver over you, while traded you in for far less.” I was instantly convicted
of all the times I chose to indulge in my sin rather than choosing Jesus. How
could God love me if I am much worse than Judas? And it is in that moment, I
stood in awe of the love of our God.
My brothers and sisters, the journey of our faith is not an
easy one. But when I look on the cross and see what the Son of God had to
endure, it makes our burden so much lighter. Let us continue to press forward
and remain in awe of the One who is awesome.
- Jijo Jacob
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