The Last Words of Jesus

 

Most people who know they’re going away for a very long time, or that they’re going to die, don’t waste their time on trivial things. They call in friends and family, they try to settle quarrels with estranged friends and relatives, and they talk about the things they consider most important.

John chapters 13-17 record the Last Supper and Jesus’ ‘high priestly prayer’ for his disciples prior to his betrayal and execution. Although the cross was not the end for him, these events marked the beginning of his departure from his disciples. Their relationship would never be the same again, and they were going to have to get used to no longer having him around. Jesus was never one to waste words, but here he emphasizes and re-emphasizes certain things in such a way that we should view them as supremely important.

First, he exemplifies humility, selfless love, and service in washing his disciples’ feet - even the feet of his betrayer, Judas - and commands them to follow his example in their treatment of one another. He returns to this theme later, urging his disciples to “love one another,” and even tells them that that this type of selfless love will be the distinguishing characteristic of his disciples in the future. Not the doctrines they hold to, or even the content of their preaching, but their treatment of one another:

 

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:35

This stands in sharp contrast to what Jesus tells his disciples about the last days in Matthew 24:

 

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” - Matthew 24:9-12

Here, Jesus tells his disciples that, as the pressures against Christians mount in the days before his return, many of them will turn on one another and even betray one another to death. For this reason, he commands them to remain devoted to one another, and even says that their steadfast love for one another will confirm them as his true disciples in the eyes of all around them.

Christians need one another. If we act in selfless love, we have the ability to help, encourage, and strengthen one another. For some in the last days, the presence of other Christians will probably be the primary factor in sustaining their faith in the midst of tribulation.

As the author of Hebrews writes:

 

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:23-25

This is more than an admonition to “go to church.” It’s a directive to engage in genuine, edifying fellowship. It has to do with surrounding oneself with a network of believing support.

The second thing Jesus emphasized was the abiding presence of God and the promise of being with Jesus in the kingdom. The author of Hebrews tells us that it was “for the joy that was set before him” that Jesus endured the cross. In other words, he went through the horrors that he did because he knew that something better awaited him on the other side: the redemption of his bride, his return to the Father, and, ultimately, the promise of the kingdom. In a similar way, Jesus tells his disciples to remember that, even though he is leaving them, he will eventually return and take them to be with him.

Thus, no matter what awaits them, the disciples have something to look forward to, something worth believing for. Jesus also emphasizes his unity with the Father in all of this so that his disciples will understand that his word to them has the Father's own authority behind it—it’s the true and faithful promise of God.

 

“...and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.” - John 14:24

In the meantime, Jesus tells them that, even though he is physically leaving them, the presence of God will still remain with them in the Holy Spirit. They will not be left alone. In fact, the Spirit will teach them and testify to them about the things of Christ. This will be vital for the disciples, as Jesus has already warned them of deception in the last days (Matthew 24:4, 23-27). Indeed, Jesus refers to the Spirit as “the spirit of truth” (John 14:17).

The third thing Jesus emphasizes is the necessity of “abiding” in him by practicing his teachings. He compares the disciples to branches that must remain attached to the vine in order to have life and bring forth fruit. He promises that those who abide in him will “abide in my love” and “bring forth much fruit.” After this, he once again reminds them to love one another. The emphasis on unity here underscores the fact that believers are a community, a “body” through which Christ carries out his works in the world. There are certainly individual aspects to the Christian life, but the business of bringing forth “much fruit” will come from united communities of believers, growing together in their connection to the vine and supporting one another.

Fourth, Jesus emphasizes that the world will hate his disciples for the same reason they hated Christ: his word convicted them of their sin. He warns them of this persecution in advance in order to prepare them to face it:

 

“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them.” - John 16:1-4

The word translated “stumbling” here is the Greek word skandalizo, which means to trip over an impediment, the way you might trip over a rock and fall. Jesus warns his disciples here so that they can mentally prepare themselves to face what is coming, grounded in his truth, led by the Spirit, and standing in unity.

