Analysis Of The Last Supper-2

In our conclusion of The Analysis Of The Last Supper we apply Jesus teaching then, what we must know now to be in communion with Him.

Analysis Of The Last Supper-2

2. The Teaching:

Concluded from Analysis Of The Last Supper

Judas is gone, now, and Jesus begins His final teaching of the disciples. Read this teaching some time before Easter in John 13-17. It's one of the most powerful sections of Scripture, especially Jesus' prayer for us, here. In this teaching, Jesus is preparing His disciples for life without Him, at least in bodily form. His main topic is intimate love, using different words and illustrations, He's trying to bring a point home to them…and to us. He said He and the Father were one, and that we could be one with Him and each other just like that. He illustrates that oneness by saying, "I am the vine and you are the branches." You don't get any more intimate than being one. This is the very oneness that God instituted marriage as a model of. But even the perfect marriage falls short as a model because if they become separated, even if one dies, the other lives. A branch is dependant on the vine for it's very life, it's productivity, it's strength. "Without me you can do nothing." As long as we remain in the Vine we can be fruitful, have all our requests granted and have complete joy. Complete joy! Complete Joy! Jesus even says that this is why He's teaching this…so His joy can be in us and our joy can be complete. But there's one little catch. We must love one another.

It's easy to come up with loving feelings for someone who is doing what we want or who will give us something in return, but that's not love…it's politics. Jesus said we must love each other as He loved us. The people He's saying this to are the ones who will abandon Him in a couple hours, the ones who just a short while ago were arguing during His last meal about who would replace Him. How could He love them? Unconditionally! How do you get to joy from loving someone unconditionally, what's in it for me? If our motivation is what we'll get, we're not loving and we're preventing joy from being a part of our lives. Why? Because our hearts are set on something we don't have. We're setting up conditions of dissatisfaction because we're withholding our love until we receive something. Jesus said, "Whatever you give, you will receive." Just as in many things of God, the way up is down. "Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend." Why was Jesus able to be intimate with His disciples during all the confusion and disappointment of the Last Supper? Because His intimacy wasn't conditional, He had already laid down his life. True love endures pain, because we're more concerned with their needs than our desires. True love isn't measured by what we get, but by what we give. Joy is found in sacrificial love.

3. The Testimony:

"For the Joy set before Him, Christ endured the cross." As if to punctuate His teaching on sacrificial love, Jesus went willingly to His death. Next week we'll celebrate the fact He didn't stay there, but, how do we deal with such a testimony? Jesus says that's the love we're to have for each other if we're to remain in Him. The way to complete joy is sacrificial love. We can't do it. We live in these selfish little bodies and we can't just let go of all our wants and needs. We think, "Why should she get my love when she hasn't done anything for me?" How do we find the ability to give unconditional, sacrificial love to people who don't deserve it? I could push your guilt button and say, Because He did for us, but, I won't. Instead, I'm gonna say we can find the ability because He does. "Apart from me you can do nothing." He is the Vine and we're His branches. The only way is for us to remain in Him, part of the Vine, and let His love flow through us to each other. Even the love we give is a free gift from Him…And so is complete joy. As we live in Him and let His love live in and work through us, our joy will be complete. As He completes our joy, the problems that remain all around us would just be background noise to the love we share with others.

As we prepare for Communion, let's ponder each thing in our lives that seems to be blocking our joy, and release it to the love of Jesus. Today, we'll live, regardless of our circumstances, in the joy of the Lord.

Analysis Of The Last Supper-2

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Glen

In our conclusion of The Analysis Of The Last Supper we apply Jesus teaching then, what we must know now to be in communion with Him.