covenant and commission.

Last night, at sunset, began the Passover, according to the Jewish calendar, and it ends at nightfall on April 6th, which puts the crucifixion sometime in the next day. Although these holidays are not really celebrated in this country, it is rather surreal to be in the places where the OT prophecies about these things were written, at this time of year. These days are so much more than holidays, they are the days that all of history changed forever; they are the dividing line between the old and new covenant, between death under the law and life in the Messiah. I was reading this passage today and the colored section really struck me....

"It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him."John 13:1-5

We talk a lot at my church about the idea of Covenant and Commission...basically Identity and then calling. That these ideas are interwoven all throughout Scripture, that we are first given an identity and called out to go. I think this is what this passage in regards to Jesus is saying. It is because He knew his standing (identity) that He could, in deep humility, serve (calling) His disciples, even the one He knew would betray Him unto death. No one was taking anything from His identity or taking His power from Him because He knew it belonged to Him and only He could freely give it up, which He did. He knew where He came from and where He was going, so He was able to fulfill His Commission...the work of the Father.
Being here in Jordan, at Mount Nebo, at the Red Sea is not just a neat experience, it is a reminder that I am (my identity and calling) the direct result of things that happened here thousands of years ago...a story God has been writing since before the dawn of time.