Prayer Initiative: Closer to Jesus Sýnishorn

Apostle John begins this chapter by saying that having loved his own, Jesus loved them to the end. When He took a basin and a towel during their last meal together, He wanted to give them one last lesson about true love. He told them that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. This truth was hard to grasp, as the disciples were still thinking about who was the greatest among them. The word Servant was not in their vocabulary. The perspective of being a servant was not on their horizon. That is why Jesus took off His festive clothing, wrapped a towel around His waist, and kneeled to wash their dusty feet.

By the middle of the chapter, while describing how they found out there was a traitor in their midst, John started calling himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. This attribute could have gone unnoticed. But John repeated it three more times in the last chapters of his Gospel. What was the moment when John got it? What convinced him that he was loved? Was it arrogance on his part to consider himself more exceptional than others?

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know you are My disciples if you love one another.”

Only John included the washing of feet in his Gospel. Only John wrote about the new command. He got it and he wanted to help us get it too. We are loved and we are called to love.

What do you feel when you read how much God loves you? Do you identify as a disciple whom Jesus loves? How does being loved enables you to love others, even those who betray you? Ask Jesus: ”What do You have in Your Word for me today?” Listen and pray.

INTERCESSION: "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Cor. 5:14-15)

PRAYER:

• Pray for Jesus’ disciples to be strong in their identity as God’s beloved.
• Pray for Jesus' disciples to be a strong testimony of God’s love.
• Pray for Jesus' disciples to model servanthood the same way Jesus did.
• Continue praying for the people on your list.
• Continue praying for the miracles on your list.