Whose Sent

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

WHOSE SENT

John 13:18-20

18 "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'   19 "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. 20 I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me." 

NIV

Jesus just  finished telling them they would be blessed if they follow his example, but now he says that he was not referring to all of them. Again in hind sight we know he meant Judas and we know all that Judas did, but at the time his disciples might have been a bit confused by what he just now had said about not all of them and that he knew who he had chosen. But then he goes on and says that it is one of them, one who shares bread with him that will lift up his heel against Jesus. Jesus was using this phrase that the Psalmist David had written many years ago, which of course were songs, and it is most likely all the disciples would have been familiar with this phrase. Although, as we will see, Jesus is going to tell them clearly as to what is going to happen, and by whom, he has already told them here. Some might make a case for predestination because Jesus used the word chosen, it does not refer to all who become believers, but in its context he is referring to his twelve disciples. Yet we could see this as he knows all of mankind and he has chosen all mankind to be saved through his action on the cross, but there are some who will lift up their heal against him. Now he was speaking to his followers and not those outside the group, so then we might make the case that there are those among the church who will lift up their heal against him, those that share in the bread and cup. Perhaps we should examine this further as we progress in this dialog between Jesus and his disciples, but we also should deal with these other words of Jesus. Was Jesus referring to the fact he would send the Holy Spirit, or that he would send men out to share the Gospel and that whoever accepts whichever also accepts him and thus accepts God the Father? So which was it, men or the Holy Spirit? Jesus did use similar teaching that Matthew records, saying that whoever receives you receives me. So it might well be that Jesus was in fact speaking about his disciples and that as they go out and share their experience with Jesus, and what he has done, when people believe them, they believe in Jesus and in the Father. But he also said whoever he sends, which implies a whole different thing, then accepting whoever speaks about Jesus. This could imply there are people out their preaching about Jesus who he has not sent. This then also could mean these same people preaching about Jesus, who he has not sent, are in fact the ones lifting up their heal against him and as it was with Judas, it is for the sake of personal material gain. Then we are back to the Holy Spirit and his gift of discernment so we should be able to know those who are sent and those who are not, those who are like his disciples, and those who are like Judas. But then we should also make sure we are ones who are sent, and that we are not making personal gain our priority for following Jesus. So it still comes down to who is sent.