part 1 of “The Last Night With Jesus”
The night begins in a room called the Upper Room. Everyone begins to gather for dinner. They all take their seat. It’s just Jesus and His disciples. But only Jesus knows this would be the last dinner they have together. The disciples are unaware of the events that will transpire over the next 24 hours. They were about to experience their last few hours with Jesus. They were about to experience the most passionate words and teaching from Jesus. This is what we are looking at in this series.
Before we dive into the last night with Jesus. I wanted to share the purpose of the gospel of John. We find the purpose statement of the book in John 20. Here is what it says…
“The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” - John 20:30-31 NLT
The purpose of John’s gospel is for us to know that Jesus is the Messiah and that we may continue to believe it and have life in His name.
Also, let’s look at what has happened up to this point. We have witnessed the Earthly ministry of Jesus. But it’s not yet done. He still has this last night to teach and encourage His disciples and His final part of His ministry would be dying on the cross. In the previous 12 chapters of the gospel of John, we have seen Jesus do miracles, heal people, and raise people from the dead [1]. He also led an entire town to revival through the woman at the well (John 4). We have also seen Jesus walk on water (John 6). Jesus also sides with a woman caught in adultery instead of the crowd (John 8). Jesus also fulfilled prophecies by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (John 12).
We also see Jesus say some statements about himself. There are 7 statements in all and we are going to look at two of them in this series. But the other 5 are….
1. I am the bread of life (John 6:35)
2. I am the light of the world (John 8:12)
3. I am the gate (John 10:7)
4. I am the good shepherd (John 10:11)
5. I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)
We have also seen Jesus get angry (John 2). He has also cried (John 11).
Now that we have reviewed some of the things in the first 12 chapters of John. Also, please note that this is not all of the things that happened in those chapters. I would encourage you to go and read chapters 1-12 to get a full view of them.
I want to start this series off by looking at just one verse. I know what you might be thinking “this is going to take a long time if he only looks at one verse at a time.” This is the only time that we will be looking at just one verse. So you can rest easy. The reason why I want to look at just this one verse is because I believe it sets the table for what is to come in the following chapters. So let’s look at the verse…
“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 NLT
This verse tells us a lot of what is going on. First, it tells us that it is before the Passover. It is debated if this meal was the night before or two nights before Passover [2]. But let’s not get lost in that as the text tells us that it was before the Passover and hours before Jesus was betrayed, which took place later on this night.
The next thing we find out is that Jesus knew what was to come. He knew that He was about to face the cross. This information can help us understand that this night with His disciples was special. Jesus knew that He only had a few more hours left to pour into and teach His beloved friends. Jesus also only had a few more hours with His friends. The friends He had spent the last 3 years of His life with. The friends He loved.
The last part of the verse is what I really want to focus on for the rest of this post. The love that Jesus has for His own and for everyone. This may seem like I am saying that Jesus’ love is different for some people. It is not. Jesus loves all people. But He has a special love for His friends, His own as the verse states. For example, you can love children and have a special place in your heart for them. But when it comes to your own children your love for them is different because they are your own. Jesus had handpicked His disciples. They were His own. He loved them. He loved them to the end.
The words “to the end” can mean the end of Jesus’ earthly life or a love that would never end [3]. But this is where the love of Jesus is the same for all people. Jesus loves us all to the end. Jesus went to the cross to die for the sins of all people. Not just His disciples. Jesus loved us then and He loves us now. It is an everlasting love.
Jesus loves us all. This is the truth in this one verse. Jesus loves us to the end. He loved to the end of His earthly ministry when He died on the cross for us and He continues to love us now. He will love us forever. As I said, this verse sets the table of what we are going to be seeing in the following chapters. We are going to be seeing the love of Jesus come out in a personal way as He spends His last few hours with His own.
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[1]
1. Turning water into wine in Cana (John 2:1-11)
2. Healing an official’s son in Capernaum (John 4:46-54)
3. Healing an invalid at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5:1-18)
4. Feeding the 5,000 near the Sea of Galilee (John 6:5-14)
5. Walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee (John 6:16-21)
6. Healing a blind man in Jerusalem (John 9:1-7)
7. Raising dead Lazarus in Bethany (John 11:1-45)
Read more here….
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