John 18:19-24

John 18:19-24 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  It's somewhat amusing to think that the officer is upset that Jesus isn't treating the priest with enough respect.  Jesus, the one who should be respected above all else, is arrested and on trial, because he doesn't have an official title, while the high priest, who has a title but lacks the character that should accompany it, is in power and yet is the one truly under judgment.
  Character matters.  Given the option, it seems as though many people in the world opt for power, fame, money, or influence, and they opt not to choose the more challenging path to building character.  Many expect respect because of their title or influence, but they don't lead a life that proves them worthy of respect.
  Many others choose the humble path  Jesus demonstrated this to the disciples -- despite the claims he could make to power, he laid that aside as the suffering servant, washing the feet of his friends and dying for his enemies.  In doing so, he showed us how to live with eternity in mind.
  Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, Jesus tells us, and we'll receive more than we can ask or imagine.

John 18:12-18

John 18:12-18 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Peter is a study in contrasts.  In one moment, he's Peter, striding powerfully on the waves.  In another, he is rebuked by Jesus.  One moment, he's here, denying even knowing Jesus when accused by a servant girl, while in another, he's the rock upon whom Jesus will build his church.  Peter swings from one emotional moment to the next, always close to Jesus, but sometimes drawing nearer while at others falling farther. 
  We are all Peter in some ways.  There are times when we're quieting the competing voices of the heart, listening to the voice of the Spirit guiding us closer to God, and in other times, we are so busy or chaotic or conflicted that we may as well be running from God.  Life is challenging.  Discipleship is challenging -- it's often like a pendulum, swinging back and forth, every now and again perfectly balanced before careening off to one side or the other.
  The important thing is to remember that we are always anchored to God.  While life can swing from one emotional state to the other, God is always near, and we are always beloved, treasured, redeemed and saved.  Our failures, our sins, our weaknesses and betrayals and denials do not invalidate us for service or distance us from God.  They make us feel separated from God, but we are not distant from our Savior.  God is the one who enters into our brokenness and brings light to the darkness.  While we may feel as though we are standing alone, we are never abandoned, and Christ is always pulling us closer.

John 18:1-11

John 18:1-11 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  You can tell the first century Jews didn't know what to make of Jesus -- they with swords to arrest a man who could raise the dead.  They were clearly nervous, uncertain what Jesus might do, but they brought their torches and weapons and arrested the man who commands armies of angels.  What's more amazing is that it worked, but not because of their power.  It was because of his willingness to accept the role of the sacrificial lamb.  The Jewish leaders were looking at him as a threat, not as the Messiah, and they got it terribly wrong.  Somehow, through it all,  Jesus loved them.
  Jesus offers us everything.  In Him, there is eternal hope and joy and peace.  We have life, a complete life that finally basks in the light of the eternal King.  It's all a free gift -- we don't have to earn it.
  But we don't know what to make of this offer, and so we settle for so much less.  We settle for giving Jesus an hour on Sundays and little pockets of time elsewhere.  We settle for letting Jesus be Lord of part of our lives, but we hold on to the rest, afraid of what might happen if Jesus was Lord of all.  We don't know what to make of Jesus, and so while we don't arrest him, we don't fall completely at his feet, either.  We hold back.
  Jesus is willing to give everything for us.  What shall we give back?

John 17:20-26

John 17:20-26
English Standard Version (ESV)

  It's easy to get overwhelmed.  'Busy' is the modern state of being -- there are so many demands on our time and our attention.  Even when I get some free time, it's so easy to while it away and not think proactively about what really needs to be done -- to take a mental break from the world. 
  Jesus is consistently reminding us to think about God's mission -- which is to the entire world.  Scripture sings of God's outreach, of the desire to reconcile all of creation back to God.  What sin has divided, God is working to unite.
  You and I are called to be a part of that mission, to join with God in making disciples.  When we pray, are we praying for the work of the Holy Spirit to awaken others to the work of God in their midst?  Do we pray with the heart of an evangelist?  This passage is a great reminder to pray for those who have not yet heard the Good News, and to listen for the Word of God calling us out into the world to share the glorious news of a Savior, risen from the dead!

