City Life Starter

As we step into chapter 18 of the gospel of John, we come to realize that Jesus’ journey is coming full circle. He has given his heartfelt message to His disciples in the last few chapters. Now He will be betrayed, given an unfair trial, and sentenced to die on a Cross for sins He never committed.

John’s motive throughout his gospel was to show Jesus as being God, but also as being human. The heartfelt message of Jesus to His disciples prior to being betrayed is an outpouring of love and empathy that we may never truly know or understand. John remembers the words so clearly, even some 60 years after the fact, as He pens this gospel, that He feels spiritually led to put them in this book. It is a way to show us that Jesus never went to the cross unwillingly. Jesus went to the cross due to His love for us, His obedience to the Father, and His willingness to endure and understand our own personal temptations, sorrows, and trials.

Jesus took to the cross to be an example and a personal God who endured death so that we may be set free. Yes, John brings a personal touch to Jesus that the other gospels didn’t do. He wants us to empathize with our Savior as someone who truly cared and loved those whom He served. This makes chapter 18 so much more difficult to read.

Why should a loving, perfect, and sinless man have to die for us? Why did He die and love those who are His enemies? This love for us is pure, holy, and unselfish.

These few months as we finish John, do not read and listen to what John writes without truly contemplating what you may have forgotten, or missed. Put yourself in the shoes(sandles) of John and seek to fully understand the love that your Savior has for you. A love that never fades and never leaves. It is patience, kind, and full of compassion.

Jesus’ journey to the cross cannot leave our hearts and we should always remember why we serve and why we love our enemies. Forgive others because of He who forgave us.