Here is todays devotion from Brian Means. Sorry dont have time this morning to tag people in my Post. But feel free to share. Good morning! 1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. -John 18:1 There is so much for us in this verse. The verse glorifies Jesus as our courageous Savior and Deliverer. When the text reads, ...He went forth..., this denotes more than just a physical, geographical progression. Look at the context. This aforementioned selection is prefaced by the qualifying statement, When Jesus had spoken these words... This is a reference to the dialogue between Jesus and His disciples in chapter 14, the discourse in chapters 15 and 16, and the High Priestly prayer in chapter 17. Within the contents of these selections, Jesus explains, among other things, the destination that would result from His ultimate act of obedience and His reason for going (John 14:2-3, 16:7), His expectations for His followers in His absence (John 15:5,8,10,12), what the disciples could expect in His absence (John 15:18-16:4), the work of the Holy Spirit in His absence (John 16:8-11,13-15), the assurance of the Fathers love for His disciples (John 16:27), the assurance of victory (John 16:33), and the many sustaining blessings secured by Christ for all of His followers in John 17. Having settled all of this, ...He went forth... (John 18:1). His going forth was a physical going forth, but, more importantly, it was a mental and spiritual going forth. Jesus progressed, intentionally and with determination, toward His passion experience...toward suffering...toward the cross. Our Lord is no spineless pansy at all. Many today try to depict my King...our King...THE King...as a weak, frail soul who is only broken and beaten as we see Him depicted on the cross in His final moments as the sin of all creation clung to His being (Matthew 27:45-50). However, this Jesus is the King of Glory (Psalm 24:8). He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). He is the I AM (Exodus. 3:14). He is the Creator of all the universe (Genesis 1:1). He is the Sustainer of the universe still (Colossians 1:17). He is the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14). He is the true Vine (John 15:1,5). He is the Alpha and the Omega...the Almighty! (Revelation 1:8). He is so much more! He is not, and never has been, weak or fragile. The weight of the government is upon His shoulders (Isaiah 9:6). He is the Chief Cornerstone (Psalm 118:22; Acts 4:11). He is the Rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1; 2 Samuel 22:47). He is our strong tower (Proverbs 18:10). He is our stronghold in the day of trouble (Nahum 1:7). He is our subsistence (John 6:35,48). He is our living water (John 4:10, 7:38). He is the King who rules with a rod of iron (Revelation 2:27, 12:5, 19:15). He is strong and He is very brave. He is our Hero in every sense of the word. He proved it right there in John 18:1. When most...even the most valiant of men...would have aborted the mission, Jesus went forth (Romans 5:7-8). When most would have fled from the impending torture (John 10:12-13), Jesus made the choice, with full and fixed resolution, to proceed forth to meet and submit to death on the cross (John 10:11, 17-18; Philippians 2:8, Hebrews 12:2-3). When everyone else did flee (Mark 14:50-52), Jesus set His face like flint to take the abuse that would secure our salvation (Isaiah 50:7). If He was that steadfast and determined to endure this suffering for our salvation, then we can surely be confident that He will remain this steadfast and determined to maintain the salvation of those of us who are His for eternity to come (Hebrews 7:25, 13:8). No matter what struggle, fear, or enemy you face today, know that this same Jesus, who heroically went forth for you to the cross, is still leading you forth in victory (2 Corinthians 2:14). Follow Him as He leads you today (Psalm 23:3; Luke 9:23; John 10:3).
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:32:35 +0000
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