John 17:6-19

John 17:6-19 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Jesus is talking about the disciples in a way that brings stewardship to mind.  This being fall, many churches are in stewardship drives, which people often hear as a plea for money.  And while churches need money to operate, God doesn't need your money -- Let's not pretend that God has been running a fundraising campaign to build the Kingdom of God and is waiting for the funding to hit the goal before returning to earth in all God's glory, although the idea of God having one of those heavenly thermometers to measure funds received is pretty amusing to me.  We have stewardship campaigns because the Gospels remind us that what we have is not truly ours, and faithful discipleship requires us to give back out of which we have been given.  Scripture calls us to give the firstfruits to God, which requires going out on a limb, because giving out of the first fruits means you don't necessarily know how much will come in afterwards.
  Jesus cared for the disciples because they belonged to God.  We care for our lives and our money and our gifts because they belong to God.  We use them well, because we know that we will be coming to God one day -- and what sort of legacy will we leave behind?  Will it be one of generosity, of gifts held loosely and freely shared, or will it be one of hands afraid to let go of what we have out of fear that we might not have enough?
  It's hard for me to give -- I'm consistently hearing the whispering doubts that I'll have enough, and so I hold on to what I have because I think I can build security for myself, that I can build my own kingdom to protect me from what lurks in the dark.
  In reality, as Jesus says, I am not of the world.  You are not of the world.  Your final home is not here, so do not attempt to build your own kingdom here.  Invest in God's Kingdom, one that relies on generosity and trusts the King, and in doing so, we will discover that we are investing in an eternal home. 

John 17:1-5

John 17:1-5 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  This is the longest recorded prayer we have by Jesus -- the priestly prayer.  He moves from praying for himself, to praying for the disciples, to praying for everyone. 
  As always, Jesus is teaching us.  He's both teaching us about God and about ourselves -- in looking at Jesus we begin to understand our own failings, and yet in teaching us about God, we learn that those failings are not fatal, and the grace of God calls us forward into a new understanding of ourselves, rather than threatens us and motivates out of fear.
  Why does Jesus ask to be glorified?  So that Jesus can glorify the Father.  He has authority, but it's to give life to others.  Jesus isn't an end, but rather a path, a gate, so that others may have eternal life, so that God may be glorified.  When we pray, and when we ask for things, do we ask just so we can have for ourselves, or are we looking beyond ourselves to think about how that prayer might ultimately serve others or bring glory to God?  It's not about us.  It's about God, and in learning how to focus on God, we receive more than we could have ever asked or imagined.  As Tim Keller puts it, when we learn to glorify God and praise God for being all we could ever want, we suddenly realize that we want other things less. 

John 16:29-33

John 16:29-33 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Tracking Jesus' followers is a fascinating exercise.  We see crowds follow him due to his teachings and his miracles.  Then we see them abandon him due to his challenging teachings.  We see crowds continue to come due to his authority, and yet they abandon him when the leaders of the church stir up the crowds.  They gather on Palm Sunday when he enters Jerusalem, and they scatter out of fear when Jesus falls from favor.  One moment they're pledging their lives, the next they are scrambling to save themselves.
  We do the same, right?  We have heartfelt religious experiences one day, and then chase idols the next.  We pledge our hearts to Jesus, and then freely hand them over to other temptations..
  Just as Jesus loved the crowds, he loves us through our weakness.  Just as Jesus chose the disciples, Jesus chooses us.  God's love does not depend on our fidelity -- the covenantal love of God transcends our falling short, and God is faithful despite our faithlessness. 

John 16:25-28

John 16:25-28 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Our kids sometimes ask tough questions.  They ask about death and they ask about heaven and sickness.  We try to be honest with them, but there are certain concepts they cannot quite wrap their minds around.  They're not yet 10, so we introduce them to things slowly, as their minds are ready, and then continue asking questions to see how they are slowly coming to grasp more challenging concepts as they age.
  God does similar things to us.  While we're in these mortal bodies, we can only understand so much about God this side of heaven.  Jesus describes the Kingdom of God to us, but our minds and hearts cannot see the fullness of them, for God's unapproachable light is too great for us.  This is why God hid Moses in the cleft of a rock when God revealed himself to Moses -- we simply cannot see the full glory of God while we are on this side of our resurrections. 
  Rather than wait for us to figure it out, however, God comes to us in Jesus Christ and reveals the glory of God, to the extent we can handle it.  God sends the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, to animate and awaken our hearts and minds, so that we might understand as much as we are able, so that relationship might be as deep as possible this side of heaven.  It is up to us to open our hearts and receive what God is pouring out, to grasp the revelation of God in the world, so that we might know what there is for us to know about God before we see God in the fullness of heaven.

