Jump Start # 2691

 John 14:30 “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,“

Our verse today nears the end of Jesus’ discourse with His disciples. The cross was looming in His mind. The time was near. And, in the words of our passage, “the rule of this world is coming.” That of course, would be Satan. It was Satan that tempted Judas. It was Satan that tempted Peter. And, it’s Satan that knocks on the doors of each of our hearts. He is a ruler, but he is not, nor will he ever be “the King of kings and the Lord of lords.”

There is an interesting statement at the conclusion of our verse. The New American Standard  states, “he has nothing in Me.” The English Standard, our verse today, uses, “He has no claim on me.” No claim. We understand that idea. It’s about ownership. Mortgage titles and car titles and publication rights  are about ownership. Many famous musicians, early in their careers, signed away the rights of their songs to record producers and agents. After those songs became major hits many learned that the owners of those rights were making all the money. The musicians wrote the songs, recorded the songs, and toured the world, but the money came in to those who owned the rights of those songs.

Here, in our passage, Jesus is declaring that Satan doesn’t own Him. He has no claim on me. He has nothing  in Me. Jesus didn’t owe Satan anything. Satan couldn’t declare that part of Jesus belonged to the wicked one. Jesus was 100% committed to God. He was all in. And, this is evident throughout the Gospels.

• Pilate investigated and interrogated Jesus and found Him to be innocent. There was nothing worthy of death.
• The Pharisees tried and tried to trip Jesus up. They tried to trick Jesus. They tried to trap Jesus against the law. They never could.
• The Sadducees also tried to find a flaw in Jesus. They made up hypothetical situations that they believed would confuse and catch Jesus in a doctrinal spider web that He could not escape. He did.
• Alone with Satan in the wilderness for more than a month, Satan tried and tried to get Jesus to sin. He couldn’t do it. Satan even used the word of God against Jesus. It didn’t work.

Blameless. Perfect. Flawless. Consistent. All this was true in His teachings and in His character and behavior. He was tempted but He never sinned. Satan had no claim in Jesus.

Now, some lessons for us.

First, this hasn’t been true of us. Satan has had a claim on us. In fact, there was a time when Satan owned us. Temptation has knocked and we not only answered the door, we invited temptation in. We have struggled and we have often slipped. We have done things worthy of death. We have not acted as we should have. We’ve thought things, said things, and did things that we should never have. Ours has been a struggle. There have been some skirmishes and battles that we lost. There has been some causalities and consequences to our sins. There has been times in our past that there has been more Satan in us than there has been God.

Second, because of the love of Jesus and His saving blood, we have been cleansed, washed and redeemed. And, we needed to be. It’s not a matter of simply “going to church” on Sundays, but a total rewiring and a reclaiming of who owns us. We have retitled our hearts and given that title to Jesus. He now claims us. We belong to Him. He has opened the prison door that Satan locked and convinced us that the key was thrown away and we would never get out. But, that’s not true. Because of Jesus we are free.

These concepts are hard for some to understand. The American spirit has led some to believe that spiritually I belong to no one. I am on my own. Independent. Answering to no one. Calling my own shots. This is how many think it is, but they are wrong. You are either claimed by the ‘ruler of this world,’ or you belong to Christ. There is no true independence. That very idea is nothing more than the Gospel of Satan. Doing what you want, when you want, as you want, is just Satan talk.

Third, it is an honor to be claimed by God. Broken as we were, God could have declared that He had no purpose or use for us. But He didn’t. Loved. Forgiven. Wanted. Needed. God claims Christians. Being a Christian is nothing to apologize for. It’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s not something that we try to keep hidden. It’s just the opposite. Tell the world, scream it from the rooftops, let the world know, we belong to Christ. Jesus matters and He matters the most to us. Satan has nothing on Jesus. And, as long as we stay very close to Jesus, and step where He stepped and follow Him, we will get through this world and find ourselves with the Savior forever.

There is a scene in Disney’s first Toy Story movie where on the bottom of Woody’s cowboy boot is written the name “Andy,” the little boy who owned him. And, if you could see written on the hearts of disciples, you would find the name “Jesus.” He claims us. Paul told the Galatians, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

These thoughts are important and important to share with others. Many seem to travel in a fog these days. They are uncertain who they are and where they fit in. Society pushes them this way and then back that way. Family, friends, work, just where do we fit in. We belong to Jesus. He claims us. He’s paid the price to purchase us. It wasn’t cash. It wasn’t a loan. It was His blood. We are a blood bought people. And, with that, He claims us. We belong to Jesus.

Who has a claim on you? Do you know?

Roger