Kept From Stumbling

These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. (John 16:1)

As I read through the surrounding context, I wonder what Jesus means by this word stumbling. In my opinion, the chapter break should occur between 15:25 and 15:26 where Jesus begins to talk about the coming of the Holy Spirit. That is where I see a logical pause in the flow. In the previous two verses to this one Jesus mentions testifying. First, the Holy Spirit will testify about Jesus and then the disciples are going to testify about Him also because, He says, they have been with Him.

I am seeing in this passage the core issue of the Great Controversy between God and Satan emerging quite clearly. God has been accused of having characteristics of evil found in Satan and as a result His reputation is under tremendous doubt. Our sinful nature predisposes us to question God's motives as we project our own weaknesses and faults onto our opinions about how He feels about us. Thus there is need for strong, valid, truthful witnesses to give public testimony in favor of God to more clearly refute the lying insinuations about what God is like.

When Jesus speaks here of both the Holy Spirit and the followers of Jesus testifying about Him, I believe He is also inferring the fact that He Himself came to bear the clearest testimony as to the real truth about God that has for so long been obscured by the many false beliefs and claims about Him. In essence, what I see Jesus telling us is that God is not only relying on the most reliable testimony of His own Son to refute the accusations of the enemy, He is also looking for as much supporting testimony from every other source to reinforce this testimony of Jesus' words and example.

Given this context which is vital to include when looking for clues to unpack this verse, I find it revealing that Jesus would suddenly mention the idea of stumbling. It also reminds me of the intensive study we did over six months ago on Matthew 18 where Jesus had a lot to say about stumbling. There I learned that in Jesus' thinking, stumbling and offense and sin are all pretty much the same thing. In fact, depending on what version of the Bible you look at, any one of these words might be substituted there for the other.

In the above verse Jesus says that it is what He spoke to the disciples that was meant to keep them from stumbling. Specifically He seems to be talking about the immediate context of what He had just been saying to them which is starting to be quite significant the more I look at it. For the last 10-15 verses Jesus is talking to them about the inevitable clash they will encounter between themselves and what Jesus calls the world – those who do not share their passion for Jesus. He explicitly has told them that the world is going to hate them simply because they will remind the world of Jesus whom it also hates.

The question that surfaces in my heart is, Why would the world hate someone who seemed to be so nonthreatening? Those in the world are generally afraid of anyone coming along with superior force to threaten the power certain groups maintain over those under their control. Yet Jesus was the meekest person ever to walk the face of this earth. So how could this gentle, meek and mild representative of heaven come across as such a danger that reactions to Him should be hatred and violence?

I am not eager to jump into the typical religious explanations of this here. Rather I am trying to stay with the natural questions that my own heart raises and listen for thoughts from God that make more sense at the heart level. And what is starting to come clearly into my awareness, especially after noting the following few verses after the one above, are the words of Peter which have had some of the most impact on my own thinking over the past few years in this regards.

The context I see here as to why Jesus might be warning His disciples about stumbling is both in the previous chapter as well as the following verses. Not only does Jesus speak of the world hating all those who choose to follow in His example and spirit, but 'the world' will feel compelled to expel any such disciples from their synagogues and even go so far as to kill them while believing that they are doing God's service.

Clearly Jesus has in mind here religious people, not what we generally think of as worldly people with little religious agenda. When Jesus speaks of the world in this context He is talking about mainline religious people, not people outside of the sphere of religion. And when He speaks of being ostracized from synagogues He is speaking generically about places of worship, which in our day would clearly be along the line of churches and religious institutions which at that time did not yet even exist.

Several things are starting to emerge for me the more I look at this. First, I see Jesus here telling us to expect animosity from those around us as soon as we take seriously the words of Jesus we find in these passages. Second, hatred is going to manifest itself in ever intensifying persecution and violence against those who follow the example and maintain the spirit of Jesus. Third, the specific reason Jesus gives here in both sections is very clear:

But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. (John 15:21)

These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. (16:3)

I am convinced that this knowing is not referring to intellectual information or data such as doctrines. It is not knowledge of the cerebral sort that prevents us from getting caught up in the spirit of animosity that false religion, what Jesus calls the world, exhibits toward those who truly follow Jesus. It is a kind of intimate knowledge that transforms a person to so think and live and react like Jesus that it acts as a light exposing the falsity and shallowness of the slick, pious veneer that religion relies on to keep itself in power. As soon as real light begins to shine from the hearts and lives of people who really know God at the heart level, there will always be resistance aroused. But the nature of this resistance is most often in the name of defending God. Religion always claims to be serving God while in reality it usually acts to preserve its own interests and control. Religious institutions always gravitate over time toward self-preservation at the expense of true spirituality.