John 16:16-24

John 16:16-24 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  One of the best books I've ever read is by Peter Kreeft, called Love is Stronger than Death.  Yes, I once spent an entire Saturday reading a book about death, and yes, I understand that I'm a little strange at times.  Kreeft moves through different understandings of death, and one of his points is that death is similar to childbirth.  When a fetus is inside the womb, the womb is all it knows -- it's familiar.  The sounds, the feel -- it is home.  Birth is a transition into a completely alien world where existence is entirely different.  If you gave a fetus a choice, it might prefer to stick with what is known rather than move into the unknown (especially once it hears about telemarketing).  But we'd all agree that life in this world is better and richer than life in the womb. 
  So it is with death.  We know life in this world, and for all of its flaws, it's hard to imagine something else.  It's a transition into something unknown, and it's understandable to be fearful.  Jesus, however, is assuring us that all will be well.  We can rest confidently in the assurance of the fact that our joy will be full and no one will take that from us.  While it's uncertain what that resurrection life will be like (and we can pick up on the struggles to communicate the uncertain in the first parts of this passage), we can be confidant that Christ has secured the way forward and promises the fullness of the Kingdom to each.

John 16:12-15

John 16:12-15 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  I love going to the beach & walking along the surf.  There's something about the feel of the sand on my feet and the sound of the waves that relaxes me.  Swimming in the ocean, however, is not one of my favorite things to do.  Between the constant turbulence from the waves and the uncertain about what's lurking in the water, it gives me too much anxiety.  As someone once said, humans drop pretty far in the food chain once we get past six feet of depth in the ocean. 
  Faith is often compared to the ocean -- as we grow in our maturity, our faith deepens and takes on more diversity.  We gain a richer understanding of the work and love of Jesus Christ and see how complex the demands of the Holy Spirit can be -- we understand giving as more than just financial gifts, but also the proper use of our time and our talents.  We experience God in joyous celebrations and heartbreaking tragedies, and throughout all of it, we realize that God is good and that love ultimately will triumph over evil, despite the fact that evil still influences our lives today.
  Jesus is reminding us that there is much more to learn, including things we cannot live in this life.  Once we pass through the veil of death and enter fully into God's Kingdom, we will learn more about the incredible glory of God.  Our hearts and ears could not bear to fully know these things now, but when we stand in the presence of God, we will fully know and grasp wonders that are hidden from us now.
  So let us press on in faithfulness now, allowing the hope and expectation of the Kingdom lift our hearts with joy in the knowledge that what lies before is far more beautiful than we can imagine in the depths of our hearts.

John 16:5-11

John 16:5-11
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Two things here stand out to me.  The first is the necessity of Christ's death.  Anyone who says that Christ was just a good teacher isn't reading the entirety of the Gospels.  He was clear about his impending death and resurrection, and also about his identity as the Messiah -- the 'I Am' statements in John clearly identify him as someone more than just a teacher.  He's vitally important to humanity as our Savior, but he must die to save.  There must be a sacrifice, one final sacrifice that is effective for all of us, that has the power to atone for sin, both now and forevermore.  Only Jesus, who lived the perfect life, can be that sacrifice.
  Second, Jesus talks about judgment here.  If you're like me, you have a pretty healthy fear of judgment, so what's vital for us to remember is that the one who comes as judge is the same one who comes as Savior.  Jesus wants to save us, and he dies to save us.  Jesus isn't waiting to see how we mess up -- he's watching to see us be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit within us.  Jesus loves us and wants us to thrive in the eternal kingdom, where the grace and mercy that are available now abound forever.

John 16:1-4

John 16:1-4 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  In the hardest times, who does your ultimate loyalty lay with?  When the going gets really tough, are you ready to bail, or are you committed?  When push comes to shove, do you put God first, or do you prefer to save your own skin?
  The first century disciples were facing the lose of their own lives.  We face loss in different ways, but yet, we still risk everything.  Are you committed?  Do you seek the life that is beyond the grave? or do you fear what might be in front of you?

