I Told My Disciples that One Will Betray Me

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

February 7, 2020

I Told My Disciples that One Will Betray Me, and

Another Will Deny Knowing Me

Page 262-264

Matthew 26:21-29; Mark 14:18-25;

Luke 22:19-30; John 13:21-38

Three times, in today’s readying, Jesus told his disciples how his life was going to end. Three times they failed to comprehend. Was it because the truth that Jesus was the Messiah was incomprehensible? This episode reminds me that Jesus wants us to know him. This episode also reminds me of just how dense I can be, how close I can be to the heart of God, and yet be oblivious to His presence.

Yet, in the midst of such human failure around the table, Jesus grants the disciples entry into the Kingdom of God. All people who accept God’s call to Christian leadership will at some point in their journey follow Jesus on a very lonely path. Just when you need your people to grasp your vision, to see God’s hands at work, they’ll turn away. Even so, God’s sheer grace is bestowed upon His church, and the Kingdom is destined to move forward, in spite of our failures.

Jesus, as he prepared to complete his journey to Golgotha, is clothed only in his humanity. The divine powers he used to calm storms, raise the dead and heal the sick are left on the table. He’ll go before his adversaries armed only with his trust in God and thus will model for his followers the leadership behavior of a Suffering Servant of God. The prophecies about the Servant Messiah in Isaiah 52-53 will be fulfilled in the final days of Jesus’ life.

Jesus begins his Farewell Discourse by reflecting on the exchange of glory between Father and Son. The very essence of God is goodness, mercy, holiness and love. The Glory of God is the revelation of God’s essence. This glory is revealed through the presence of God. God, as a burning bush to Moses, and as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night for the Israelites during the exodus, are examples of God’s Glory. The ultimate expression of God’s Glory is in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord, Christ Jesus.

The Glory of God is meant to be an unbroken circle. God’s glory is shown or revealed to His people, and in return His people give glory to God. This responsive glory is expressed in adoration, honor, praise and obedience. The giving of glory to God in a worship service is called doxology. Expressions of doxology are throughout the Psalms and the New Testament, and these scriptural expressions inspired two forms of doxology used most often in worship today:

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end. Amen.

And

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him, all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

My Takeaway: To my shame, far too often I sing these magnificent expressions of glory to God by rote. God forgive me for being so oblivious to your presence.

Sē’lah

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(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.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

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.

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.