John 13-17: Leading up to the Crucifixion

By Lauren Makenzie

While we know the crucifixion story well, how much of the season leading up to the Lord's supper and the betrayal of Jesus do we recall?

"Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end."

-John 13:1

In John 13, Jesus washes His disciple's feet, just a few chapters before He is crucified. He ties a towel around His waist and washes their feet with it, a symbolism of pure humility and cleansing coming from Himself. I think that it is so interesting that He places the towel around His waist to wash their feet. He already had the heart of forgiveness for His disciples, and for us. To me, that physical connection of the towel is proof that we are literally made clean by Him, and it is only Jesus who can cleanse us.

"During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

-John 13:2-8

Can you imagine your king on the floor before you washing your feet? Can you imagine what it would be like to see Him physically in front of you performing the most humble act? In that culture, it was only servants who washed their master's feet. It was both a physically caring moment and a spiritually caring moment.This is the difference between other religions, and our relationship with Jesus- He came down to us. He also washes their feet as an example to wash one another's feet. How can we wash others in humility and hospitality today?

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

-John 13:34

John 14

Three chapters before the betrayal leading to the crucifixion and probably fewer than a month or two away from this day, Jesus is both reassuring His disciples that He is preparing a place for them, and that the Spirit of Truth will be given to them after He leaves.

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

-John 14:1-4,16-17

We see the secure love Jesus gives to His disciples. He makes sure they feel safe in His love when He will be crucified and dead for three days, and then after He ascends into heaven. He prepared them, and us, of what to have a foundation on before He comes back. He teaches His disciples to walk by faith because He can be trusted even when they do not see a light at the end of the tunnel.

John 15

In John 15 we see Jesus talking about how he is the vine and we are the branches. He gives us (one of my favorite) messages about abiding in him, and him in us, knowing that soon in chapter 18- just three chapters later- his crucifixion begins.

(If you would like to read more on this chapter, my last blog post goes into detail about this chapter. You can read here!)

Jesus knew that He would soon die for the sins of the world and come back three days later. He knew that the Holy Spirit would soon reside in the spirits of the believers. He lovingly gave them a reminder to abide.

All throughout the gospel books, I love to see the secure attachment patterns in Jesus' heart. He doesn't carry an anxious attachment nor an avoidant one. He is secure in Himself, in His father, and in the Holy Spirit. He is confident of His love for me and you. He is reassuring, He is considerate, He is gentle and respectful.

John 16

On Easter night, As I scanned John 16 in my bed with an open bible, I decided to highlight the verses in these chapters before the crucifixion in my Bible app. Upon opening the app, I get a notification banner to watch the guided scripture with the verse of the day.

I open it to see one of my favorite characters from the chosen- Mary Magdalene. She started talking about John, and the scene in the chosen where Jesus speaks on John 16:33 popped up.

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

-John 16:33

I stared at my Bible and read what was open while the video spoke the same exact verse over me. And I felt Jesus presence. That He was there in the room.

He has overcome the world. This is what He knows and believes, as He only declares what is true and what he knows fully, before He is killed by the people in chapter 19.

Leading up to the crucifixion, Jesus told us that He has already overcome the world. That He is peace. He knew this the whole time, and reassured the people around Him, as well as us reading, that He has won.

John 17

And then one of my other favorite chapters in the Bible, John 17. I think this is honestly one of the most beautiful and meaningful things I have ever read. Jesus’ high priestly prayer.

In this prayer, Jesus is praying for the people that He has saved, and for us in the future.

Before He was beaten and crucified, you wanna know what He was doing? He was praying the most thoughtful prayer ever- for you.

He prays to ask God to let the people be with Him to see His glory, and that the love that the father has for Jesus will be inside of the believers.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. '

-John 17:20-23

Jesus thought about wanting to give you eternal life. He thought about the people around Him in this time, and He thought about the people thousands of years in the future that He already loves. That you would know who God is, to know His name. That He has guarded the believers around Him, and that we might have joy fulfilled in ourselves, and that we would be kept from the evil one. That we are sanctified in truth. That we would all be one, like how He and God are one. He gives us His glory in this prayer.

“I in them, and you in me”

Just let that sink in- that Jesus didn’t just stomp towards Pilate going, “Alright, I’m here, take me now,” in a reluctant and dishonest tone as if an angry older brother would react to doing something nice for his little brother. He wasn’t doing this against His will, or just for a reward because His father told Him to do it. He didn't throw a tantrum for being the bigger person because of the immense and unconditional love He had for us. You see, Jesus displayed the most amazing act of love on the cross, because He already had that love for me and for you before that in His heart. Out of His genuinely pure and perfect heart flowed the sweetest act of love ever.

Honestly, a lot of us grow up looking at what we can get out of things. We look for the reward, the status, the recognition. The mindset of, "If they do this for me, then I will help them,".

The validation and gifts from doing things become the goal, but Jesus' goal was for the rescue of our souls, not for what God might reward Him with later, or that he would finally be seen as great after that.

He has always thought the same about you and always will forevermore, because he is Jesus. God saves.

Honestly, most of us would be thinking of ways we could pamper ourselves and be a little selfish before and after sacrificing for someone, or just going out of our way for them in general.

Before Jesus died for you and me on the cross, He didn’t have to reassure his people over and over before fulfilling his prophecy to bring them peace of mind. He could have just worried about His peace of mind.

He didn’t have to pray the most loving prayer for his people like He did.

He didn’t have to put these details in this book and deliver it to us 2000 years later if He didn’t want to.

But His love for you is poured into every chapter, and we cannot miss the chapters before the crucifixion. Sometimes we read them and we think, “Yes, the crucifixion is soon. This precedes that chapter.”

But friends, the Jesus I know and love isn’t just the most powerful person there is- He’s the most loving person there is. Look at the way that He holds strength and love on these chapters.

Look at the mental load He holds for us. Look at how He does this without sinning, without grumbling. We didn’t deserve to be put first like this, but He did it anyway.

The love that Jesus and the father have had for each other is this love. We love because He first loved us.

Grace pours onto us like a waterfall, all because of Him. We have a destiny of eternal life, because of Him.

Because of Him we have a friend. What a friend. A friend that thought of you and prayed for you and sacrificed His life for your life 2,000 years before you were born.

I love you, Jesus, and I pray that whoever reads this feels the love that you displayed for them, not just in the few most famous chapters in John, but even in the chapters preceding them as well. Where you loved equally in the big and small matters. I pray that whoever is reading will want to get to know Him, the one that will know and love you forever.

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