August 23, 2023
Looking Back And Seeing The Circumstances
“From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. 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 13:19-20 (NASB)
I used to give advice to our children about certain things as they grew up. On one occasion, my daughter wanted to date a boy from school. Something did not add up about the boy. He worked with her at an ice cream shop after school. One day while he and she were working, I noticed he did something I considered disrespectable to a woman. If you are an adult man or woman, you have an idea of what I mean. I asked him, “Hey. What are you looking at?” He said, “Excuse me sir?” I said “Listen, I was a boy too. I know what you are doing.” “I am her father.” He took off into the back area. I told my daughter it was not a promising idea for her to go out with him. Luckily, she listened. Father’s know. When my daughter got older we were talking one day and I said, “Remember that kid that you wanted to date in high school?” She said, “Yup, he was a loser.” It was nice to know I saw a potentially bad situation and was able to warn her of the potential problems. This furthered trust in my judgment for the future.
From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.” Jesus wanted to make sure the disciples faith was solid. He told them He already knew of one who would betray Him. This way the disciples’ faith would not be damaged by what was coming. It would also help the disciples understand Jesus knew everything. He is God. They would look back as time went by and remember Him foretelling of the events. Note in this passage Jesus uses the word “I am,” twice (the word “He,” does not appear in the Greek text) at the end of the passage. “The link is likely to be through the preceding mention of the disciples’ belief in Jesus as ‘I Am.’ Just as this belief about Yahweh had qualified Israel before them to be servant-witnesses (cf. Isa. 43:10–12), so now it qualifies the disciples for their mission as witnesses to Jesus. The saying reflects the notion of the agency of an authorized representative, so that the disciples, on their mission as the accredited agents of Jesus, represent Jesus himself and all that he stands for, just as Jesus fully represents the Father who sent him.”[1] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” This authenticated the disciples’ mission. Whosoever received them in the gospel ministry would be receiving Jesus. Their mission would not end just because there was a traitor in their midst. “The connection here seems to be that despite the dishonor done to Him by Judas, and similar treatment awaiting themselves, they were to be cheered by the assurance that their office, even as His own, was divine.”[2] Then, nothing could stop the gospel.
Jesus knew those who were bad and those who were good. His advice? Stay away from the bad ones, and take the welcome of those who wish to greet you in Jesus’ name. When they do, they honor God. Thinking back now, I never knew what happened to the kid who wanted to date my daughter. She later married a good young man. But I grilled him before she married. He eventually asked for her hand in marriage, but I took some time before answering. She is mine and I wanted to protect her from harm, just like Jesus wants to do for us today…
[1] Lincoln, A. T. (2005). The Gospel according to Saint John (p. 374). Continuum.
[2] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 154). Logos Research Systems, Inc.