John 15:18-27

John 15:18-27 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Many mornings, I get up and work out.  Most of those days, I really don't feel like it, and five minutes into the workout... I still don't feel like it.  I try and take the long view, trusting that it'll help me reach my goals.  But I've got to be willing to endure some short-term discomfort to reach the long-term goal.
  Jesus is reminding the disciples here that they have a long-term goal, and it's not involved with this world.  As outsiders, there will always be conflict with the world, because their citizenship rests in heaven.  They are aliens in this society, with different goals and different values and different methods of treating people, and because of that, they'll likely be rejected and abused and even killed.  Jesus went ahead of them, and he was killed for it, but there is no reason to fear, because death isn't an obstacle, only a veil through which we pass as we enter eternal life. 
  There is something that will always be different about the Christian, and that will cause friction in various points throughout our lives, but as long as keep our eyes and hearts focused on Christ and trust his guidance to selflessly serve, no matter what, the Kingdom of God will be such a treasure before us that we'll endure whatever momentary struggles to obtain what Christ has obtained for us.  We're like children running through a field, eyes fixed on a treehouse with fresh cookies that beckons us forward, only slightly aware of the briers that pull at our legs as we press on towards the goal.

John 15:12-17

John 15:12-17 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  If you work for a large company, you may know the leadership, and may feel some loyalty towards them, but most employees aren't friends with executives -- there are too many employees and not enough executives.  The executives are often focused on strategies and making big decisions, and they carefully consider how to roll these out to the employees, who are not privy to the decision making process.
  Jesus operates with a different process.  He personally invests in each individual.  As Augustine said, God loves each of you as if there was only one to love.  Had you been the only one, Jesus still would have ascended the cross and died to save, and the Holy Spirit is investing in you, personally.  Also, the secrets of the Kingdom are not held closely by God, carefully revealed in a communications strategy.  Jesus tells us openly and plainly what God is doing, how we will be saved and about the eventual defeat of the enemy.  Jesus shares this with us because we are friends, and as a response, we are called to emulate Jesus, to love selflessly as we have been loved, to give freely as has been given to us, to share and to serve.

John 15:1-11

John 15:1-11 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Raise your hand if you like the thought of being pruned.  Anyone?  No one?  Me either.  I like the thought of being pruned almost as much as my kids like the thought of being disciplined.  Hard to imagine a rose bush is excited about being pruned, and it's highly unlikely that it realizes, at the time, that the pruning is meant to spur it on to future growth.  It is probably only thinking about how much it hurts, in the same way we focus on the thought of being pruned more than we focus on the idea of the future spiritual growth that it might spur.  Here's something to think about -- if God were to do some 'pruning' in your life, what might that look like?  Is there resistance in an area of your life right now?  Are you facing challenges that force you to change or think about things in a different light? 
 Jesus does talk about bearing fruit.  Now, I don't know much about trees.  They're made of wood, but I can't tell the difference between different types of trees.  However, if a tree is covered in apples, I usually am pretty good at guessing what type of tree that is.  Oranges, too -- I almost always get that one right.  I recognize a tree by the type of fruit it produces.  Now, once that fruit is picked, I don't know who eats it or where it goes.  In the same way, I recognize a person by what kind of behavior they have, how they treat one another.  But I don't know necessarily how that behavior might affect someone else.  It may take years before the selfless love of a person truly begins to transform another person.  We don't know.  All we can do is love selflessly and trust in the Holy Spirit.

  If you're interested in an article about abiding in God's love, click here.

John 14:22-31

John 14:22-31 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Jesus gives peace differently than the world gives -- that's important.  If you've been following the on-again/off-again trade negotiations with China, there is a good deal of political posturing in order to secure a good deal for each side.  Everyone wants something, and in order to give up anything, they're going to be sure they get a piece of what they want.
  Jesus comes and offers us peace, but rather than demand that we pay a price, Jesus goes ahead and pays the price for us!!  He climbs up on the cross and pays what we cannot pay so that we can have what we cannot obtain for ourselves.  He does not give as the world gives, but gives freely and generously. 
  So let us not grow troubled, especially when things may not be going our way.  In the big, big picture, we have been given peace that the world cannot take away from us.  May that peace reign in your heart today, and take a moment in the middle of the day to take three deep breaths and allow the peace of God to flow through everything you are and do.

