Jump Start # 1215

John 18:4 “So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, Whom do you seek?’”

  Our verse today tells us so much about Jesus. Judas was coming. The temple guards had gathered. The beginning of the end was about to take place. There would be a kiss by a betrayer. There would be a trial that was anything but fair. There would be accusations, lies and mean spirited words. There would be beatings. Another trial that was even worse than the first. New charges. More lies. More violence. Beatings. Spitting. Thorns. Ridicule and being made fun of. Then a cross being dragged out of town. Nails. Thirst. Pain. Prayers. Separation. Finally death. This is what was awaiting Jesus. He knew.

Our passage tells us that Jesus, “knowing all the things that were coming upon Him.” He knew. Most of us do not know even how a day will unfold for us, let alone the future. We make plans, but those plans get changed because of things we didn’t know about. The dog gets sick. The car won’t start. The kids forgot something and we must make a trip to the school. There are some things I’m glad that I don’t know.

• I’m glad I don’t know what everyone is thinking. I always like to think the best. If I really knew, I might be crushed on the insides.

• I’m glad I don’t know when or how I will die. I think I would be obsessed with that if I knew. I live making plans for the future but have the understanding that this could be my last day.

• I’m glad that some things are still a surprise. I watch a ball game not knowing what the outcome will be. I vote not knowing for sure which candidate will win. When my daughter, Sarah, had her baby this year, she did not find out what the sex was ahead of time. That is rare these days. There was an element of surprise about that.

Jesus knew. Not only did Jesus know, the text tells us that He “went forth.” He went forth knowing what was about to happen. It’s one thing to think Jesus got caught up in these things and they came upon Him very suddenly. But that’s not the case. He knew. He knew all the things that were coming. Knowing, He still went forth. Sometimes knowing can make things worse. We think about those things before they actually take place.

The Father did not keep these things from Jesus. He knew. He knew all things. He knew and still went forth. He did so to please His Father. He did so because it was the only way to save us. He did so because He loved us.

Something else:

1. Jesus knows what you said, thought and texted yesterday. You never surprise Jesus. There is nothing you can tell Him that He didn’t already know. We do a good job of trying to keep certain things secret. He think we can cover our tracks and hide things fairly well. We can, except from Jesus. He knows. When we finally confess to Him, He is not shocked. He already knew.

2. Jesus knows you and loves you. Sometimes the reason we hide things is because we think if people really knew us they wouldn’t like us. So we keep up an image. It’s not really us, but it looks good and it gains the approval of others. We are so afraid of what others may say if they really knew. God does. And God loves you. He loves you, even though He knows. There are no masks with God. He sees through them all. I think some fear going to church services because they think God wouldn’t love them if He really knew. Guess what? He knows. He has known for a long time. Yet, He still wants you to seek Him, follow Him, praise Him, and obey Him. God knows and God still loves. Amazing.

3. Jesus knows the truth. Sometimes we can get sideways with a person and what really happened gets tossed out the window and we are declared guilty when we are actually very innocent. God knows. He knows the truth. He knows who lied to make themselves look good. He knows who really did what. Some actually get away with murder. Not with God. He knows. Sometimes in a disagreement, the best thing to remember is, “God knows.”

4. Jesus knows what we’ve done. We don’t have to tell God, He knows. We don’t have to brag to Heaven. God knows. He sees the little things like a cup of cold water. He sees the cards sent. He sees the pats on the back. He also knows the big things. Helping a college kid with school costs. Teaching a grandchild the story of the Bible. He knows how many miles you traveled to help someone. He knows what costs you paid to make the meal, help the person out. He knows the gifts you have given. God knows. If God knows, no one else really needs to. Remembering God knows, keeps me from tooting my own horn. Maybe no one even said ‘thank you.’ God knows. Maybe no one noticed, God did. Maybe we wonder if it’s even worth the effort. God knows. That’s all that matters.

5. Jesus knows when you are hurting. This is another thing that we try very hard to keep hidden. We don’t like others to know that we hurt, especially emotionally and spiritually. Some folks can say some very cruel things. They can be insensitive and mean. Some don’t think before they speak. The old saying, “sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never harm you,” isn’t true. Words hurt. Words are remembered. You may have carried some around with you for a long time. Words like, “Can’t you do anything right…” or, “you’re fat…” or, “you’re not wanted around here…” or, “you’re not good enough…” or, “you’re black…” or, “you’re dumb…” or, “I don’t love you any more.” Think words don’t hurt? Sure they do. They continue to hurt long after they have been spoken. Jesus knows. He knows the scars we carry. He knows how we have been hurt. He understands. There is one that will not say those kind of things to you. It is Jesus. Jesus knows.

Jesus knowing…went. What a great expression.

Roger