The Mind of Christ

September 1, 2016

The Mind of Christ

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.

John  13: 1

John’s Gospel is reaching its climax, and John sets the stage beautifully in the very first verse of Chapter 13. We learn the Passover had come. This is the third Passover in John’s Gospel, and he has been continually pointing to the fulfillment of Jesus’ mission as the sacrificial offering of Passover. In the opening verse John states, “Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father.”

In the previous passage Jesus said, “For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me” (John 12:45). Betrayal by one of the twelve disciples, denial by the leader of the disciples, Jesus suffering excruciating pain and public humiliation are just some of the markers along the path Jesus took on his return to the Father. What does the path taken by Jesus on his return to the Father reveal to you about God?

John shows us the Word has become flesh, as Jesus “took the humble position of a slave” and washed the feet of the disciples. Jesus wrapped his humility in love: “He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.” The Gospel of John uses the word agape, love, more than the other three Gospels combined.

When you think of your identity as a Christian, or perhaps, a leader in your church, is your mind flooded with memories of Jesus loving his disciples to the end, to the uttermost? Do you remember the Messiah washing the feet of his disciples?  A very early hymn of the church was incorporated by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:5-11 to remind us that as the followers of Jesus, we must have the mind of Christ Jesus.

In your relationships with one another,

have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

    did not consider equality with God

something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing

    by taking the very nature of a servant,

    being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

    he humbled himself

    by becoming obedient to death—

        even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:5-8 NIV

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.