But the question remains, how do these things relate to Jesus' warning here about stumbling? How are Jesus' words in this passage meant to keep us from stumbling whenever we find ourselves facing the inevitable opposition that Jesus talks about here? And more specifically, what kind of stumbling does Jesus have in mind that we need to beware of and avoid by keeping His words clearly in our attention?

Again, I believe one of the clearest explanations of this, a key that has unlocked so many other things for me personally, is found in the words of Peter written later. I believe Peter all his life remained completely amazed at how Jesus responded to these very same situations. And it is this clear example of Jesus that demonstrated explicitly the words He had been telling His disciples and that gave those words real power and vividness during the last hours of His life that took place right after He spoke these words.

I want to amplify the words of Peter a little by using a number of translations that for me help to flush out the deeper implications of this passage more distinctly.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."

When they shouted bad things at him, he didn't shout back; and when he was suffering, he didn't threaten anyone.

Although he was abused, he never tried to get even. And when he suffered, he made no threats.

When he was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult.

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return.

Christ never verbally abused those who verbally abused him.

To sharp words he gave no sharp answer; when he was undergoing pain, no angry word came from his lips.

Instead, he had faith in God, who judges fairly.

No, he let God take care of him. God is the one who judges rightly.

– but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge.

– but left everything to the one who judges fairly.

– but he put himself into the hands of the judge of righteousness.

(1 Peter 2:21-23 NRSV 2001 CEV ERV ESV GNB GW BBE)

In the light of this revelation about God by Jesus and reported by Peter, I strongly suspect that this is likely what Jesus had in mind when He spoke of the danger of stumbling. I am seeing here in these passages that when I encounter the animosity of the world coming from my church, from people who claim to be followers of Jesus and serving God, but who see my beliefs and the way Jesus lives in me to be a threat to their status quo; when they increasingly pressure me to conform to their standards of religion, my natural reaction will be to want to defend myself, to resist, to retaliate with verbal or even physical violence in order to expose them as being the problem. I will be tempted to use accusations and sharp words and attacks similar to what they are using against me. Yet at the same time, I hear Jesus saying that to do anything differently than what Peter described here about how Jesus reacted under similar circumstances will be to stumble.

How in the world am I ever to meet that kind of opposition and have the spirit of Jesus as described so well by Peter? For me that is obviously impossible short of a radical miracle of God. I know my natural heart all too well to think that I could face that kind of pressure and yet act in the forgiving, loving, meek way that Jesus demonstrated during His final hours. I have problems enough maintaining a peaceful, forgiving spirit under little provocations. How can I ever have enough power to overcome my own strong, impulsive reactions to defend myself and react in-kind to others who use force and threats and insults and lies to coerce me to conform to their way of living?

I notice two things here in the words of Jesus that address this problem.

1) These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. (John 16:1)

2) I have to know both the One who sent Jesus and know Jesus Himself personally in such a way that will so radically transform me that what will come out from me will be supernatural. This is what Jesus demonstrated through His total dependence on His Father as the only One who could be trusted when everyone else failed to be fair or just or truthful.

As far as I can see here, this is the core issue involved in stumbling or not stumbling. It is an issue of the heart, not about having correct factual information but a dispositional transformation.

Finally, as I look back at the words of Jesus again here, I see this truth confirmed in a following verse as Jesus continues to speak.

But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. (John 16:4)

My heart's desire is expressed well in one of my favorite songs by Steve Green that expresses my deep longing better than just simple words could ever do. Unfortunately I can't include the sound here.

Just the time I feel
that I've been caught
in the mire of self.
Just the time I feel
my mind's been bought
by worldly wealth.
That's when the breeze begins
to blow I know,
the Spirit's Call.
And all my worldly wanderings
just melt into His Love.

Oh, I want to know You more!
Deep within my soul I want to know You,
Oh, I want to know You.
To feel Your Heart and know Your Mind,
looking in Your eyes stirs up within me,
cries that says I want to know You
Oh, I want to know You more.
Oh, I want to know You more.

When my daily deeds
ordinarily lose life and song,
my heart begins to bleed,
sensitivity to Him is gone.
I've run the race but set my own pace
and face a shattered soul,
But [And] the Gentle Arms of Jesus
warm my hungering to be whole.

