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Tara Leigh Cobble
Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Leigh Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. Today's reading is really similar to yesterday's reading. We covered the first half yesterday, so today we'll recap the last half. John's account of the Last Supper includes a detail no other gospels talk about where Jesus washes the disciples feet. This is the job of a servant or a slave to wash the filthy first century sandal wearing feet. Peter knows how humbling this is so he tries to refuse it. But Jesus is using this as an object lesson and humility is one of the primary points. So Jesus does it anyway. The other main point of the foot washing is to symbolize the way he washes away our sins. Which makes it so ironic that he does it even for Judas. But he clarifies this point for us by telling us in verse 10 that Judas is not clean. John tells us that Satan has already put it into Judas heart to betray Jesus. This idea of Satan putting something into someone's heart is terrifying, right? I've heard Tim Keller compare this to the strings of a grand piano. If you open the back and sing a note, the string of that note will vibrate. You can play the piano without even touching it. Just by communicating with it in the way that resonates. He says that's what Satan does to our flesh. He sings to our strings in a way that engages our sin nature. If we know our weak spots, we can be on guard against this. But Judas wasn't. He resonated with Satan's plan. Then he made the agreement with the officials. And here at dinner is where John says Satan entered into Judas. Judas succumbs to temptation. Still, Jesus trusts the Father's plan. He doesn't take matters into his own hands. He doesn't put Judas in a chokehold while he has the chance. He knows that evil must play out its role, but that what the enemy means for evil, God uses for the good of his people. Trusting God frees us up to love and even serve our enemies. Jesus serves even the one he knows will betray him mere hours later. Then he gives them a new command to love each other like he has loved them. This doesn't feel new though. God has always been telling his people to love him and love others. How is this new? Jesus raises the stakes by making it a willingness to lay down your life for your brothers and sisters in the faith. And given what he's about to say, the timing couldn't be more ironic. It turns out that Judas isn't the only tough relationship at the table in Matthew's account, Jesus says they will all turn their backs on him that night. Jesus says Peter specifically will have an even bigger role in this. He won't just turn away from Jesus. He'll outright deny him. Three times. He says Satan demanded to test Peter to put him through the wringer. The word demanding is kind of misleading here. It implies the intensity of the request, but it really means a tortured kind of begging. Satan can't make demands on Jesus. He doesn't have that kind of power. Jesus knows the testing will be good for Peter in order to equip him for all that God has ahead of him. So Jesus comforts Peter by saying, satan is after you, but I've prayed for your faith to be strengthened through this. Jesus knows that sometimes trials produce things in us that we wouldn't be able to access otherwise. And because God has big things in store for Peter in the early church, his character has to be developed to rise to that level. Then Jesus brings up the time he sent them out two by two and told them not to take anything with them. We read about this in Luke 10. He says, Remember how you had everything you needed? Hopefully you learned to trust that I know what's going to happen and that I know what you need for what's ahead. Then he gives them some strange new instructions. He tells him to get a sword. Does this mean they're finally gonna overthrow Rome? Do they finally get to dropkick the bad guys? No, that still isn't the plan. There are three primary perspectives on what Jesus is saying here when he talks about getting swords. Some say this is Jesus talking about spiritual readiness. So when the disciples pull out their actual swords, he's dismissive of it. Others say Jesus is giving them the opportunity to physically defend themselves against attackers, even if they can't go on the offense. And others say this is Jesus arranging things for his arrest, not for his disciples to defend him against being arrested, but because if the ruling powers are going to have legal cause to arrest him, they need to have proof that his followers are insurrectionists. And two swords should do the job. After dinner, Jesus and his disciples go out to the Garden of Gethsemane, which is at the bottom of the Mount of Olives. He goes there to pray, and he asks them to pray, too. Jesus asks the Father for what he wants and acknowledges that the Father has the power to do it. But he yields to the Father's will. He says, father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not My will, but yours be done. Jesus is fully God and fully man. It's not his divinity that wants to avoid the cross. It's his humanity. The will of his divinity is perfectly aligned to the will of the Father. But his humanity knows temptation and overcomes it by submitting to the will of the Father. So his humanity submits to his divinity, just like our humanity must submit to his divinity. He's demonstrating for us what submission looks like while also sympathizing with us in our own struggles. In the midst of this, Jesus is so troubled and sorrowful that he sweats blood. By the way, this is an actual rare physical condition called hematotidrosis. Probably mispronounced that, but it's a real thing. Then an angel appears and strengthens him. What does this look like? Strengthen him physically? Probably not. This probably means the angels spoke truth to him. Our hearts are strengthened by truth. Meanwhile, the disciples keep falling asleep. He invites them into his pain, even knowing they're moments away from turning their backs on him. And even though they currently keep disappointing him. Then across the valley, he sees the authorities approaching. It comes as no surprise. Not only does he know this will happen, he's been talking about it for so long, but also they would have been carrying torches to light their way as they march from the city, through the valley and over to the garden of Gethsemane. He can see them coming as they come to arrest Jesus. One of the disciples, who we'll find out later is Peter, thinks, oh, it's sword time now. This is why we needed these, right? He attacks and cuts off a soldier's ear. Then Jesus says, no more of this, and puts the man's ear back on his head. Can you imagine in John's account of this story? In John 18, the soldiers say they're looking for Jesus of Nazareth. And when he says, I am he, they fall to the ground. There's no indication that this was voluntary. They weren't there to worship him. This seems like an involuntary response to the revelation of his deity. Philippians 2 tells us that someday every knee will bow at the name of Jesus. And this seems to be just a foreshadowing of that day. They take Jesus off to the house of the high priest, and Peter follows behind. He's hanging out in the courtyard, probably waiting to see what happens when a series of people associate him with Jesus. And one by one, he denies it three times. Then the rooster crows. When that happens, Jesus turns and catches his eye, and I cannot imagine how crushed they both must have felt. Peter leaves and weeps. Jesus was right. Even he had it in him to betray Jesus. It's probably good that Peter goes when he does, because then the people holding Jesus in custody blindfold him and start beating and mocking him. He hasn't even had a trial yet. He undergoes six trials in a period of about eight hours. Three of them are religious trials before the Jews, three of them are civil trials before the Romans, and most of them are performed illegally. We've linked to a short article about these trials in the Show Notes. What was your God shot today? Mine was in the garden of Gethsemane. The word Gethsemane means olive press, and it's where olives are crushed to produce their most valuable resource, oil. We've talked before about how oil in scripture represents God the Spirit. So how fitting is it that an oil press is where the crushing of Jesus begins? And it's through this process that we receive the thing he says is most valuable to us, the Holy Spirit, the very presence of God who has come to dwell in his kids forever. We'll read more about this tomorrow, so stay tuned. But as for now, I'm grateful the Spirit dwells in me and in you, and that he never leaves us because he's where the joy is. Hey Bible readers, if you're looking for a seamless way to stay connected to Scripture even when life is hectic, check out the Dwell Bible app. I'm constantly on the move, and with the Dwell Bible app, I can listen to the Bible in a way that's easy and engaging. That's why we partnered with Dwell to bring you our New Testament plan on their app so you can dwell in God's Word even when you don't have time to sit down and read. I highly recommend this for anyone who is looking for a way to deepen their Bible engagement, especially on the go to get started now, go to dwellbible.com new or click the link in the Show Notes. If you want to send us a Christmas card, we would love that. We'd love to see your faces and pray for you by name. And thank God for bringing you alongside us in this. So send them our way. Our mailing address is on the contact page of our website, thebiblerecap.com and we'll also post it for you in today's Show Notes.