Knowing

As you listen to and read the Bible it's good to be alert to some of the literary tools that it uses. Last week I referred to a theme in John's Gospel, and that was helpful in understanding some of the depth of what it means to be servants to each other. This week I want you to notice another literary device: repetition. In the section of Scripture that I am going to read, John repeats a word. Most of the time this word is translated as some form of the verb 'to know', though there are a couple of times in our text that it is translated 'understand'. So, as I read listen for this word. Our text is John 13.1-20.

John is quite clear in telling us that there were some things that Jesus knew. What were they? He knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world. He knew that the Father had given all things into His hands. He knew that He had come from God and was going back to God. And He knew who was to betray Him. I want to look at the first three of those, leaving the last for some other time. What did Jesus know and what difference did it make that He knew those things?

Here's the first: Jesus knew His hour had come. This theme of Jesus' hour runs through John's Gospel. You may remember it from the miracle of the water to wine when Jesus said,

My hour has not yet come.

But that was then. The situation has changed. His hour has now come. The Cross is just around the corner. It is time to die, and Jesus knew it. The timing of His death was not something that He had all planned out. It was the Father's plan. So, in knowing the hour Jesus knew the Father's plan. He knew what the Father was up to. And knowing that, He could prepare for it. This was the time to express His love to those Twelve, to prepare them for what was going to happen, to speak those last words to them. Jesus knew what God was up to so He could respond well to what was going on.

Jesus also knew that He had come from God and was going back to God. This means that He had a sense of who He was and what He was to be about. He was sent on a mission by the Father. That was the framework for His life. He was able to make wise decisions throughout His life because He viewed His choices through this framework. He had a sense of Himself and His calling. And that calling was now coming to a climax. So, He was going back to the Father from whom He had come. Or to say that differently, it was time for Him to go home. In this, He was like so many soldiers in the midst of warfare. They fight for family and friends and country. They do this because they understand the necessity. But what they want more than anything is to go home. And when that time finally comes, there is a great sense of relief. Home. Jesus is going home. And He knows it.

But He does not go home as the same person who left there. John tells us that, 'the Father had given all things into his hand.' What is this? What are these 'all things'? 'All things' means all things - everything. The Father had placed everything into Jesus' hands. He was returning home as Lord over all things. Jesus was going to return as the victor in His battle against evil. So, as Hebrews tells us,

For the joy that was set before him Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus is going to return home to be enthroned as a King, to be crowned as the victorious Lord who has won back the Kingdom of God. And He knew this. It was out of that knowledge that He spoke to His friends and made Himself ready for the Cross.

Jesus knew some things. And knowing those things made a large difference in how He dealt with life. Because of what He knew, He could live well. He could live wisely. And as a result, He was able to care for His friends and to accomplish what the Father had set before Him.

Now, it's time for a question. How did Jesus know these things? The common answer includes something about His deity. 'Jesus knew stuff like that because He was God.' I really don't like that answer. And I don't like it not just because it's wrong but also because it is so misleading and unhelpful. To be sure, Jesus is God, but He is God who became flesh. He became a man, and He lived as a man among us. I think that I can say that the only aspect of His ministry that required Him to be God was His suffering on the Cross. But beside that, what He did could be done by any person. Think about the prophets who spoke for God, did miracles and knew things. Jesus was just like them.

Why is this important? It's important because in this text Jesus presents Himself as an example. One of the reasons Jesus came was so that He could be an example of what living well looks like. Jesus wanted those Twelve - and He wants all of you - to imitate Him. Your imitation of Him goes much further than being servants to each other. You are also to imitate Him when it comes to knowing. Just like Jesus, you are able to know things about yourself, your calling and what your God is doing with you. You can know. When He was here Jesus expected people to know these sorts of things. Here's one example.

He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Jesus expected the crowds to know what God was up to. They could have known how to interpret their times. You can know.

