Leaning on
the Everlasting Arms
John 13 Part 2
Mat. 11:6 “And blessed is he who
is not offended because of Me.”
John
13:19 Now I tell you before it comes,
that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.
20
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives
Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
The sequence of events leading up to The Passion is
moving quickly. Jesus and the twelve disciples just finished the Last Supper
and Jesus’ heart is troubled because He knew that Judas was about to betray
Him. Some very stressful circumstances were about to come. The acid test of our
spirituality is when we are under stress. Jesus wanted to prepare the disciples
for what was about to happen so they could pass that test. We can clearly hear
His heart beat as we break down these two verses quoted above.
In
verse 19, Jesus explained why He is letting them know of the betrayal; that He
wants them to know who He is. He always yearns for all people to know who He is;
that is key to salvation. We see in Matthew’s Gospel that when John the Baptist
was under the stress of being in prison he had doubts about who Jesus is. The
Lord’s message to John was profound and reassuring. He also did not want John
the Baptist (or us) to be offended by what was soon to happen at Calvary.
Matt. 11:2 And when John had heard in prison about the
works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One,
or do we look for another?”
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell
John the things which you hear and see:
5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers
are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the
gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is
he who is not offended because of Me.”
What Jesus said in John 13:19 above is in sync with what
He said to John in verse 6 of Matthew 11. This foundation of knowing who Jesus
is, knowing in the deepest places of our being, is critical. Not just for our own
assurance of salvation but, as we see in Jon 13:20, there is a progression from
our receiving Him to people receiving Him through us. All who receive Him enter
into the relationship with the Father that John 3:16 facilitates. The disciples
would soon be launching the ministries that continue today; we are responsible
to be the ones doing what is listed in Matt. 11:4-6.
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| https://spiritualdirection.com/2016/08/11/end- your-long-distance-relationship-with-the-lord |
John 13: 23 The
disciple that Jesus dearly loved was at the right of him at the table and was
leaning his head on Jesus. [TPT]
You know there are those times when you need a
reassuring hug. It has nothing to do with anything immoral or even hinting at
the appearance of evil. This disciple had seen What
Makes Jesus Tick for three years. In this special occasion, knowing
something was deeply troubling the Master, I think he wanted to hear that Divine
heartbeat. Perhaps this disciple was sensing the stress of the hour and knew
the only source of hope was to lean on Jesus.
The story of the Shulamite in Song of Solomon climaxes
with the phrase,
Song of Solomon 8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her
beloved?
https://www.pinterest.com/
pin/859061697660452284/
Why was she leaning on him? All her natural strength,
all her striving and futile attempts to please him by her own strength and
ability, proved to be insufficient. Her leaning indicates that she came to that
place of absolute surrender to the love of God. Oswald Chambers calls this
exhaustion and says in “My Utmost for His Highest,”
“Exhaustion
means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual
exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service.”
This great book goes on to explain that such exhaustion
in our service to God and people is preventable,
“Continually
look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your
Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, “O Lord, I am so exhausted...”
Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. “All my springs are
in you” (Psalm 87:7).” https://utmost.org/are-you-exhausted-spiritually/
Do you remember the chorus form the old hymn “Leaning on
the Everlasting Arms”?
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.
The whole hymn will bless you if you’re unfamiliar with it or need a reminder. (Relax and listen for a few minutes. https://youtu.be/FBJgFa4MZLg )
The next scene in the chapter shows us a reason why we
must lean on Him as our source of the power to live the Christian life. Judas
leaves to meet with the Pharisees, putting the logistics of the betrayal
together. Jesus makes it clear that God is glorified in Him and that He is
leaving to a go to a place the disciples can’t go yet. Rather than leaving
things at that, the Master instructs:
John 13: 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love
one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By
this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one
another.”
Aren’t the strengths and weaknesses of the Church measured by these two verses?
We trick ourselves to
think that our proclamation of the Gospel has any validity if we don’t measure
up to verse 35. What do they think when the world see Christians bickering over
petty stuff that has nothing to do with demonstrating His love to them? What do
they think when they see a supposed Christian with a beer or cigarette? We
would see much better fruit if we flee from the appearance of evil and
demonstrate God’s love with more than empty words. The power of God to do
miracles will accompany us, but even that would be for naught if we are not
mirroring the heart of God. That new creation Jesus wants us to become emerges
more and more, touching the lives of those around us, as we seek God to impart
the reality of What
Makes Jesus Tick deep and deeper into the fiber of your being,
