A Surprising Guide When Walking in the Valley of Darkness
A meditation on John 13
For my quiet time today I read John 13. It’s the last night before Jesus is crucified. In his last meal with his disciples he surprises them by getting up to wash their dirty feet. He wanted to teach them: “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (13:14). We are blessed if we follow this example (13:17).
Then Jesus drops a bomb in the room, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The surprise of foot-washing levels up to the shock of treachery. Then Jesus gives the bread to Judas the traitor and Satan enters Judas. Jesus tells Judas to do his thing quickly. Judas leaves immediately. “And it was night” (v. 30).
Night. What a dark moment! Satan scheming and moving. Judas overwhelmed by evil. Jesus moving toward being betrayed, arrested, mocked, tried, beaten, shamed, and killed.
Moving from the surprise of footwashing to the shock of betrayal we’re left feeling the weight of darkness. Into this darkness Jesus gives and encouragement and a directive.
Be encouraged that the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified. The glory shines bright in and because of this darkest of moments. Praise God that even the darkest of moments cannot stifle or hinder God’s glory! All this darkness does is display God’s glory even more.
The directive is the main goal of the text for the reader, I think. In the midst of darkness, discouragement, disillusionment, and waiting for Jesus to come back and reunite with his disciples (John 13:33, 36), Jesus gives a new command. This command is not what one might expect in the darkness of the world and the (physical) absence of the Savior. I might expect Jesus to say, “Be strong.” Or, “Don’t give up hope. I will come again.” Or, “Keep gospelizing the world and hold to the truth.” It’s not that any of those are wrong. They’re not. But Jesus’s directive is a third surprise that we are to linger with in light of the discourse and prayer he is about to share with his disicples and us (chapters 14-17).
Jesus’s directs us to “love one another. As I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (13:34-35). The command to love fellow disciples in verse 34 is similar to the command to “wash one another’s feet” earlier in the evening (v. 14). Do you want to see the glory of God in the darkness? Love one another and wash one another’s feet. And seek out other disciples to love you and wash your feet. Do you want hope when things seem hopeless? Love one another and wash one another’s feet. And seek out other disciples to love you and wash your feet. Do you want strength when the weight of darkness drains your power? Love one another and wash one another’s feet. And seek out other disciples to love you and wash your feet. Do you want to hold onto the truth in a world of lies? Love one another and wash one another’s feet. And seek out other disciples to love you and wash your feet. Do you want the gospel to spread so that the world hears and comes to know Jesus as Lord, Savior, and Treasure? Love one another and wash one another’s feet. And seek out other disciples to love you and wash your feet.
“Even when I go through the darkest valley I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me”(Psalm 23:4)1 Praise God for our good shepherd! He comforts and guides us in the dark valleys in many ways. One of the ways he guides and comforts us and is present with us is through our John 13 two-pronged (1) experience of the glory of his dark death and (2) the experience of loving one another and washing one another’s feet while being loved and having our feet washed by our fellow disciples.
My brother Derek Berry preached Psalm 23:4 at Bellflower Baptist Church this month and that seed has been blessing and guiding me for the last 8 days.