Leaving This World: John 13:1-17
Focus Passage: John 13:1-17 (NIV)
This journal entry’s passage opens with a very strange phrase that challenged me when I first read it. Taken at surface value, it could be seen to conflict with another significant passage a few chapters later in John’s book. I dislike it when an author contradicts themselves, and when the Bible seems to have a contradiction like this, my reaction is to dig in and look for a smooth resolution.
In the middle of verse 1 we read, “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.” On the surface, reading this verse leads me to believe that the cross was when Jesus left this world, since only hours later, after a really long night with no sleep, Jesus dies on the cross, and His dead body is buried. Along the same lines, Jesus’ spirit (His life breath) would have needed to go somewhere, since it was no longer with His body, so that must mean it returned to God. And then the conclusion, since Jesus is speaking from a very specific perspective, must be that Jesus left the world when His spirit returned to God following His death on the cross.
This is an easy conclusion to reach, but there is a problematic verse a few chapters later that counters this. In the garden, following Jesus’ resurrection, He tells Mary, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17)
Jesus directly tells Mary that He had not ascended yet, but that He was about to. This is incredibly significant, and problematic, because this means that Jesus’ death was not when He returned to the Father, but shortly (i.e. hours) after His resurrection.
I wonder if this point when Jesus returned to heaven was originally designed to be His glorious return to God and then looking back down, the Godhead realized that the remaining disciples need a little more encouragement and regrouping prompting a number of other encounters. Or, perhaps, this initial ascension was when Jesus received His new body, and then He returned temporarily to help the disciples regroup and understand what had just happened before a more official “ascension” around five or so weeks later.
So where does that leave us with John’s first challenging statement in chapter 13?
I wonder if John opens up this chapter as a grand transition into the crucifixion event, and that He includes it as a way of pulling the reader into the significance that will follow.
John’s gospel is the most detailed of the gospels surrounding Jesus’ last night before the crucifixion, and it all starts in the upper room. All of Jesus’ ministry and life were leading up to this point, and John wants us to realize who Jesus was during His last hours with them. The only time left was in that upper room, and the walk to the garden. After those few hours, when the betrayer and arrest would come, Jesus’ time with the disciples would be up.
Both these passages really push me to look at a central idea: Value the time you have right now with Jesus. We are not guaranteed future time with Him on this side of heaven, and the decisions we make today have a profound impact on that promised future.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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