 

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer; for I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

Jesus then prays to the Father in John 17, underscoring these things he has taught his disciples, and entrusting them to the Father's care. He does not ask that the Father take them out of the world, but rather that he sustain them while in it:

 

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” - John 17:15

As we look forward to the coming of the Lord and reflect on what he said the last days would be like, we need to meditate on these ‘last words’ or ‘parting words’ in John 13-17. Our strength to overcome in the face of deception and persecution will depend on our standing in the unity of love, fixed on the promises of God in Christ, led by the Spirit of Truth, and continually deriving life from the vine that is Christ as we practice his teachings and bring forth their fruit.

 

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” - John 3:20-22

 

"Your Faith has Saved You. Go in Peace."

 

My favorite book of the Bible by a wide margin is the Gospel of John, but my favorite story in the Bible is found in chapter 7 of Luke’s gospel. In this story, Jesus is dining at the house of a Pharisee named Simon. While Jesus is reclining at the table with his host and the other guests, a woman comes in, falls down at Jesus’ feet, and begins to weep. She anoints Jesus’ head with perfume from an alabaster box, washes his feet with her tears, kisses them, anoints them with more of the perfume, and then wipes them with her hair. When Simon sees this, he thinks to himself that Jesus can’t really be a prophet, because if he were a prophet, “he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” Given the way this is phrased, I assume the woman must have been either a prostitute or else was known for being “loose,” as my parents’ generation would say.

Jesus, being aware of what Simon is thinking, presents him with a parable concerning two men who owed money to a lender. One of them owed 50 days’ wages, while the other owed 500 days’ wages. When the men were unable to pay, the moneylender forgave them both. Jesus then asks Simon, “which of the two will love him [the moneylender] more?” Simon replies, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

Jesus confirms that Simon has answered correctly, and then says this to him:

“Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with perfume. For this reason, I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he is forgiven little loves little.”

Then Jesus said to the woman: “Your sins have been forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

There are two things I would draw your attention to here:

First, this woman was notorious in her community for being a “sinner,” someone with whom no one decent would be caught dead. In spite of this, she came to Jesus and found forgiveness. Maybe tonight you feel as though you are so filthy Christ could never stoop to love you. If so, remember this woman. Jesus had a reputation for hanging out with people who were less than respectable. In fact, his enemies called him “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” To this, Jesus replied, “It is not the healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:12-13). In Luke 19, when he dines with a tax collector named Zacchaeus, who turns to him and promises to reform his life, Jesus comments: “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

If you’re a wretch, an outcast, despised and sick at heart, he came for you.

Second, notice that Jesus commends the woman for her faith. But how did she show faith, you might wonder. She’s not recorded as saying anything.

The woman showed her faith in coming to Jesus in humility. It was the job of common servants in those days to wash the feet of a guest, and this they would have done with water and cloth of some type; but this woman washed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You can’t humble yourself much more than that. Further, she anointed Jesus with a type of expensive perfume, likely given to her by one of her “clients,” or else purchased with money she had made in her trade.

She came to Jesus because she knew who he was. As the Pharisee Nicodemus said, “We know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” The woman knew that Jesus had been sent by God. Further, Jesus had forgiven sins on a number of occasions, and had been castigated for it by the Jewish leaders. Jesus was preaching a gospel of “repent and believe,” and this woman exemplified both. She regretted her past and wanted to be reconciled to God, and she knew Jesus was God’s chosen. She showed her faith by recognizing him for who he was and what he could do. On another occasion, in Matthew 9, two blind men came to Jesus, asking him to restore their sight. Jesus asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” These men believed in both who Jesus was and what he could do. The woman in Luke 7 showed the same faith.

Further, Jesus emphasized that, because he had come from God, with the authority of God, all who accepted him also accepted God:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send, receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me.” – John 13:20

Here’s the point of all of this: No matter what you’ve done, how dirty you feel, and how badly people may treat you because of your past, no matter how much you might want to shy away from him, Jesus came for you. If you want to be forgiven, turn to him openly, showing that you know who he is and what he can do for you. Your faith can save you, too.

“Come unto me all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Matthew 11:28-29

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

Because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives,

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set free those who are oppressed,

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” – Luke 4:18-19