Christian Reflection and Prayer

Lenten Meditation

Washing an Unclean Disciple

Read John 13:1-20.

TEXT: "... (Jesus said) 'You are clean,
but not every one of you.' ..." (John 13:10b).

Jesus has preached His last message
to the crowds. Now He spends one final
night before His suffering and death with
His disciples in the upper room,
preparing them for what is about to happen.

In the middle of supper Jesus does
something totally unexpected. Taking
off His outer garments He goes around
the table washing the disciples' feet one
by one, the way the lowliest slave in the
household would. It is a demonstration
of His absolute humility, love and care-a
demonstration He will repeat for the whole
world the next day on the cross.

For Peter it is too much. He objects and
receives a firm correction from Jesus:
"If I do not wash you, you have no share
with Me." Then Peter goes to the other
extreme asking Jesus to wash all of him.
Jesus points out that the one who has
had a bath does not need to bathe again,
only to wash the part of him that is unclean.

Jesus is pointing to Judas, the one who
has abandoned his Lord and become
unclean and is even now awaiting the
chance to betray Him. The other eleven
are forgiven, cleansed of their sins because
they still walk in the light by faith; Judas
has rejected that light and walks in darkness.
Very gently Jesus reaches out to His lost
disciple in an unforgettable demonstration
of His love, forgiveness and acceptance. It's
a demonstration He wants Judas to remember
when he is gripped by guilt and remorse for
what he is about to do.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, forgive my wandering heart.
Help me to see Your great love for me and
remember what You have done to save me.
Amen.

Lutheran Hour Ministries

Lenten Meditation

Scripture:

Read John 13:21-30.

TEXT: (Jesus said) "... 'Truly, truly,
I say to you, one of you will betray
Me'" (John 13:21b).

"One of you will betray Me." Judas
must be totally shocked by Jesus'
words. One by one the disciples
ask a question that floats around
the table. With rising suspense
Judas watches the question work
its way around the table to him-and
he even joins his voice to theirs: "Is
it I, Lord?"

If Judas' voice didn't give him away,
what Jesus does next will make it
crystal clear. He dips the morsel of
bread and hands it directly to Judas.

Have you ever stopped to think about
how Jesus turned the tables on Judas?
At this moment the betrayer is at the
mercy of the One he was going to
betray. Jesus holds Judas in the palm
of His hand. With a word Jesus can
betray Judas to the other disciples,
who are armed with a few swords.
Jesus is in complete control; He can
betray Judas. Instead, our Lord sends
His betrayer on his way: "What you
are going to do, do quickly." As Judas
rushes out from the danger, the other
disciples have no idea what Jesus
means.

Which one of us hasn't betrayed
another-gossiping secrets that should
never have been shared or exposing
another's shame just to flatter our own
self-righteous pride? How often have we
in effect handed Jesus' over to His
enemies by our sinful actions or our
silence?

Judas walked out into the darkness.
But in this same darkness Jesus will
still reach out to him one last time when
Judas leads the soldiers into the Garden
of Gethsemane to arrest Him. Jesus still
reaches out to you and me with hands
that bear the mark of the nails.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, Your steadfast love is
amazing to me. Keep reaching out
to bring me back from my sins.
Amen.

The Lutheran Hour Ministries

Lenten Meditation

Read John 12:27-33.

TEXT: (Jesus said) "'Now is My
soul troubled. And what shall I say?
'Father, save Me from this hour'?
But for this purpose I have come to
this hour'" (John 12:27).

Jesus has just told His disciples
why He has come to Jerusalem: He
is to suffer and die for the world. But
the thought is not easy for Jesus to
face. He says, "Now is My soul
troubled." We see that turmoil again
when He falls on His face in agony
in the Garden of Gethsemane
(see Luke 22).

Here He prays, "Father, glorify Your
Name." He doesn't ask the Father to
save Him from the cross but to use
His suffering and death on the cross
to glorify His Name. He wants people
to look at the cross and believe that
"God so loved the world that He gave
His only-begotten Son." In Gethsemane
God will send an angel to strengthen
His Son, but here He speaks to Jesus.
"I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."

We all come face to face with
overwhelming situations and struggles
in life-heartbreak and loss, grief beyond
telling, the shadow of death-whether our
own or that of a loved one.

Jesus has come to this hour in His life
to be the answer to the overwhelming
situations in each of our lives. He will be
raised up to draw all men to Himself.
This was done so that in Jesus Christ
each of us might find the answer to our
problems, the courage for the trials we
face and the victory over Satan who
brought all these situations upon us
through his temptation.

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, You glorified Your
Name in the sufferings of Your beloved
Son Jesus Christ. Glorify Your Name
through me as You give me strength
and courage to face the difficult times
in my life. I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Lutheran Hour Ministries