His Time Has Come

John 13:1-4

For weeks, we have read that Jesus knew His time had “not yet come,” which means that it had to come at some point. Finally, in this chapter, we read that His time has come. The moment that all of John has been leading up to is coming soon, but Jesus stops to do something interesting first.

He “loved them to the end”. Jesus, knowing what was coming on the cross, stopped to have a moment to serve and love His disciples. We will read more about how He washed their feet tomorrow, but today, don’t forget that Jesus loved His disciples till the end. He loved them even though they had doubted Him, had questioned Him, and even though one would betray Him. What a radical example of love. Jesus knew that His time had come, that He would hang on a cross the next day, but He chose to spend a moment demonstrating His love for His disciples.

Verse 3 also shows us the confidence that Jesus had walking into the suffering to come. He knew “that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God.”

Jesus was confident in His authority and His relationship with God, and He took a moment to demonstrate His love for His disciples without anxiety or worry about the future. They were His own, and He loved them as such. He even loved Judas, who He knew would betray Him. That is an incredibly selfless act of love, to love the one who would hand you over to be killed. Do you know that Jesus loves you the same way? Your sin has betrayed God just as Judas betrayed Jesus. But Jesus loved all His disciples and then went to the cross to save them and you. He saw your face and your sins when He died and made way for you to be in a relationship with Him forever. We can be confident in our relationship with God because of the perfect love of our Savior.

How has the unconditional love of Jesus changed your life? Does it make you confident in your relationship with Him?