So, there are things about who you are and what is happening that you can know just like Jesus knew. And knowing these things is so good. Knowing these things will help you to be encouraged and hopeful. You will have a sense of what God is doing so that you can work with Him toward His goals for you and for others. And all of this will give you a clearer sense of yourself. You will come to see that you are someone who is significant in God's sight, someone whom He has called to advance His plan for this world and to do that in specific ways. Knowing can make a huge difference. It did for Jesus, and it can for you.

The obvious question at this point is, 'How?' How can you know like Jesus knew? How can you come to know what God is up to and what He intends you to do and all of that? If you think about it, what I have been talking about can be summed up by a familiar but not well understood word. I've been talking about wisdom. After all, wisdom is all about knowing. It's about understanding things, understanding God, understanding people and understanding yourself. It is insight into life, how it works and where it's going. Wisdom.  You can become wise, wise like Jesus. You can grow to understand all sorts of things about life. And knowing such things can make such a difference how you live and how God's Kingdom grows. So, how do you do that? What do you have to do to become wise?

I'm going to mention four things. There may be more, but this will be enough for now. The first is piety. The opposite of wisdom is foolishness. In the Scriptures, foolishness isn't about being ignorant. It's about being rebellious. The fool is someone who rejects what God has to say and lives according to what he thinks will work. That's why he is a fool and makes a mess of his life. So, wisdom is not about being smart. It's about submitting to God's way of doing things. It's about listening to what He has to say about how to live and then working at putting what you've heard into practice. Submitting to God lies at the heart of piety. Without this piety, this submission to God, becoming wise is impossible. The lack of piety is the route to foolishness. The first step to piety is a desire to submit.

Next is a teachable spirit. We all have blind spots, areas of foolish rebellion that we don't see. And sitting alone, reading the Bible will not change that. We need outside help. And that is part of what is behind Jesus' plan to establish His Church. One goal of any church is to expose blind spots in the saints so that they can be dealt with. That is done on a formal level, through the teaching ministry of the church. And it is also done on an informal level through the friendships of the saints. But neither of these will work if there isn't a teachable spirit, a willingness to listen, especially when a blind spot is being pointed out. Without this kind of attitude words will just bounce off. If you would be wise, if you would know in the same sorts of ways that Jesus knew, you will need a teachable spirit. You will need to be open to the other folk in this room as they point out your blind spots.

My third thought has to do with providence. There is much that goes into understanding the present, your present. One part of that is understanding your past, understanding what God has already brought you into and through to get you to the place where you are now. You understand your present by understanding your past. And as you understand your present you will be able to have some sense of your future, the future that God intends for you. You need to work at understanding what God has already done with you so that you can have some idea of what He will do with you. You need to consider His providence.

Then there is this last item: prayer.  Honest prayer is key. This is how you fight the pride that says, 'I know enough!' This is how you fight the remaining rebelliousness that says, 'I'm wise enough!' This is how you gain a teachable spirit and an understanding of God's providence in your past and into your future. But don't think about prayer as if it's some condition that you have to satisfy, some good work that God requires before He will bless. Honest prayer is nothing of the sort. It is rather the acknowledgement of your weakness, your absolute inability to get it right, your failure to be able to satisfy any condition. Prayer works because the person who is praying knows that he is so utterly dependent on the grace of God. So, pray that God will bless you with wisdom. Pray that you will know.

Why am I saying these things? Well, for one thing, I am convinced that you can be much more like Jesus than you are. You can know lots more than you do about your life and how it works and what is going on and what will go on. You can be much wiser than what you are. One of the great needs of the day is wisdom. Foolishness is rampant these days and growing. Fools are passing on their rebellious spirits to more and more people. If the Church is going to be a light in this dark place it will need to be a community of people who are more and more like Jesus, people who are growing in wisdom, people who understand some things, people who know. I want that for you. It is how life is supposed to work. And it is how your lives can work, for your joy and God's glory.