John 14:15-21

John 14:15-21 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  We've all got a lot of questions about the universe and the world and good and evil and life and death and pain and suffering.  I've been reading The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, and what's fascinating to me is how immense the time frames are.  The author talks in terms of millions of years.  At the end of the Permian era, roughly 250 million years ago, volcanoes erupted for a few million years.  I can't even wrap my head around that.  When I think about things that take a long time, I think in terms of weeks or years.  Geologic history is just so much longer, and human life is but a blink of an eye, and I have so many questions about God's plan and God's Kingdom and redemption and life after death and heaven and hell.
  Here, Jesus is focusing us on one simple truth:  Because he lives, we will live.  Because Jesus rose from the dead, we, too, will rise from the dead.  Because he has been resurrected, we, too, will be resurrected, and will live with him forever.  It's as simple as that -- it's what we celebrate in baptism.  When Jesus Christ burst forth from the suddenly empty tomb on the first Easter morning and demonstrated his power over death, he was showing us that there was a way forward. 
  We don't have to have all the answers.  But we can trust that Jesus' life is a signal to us that we, too, will have life beyond what we can ask or imagine.

John 14:8-14

John 14:8-14 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  If you're like me, at some point you've panicked and gone on a frantic search for your keys, digging in every pocket and bag and possible location, only to realize they're sitting on the counter in front of you (or occasionally still hanging in the ignition...).  If you're like me, you've sifted through every single thing in the fridge in search of one thing, only to see it finally, sitting in the front, in the middle.
  If you're like me, you've been searching for what Jesus is up to at some point in your life, only to realize later on that Jesus was at work right in the heart of your life, in the midst of your relationships and strife and joys.  The presence of God surrounded you, and you never realized it until much later.
  God is at work around us, even if we don't always realize it.  Jesus is here, and sometimes the most challenging thing we can do is open our hearts and lives to see how God is working. 
  A note on the conclusion of this -- Jesus notes that whoever believes will also do the works of Christ.  Note the order here -- belief comes before the works.  Jesus extends his love to us first.  The Holy Spirit dwells in us first.  God reaches out first.  This is so important, because when we remember that our actions follow the work of God, then we realize that salvation depends on Christ's work, not our own.  Then we can let go of perfection and fall into grace.  Then we can receive without anxiety and give without restraint.  Then we sink into the full blessing of God.

John 14:1-7

John 14:1-7 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  The Good News here is that Jesus doesn't point us along a path and give us some words of encouragement.  He isn't simply a great teacher who inspired hearts to do a little better in the hopes that they would figure out which path was the right one.  In this passage, Thomas asks the question we are all asking, to some degree.  How can we know the way?
  Jesus gives us an answer better than what we could have hoped for.  He is the way, and that way has come to us.  Jesus takes on flesh and bone so that we will know the way, and in him we discover the way -- not only the way, but also the truth and the life.  With Jesus, we get more than what we could ask for, more than what our limited minds can grasp -- Jesus gives us truth and life.
  He tells us, though, that no one can come to the Father except through him.  We can't figure this out on our own.  We can't think our way forward into the Kingdom of Heaven.  There is no other gate.  There are a lot of important salvation questions that are tied up in verse 6, and we can choose two attitudes.  We can approach them with anxiety or fear, or we can do so with hope and comfort.  I choose hope and comfort, because when I look at Jesus, I see the way coming to us, revealing himself to us and inviting us in -- not on our own merit, but on the merit of a perfect lamb giving himself up so that others may have life.
  The one who comes to judge is the same as the one who comes to save.  The way reaches out to you -- rather than waiting for you to take the proper steps, Jesus takes those steps to reach you and save you.

John 13:36-38

John 13:36-38
English Standard Version (ESV)

