Chapter 26- The Hour of Darkness
My biggest frustration with the current Sunday School curriculum is the amount of material we are expected to cover each week in only a 50 minute time slot. The video takes 5-7 minutes of that time so little is left for discussion of more than 2-3 topics.
This week's chapter starts in the 22nd chapter of Luke. Here we find Jesus entering Jerusalem for the Passover. The foot washing episode is recorded in John 13. I have seen pastors copy this scene and wash deacon's feet on stage. It has always stuck me as a bit of showboating, but as I was studying the episode tonight, I realized just how almost laughable it is for anyone to try to emulate what Christ did that night.
At the Last Supper, where the foot washing took place, Jesus knew what the next few days held for him. He knew that Judas was going to betray him. Jesus knew that his disciples would abandon him. Yet he still performed one of the most culturally degrading tasks for each of them, even his betrayer. That is a true servant's heart!
One passage has always given me cause for pause. John 13:26 This verse records Jesus as saying, "26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. I have always wondered if Jesus so clearly identified his betrayer, why did not the others take a stand? I have read several explanations of this verse, but would be interested in others. One explanation was that Jesus was still giving Judas a chance to change his mind. I question this. If Judas had not betrayed Jesus, then Christ's death on the cross might have been averted and the plan of salvation changed. We know that from Jesus prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, there was no other way.
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