I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
John 14:30-31
Look, no one knows more than I that, with the possible exception of cat videos, the last thing the internet needs is another devotional blog, but this verse caught me by surprise. Probably because even though I had read this dozens of times, but generally in the NKJV- and the New Jimmy omits the phrase “so that the world may learn”.
Jesus said this the night He was betrayed. There is a sense of urgency and a sense of finality to everything Jesus had said that night, and in the midst of it all, this sentence kind of hides there. Jesus had been telling His disciples that He was going to die, and that bad things were going to happen in the next couple of days. There can be no mistake about these events:
- They are part of God’s ultimate plan
- They are the workings of evil
But through that, Jesus says that this is going to happen so that the world will know that He loves the Father and does His will. It is that phrase “so that” that caught me. Almost like there was another purpose in there. We are all taught that Jesus died and rose to save us, yeah I get that. And that it was “by His stripes we are healed”. I get that too. And sometimes the “healing” we are looking for doesn’t come on this earth. I’ve been to Sunday School. I’ve been to countless evangelical services. But no where do I remember anyone saying that the night Jesus was betrayed, and all the terrible events were to come to pass, that Satan was coming to do all this so that we would know that Jesus loved the Father and was obedient. We are always taught that Jesus did what He did because He loved us. But could it be that there was another reason? That He loved the Father and wanted the world to know that? To know what great lengths He was willing to go to show it? And He was willing to do anything, including use Satan to accomplish that?
“So that the world will know….”
So what is the application here? Guess what, Satan is going to show up in my life. Yours too. This isn’t new information either. But I guess the question is, what am I going to do with that? Am I going to focus on love and obedience? Or selfishness and rebellion? And if others see the trials in my life, which will they see?
Related posts:
- Not because of care for the poor
- John was consistent