  This short passage captures so much of what it means to be human, what it means to be called, and how deeply we are loved.
  To be human means that we are sinful and fallen.  It also means that we are handcrafted, uniquely designed by God, called into being and intimately loved.  Jesus was fully human, but without sin, which means that he did not have our weakness.  While Peter denied Jesus and the rest of the disciples fled to save their own skin, Jesus was not afraid to stand in the midst of the fire and suffer on our behalf.  While Jesus prayed that the cup might pass from him, Jesus was also willing to perfectly obey the will of the Father so that grace might shatter the bondage of sin.  Peter's will was good -- he intended to follow Jesus, but in the midst of the trial, Peter failed.
  In the same fashion, we are called.  Jesus invites us to follow, even though Jesus acknowledges that we cannot follow him now.  Only Jesus could go to the cross for us, paving the way forward for us to find redemption  When we are baptized, we are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus, but Jesus had to go before us to make a way. 
  Finally, we are fully and deeply loved.  Jesus knew, in the very beginning, that Peter would deny him.  Jesus called Peter a disciple anyway.  Jesus knew the disciples would flee when the Romans pressed in, but Jesus called them anyway.  Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, but Jesus called him anyway.  Jesus knew that you and I would sin and fall short of the glory of God, but Jesus called us anyway, loving us in the midst of our sinfulness, forgiving our weakness and redeeming us through his grace and power.  Our intentions may be good, and our actions may fail, and sometimes our intentions aren't good either, but Jesus loves us, calls us, redeems us and makes a way forward for us.

John 13:31-35

John 13:31-35 
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  In the early 4th century, there was a plague in Caesarea, and everyone fled to the countryside to get away from it.  Well, everyone but many of the Christians.  They stuck around and cared for the poor, sick and dying. 
  It's not the only instance of Christians caring for the poor and the sick, the desperate that many others in society would leave behind.  After the First Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., it was designated that a hospital would be established in every town with a cathedral.  I even found something that noted that if the goods of the hospital are not sufficient for its expenses, [the superintendent] ought to collect all the time and from all Christians provision according to the ability of each.
  Christians are known for the ways we selflessly love one another.  Unfortunately, we often fail very publicly, and lately it seems like the world is often celebrating the way Christians fail.  (This is why it is so vitally important for the church to always retain a message of humility, even when we are at our best.  We are sinful and imperfect, and will never achieve perfection this side of heaven.  May we be transparent in our weaknesses!)  We cannot control how the world reacts, but we can control our decisions, and Christ is calling us to die to ourselves daily, to consistently opt to sacrificially love one another, at their best and their worst, and in so doing, we demonstrate the love of Christ, who chooses to love you and I, even when we are at our worst!

John 13:21-30

John 13:21-30 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Let's imagine that you started a diet a few years back, and you've been disciplined to it every day since then.  You've had all sorts of opportunities to stray, but you never have.  And then we meet for lunch one day, and it's been a rough week, and you've been beaten down, and I tell you that you'll probably order cheesecake that week.  You deny it and can't believe it, but a few days later, after more opposition, you give in and order the cheesecake and eat the whole thing, feeling terrible and wonderful.  When I told you that you'd give in, you were infuriated, but when temptation overwhelmed your defenses, it turns out I was right.
  The disciples each claimed they'd never deny or desert Jesus.  Judas betrayed him, and the rest fled in the Garden when he was being arrested.  Asking them ahead of time only brought denials, but when they were scared and felt vulnerable, they ran to save themselves.
  The great news of the Gospel is this:  Jesus knows that we are weak, that we are sheep in need of a Shepherd, and he comes to us anyway.  He called the disciples knowing they would desert him, and he loved them and sent them just the same.  He kept Judas in his company for years, knowing Judas would betray him.  He loves me, despite the many times I fail him. 
  Jesus is the Good  Shepherd, and he loves us with an incredible and amazing love.  He loves us despite our failures, and we are forgiven despite our weaknesses.  Do not believe for an instant that your weaknesses disqualify you.  God loves you and comes to you, even in your weakest moments when you give in to temptation.

John 13:12-20

John 13:12-20 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  This is where we remember that Jesus saves us on purpose, for a purpose.  Notice that Jesus washes the feet of the disciples first.  This is critical for us to understand -- the love of Jesus is unconditional.  You have been cleansed from sin.  Accepting the Lordship of Jesus Christ is recognizing that God moves first -- Jesus doesn't wait for you to sort your life out before coming to you in grace and mercy.  You are saved without merit.
  Then, Jesus makes it explicitly clear that we are to imitate his selfless service of others.  Salvation isn't given just to cleanse our feet.  Jesus does this, modeling selfless service, and then sends us back out into the world so that we will do to others as has been done to us.  We have been loved selflessly, without limit.  How now will we love one another?  What service will you to to friends and neighbors and strangers and enemies?  We are not greater than Jesus, so we shall serve.  It's not presented as a choice, merely an expectation.