Oh, I want to know You more!
Deep within my soul I want to know You,
Oh, I want to know You.
And I would give my final breathe
to know You in Your Death and Resurrection,
Oh, I want to know You more.
Oh, I want to know You more.
Oh, I want to know You more...

You Are Not of the World

This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. (John 15:17-19)

Someone recently asked me advice on what to do about a person who was disrupting the unity and peace that was being sought by a small group of earnest believers seeking to know God better. Of course I am no expert in such matters and like any sincere seeker after God I have to grapple with similar issues myself at times. I have also long been a bit suspicious of quick answers about such issues from people thinking they know just how to handle any situation like this. So I offered a few thoughts but have generally left the question open before God myself to see what might come to my attention.

This morning as I opened my Bible to meditate in God's presence and listen to whatever He has for me today, this situation came to my attention again as I read the above verses. Already, before I even sat down to enter into worship, I had been convicted of my own shallow relationship to Him as I was made aware through a dream that my motives for serving God are still largely rooted in selfishness and self-preservation. But that is another issue I need to explore with God myself.

What has been coming to my attention over the past few days every time I read this passage is an interesting link between two phrases that may seem apparent to some but only recently opened up to me. In my Bible I drew a pencil line between these two phrases to remind myself of this connection.

you know that it has hated Me

If you were of the world

Jesus is talking here with His disciples, men whom He already knew were going to all forsake Him in just a few short hours. He knew the shallowness of their devotion to Him and at the same time He also knew the sincerity of their desire to follow Him even though they were still mostly oblivious to the implications of nearly everything He had been teaching them about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus came and enlisted the loyalty of this group of men in helping Him spread the good news about the arrival of His new kingdom on earth. But their preconceived beliefs about the nature of this expected kingdom that should be set up by the Messiah inhibited their ability to grasp many of the things He had tried to share with them about the nature of this new kingdom.

It is all too easy to think that we are far more enlightened than these bumbling disciples who were so certain they knew the path a Messiah was supposed to follow. We are often quite confident that we have learned enough from the history of their mistakes and we have all the facts now aligned properly and can preach with confidence the revised truth about God's kingdom.

Think again! Really? How can we be so cock-sure we have it together now while the world's leading experts in religion, leaders of the chosen people of God who clearly had inherited all the knowledge that God had tried to share with this world, failed to perceive the true nature of Jesus' purpose here on earth? What underlies such assuredness that we have not fallen into the same trap of smugness based on knowledge rather than relying on a humble submission to the guidance of the Spirit of Truth that Jesus sent to guide us into all truth? Remember the original cause that plunged all humanity into the sin problem? It affects all of us like an addiction passed down to us like babies born of a cocaine addicted mother. We are pre-disposed to think that what we still need today is to eat of the Tree of Knowledge.

But as usual I have digressed a bit. I still have not gotten to the main point that I noticed in this important message from Jesus. What was one of the things we can see Jesus saying in these words to His disciples?

First, notice that Jesus explicitly states that the world hates Him. All throughout this teaching Jesus speaks of an existing animosity between God and what He calls the world, all those who resist or reject the true nature of His new kingdom and its King. Also throughout this passage He makes it explicitly clear what the core of this new kingdom looks like. We see it clearly in verse 17 – love for one another.

What I see Jesus implying in these verses is in a way a prophecy about His disciples if we choose to view it that way. It might make more sense to us if we saw this as Jesus believing in them even when there was little to no evidence yet of the reality of what was being believed. That is another subject that amazes me – the enormous faith that God has in all of us sinners. We have too often been distracted from the real issue by thinking that faith is something we have to work up ourselves in order to engage in the process of the salvation provided by God. But in reality what I am starting to see is that like love, faith has to be awakened as a reflection or response to a pre-existing faith about us from an outside source. When we begin to really grasp and appreciate how much faith God is exercising toward sinners and how He demonstrates that faith in actions, only then can genuine faith begin to awaken in our hearts that can then prove useful for the saving of our own souls.

But back again to the main point. When Jesus speaks to His disciples here using the words, if you were of the world, what He is also saying is that, contrary to even what appeared to be obvious evidence about to emerge by all of them forsaking of Him during His greatest time of need, He was confident that they were not the same in heart as those around them who hated Him.

Don't lose sight of the fact that Jesus is speaking to men who are very deluded about their own true condition. They have increasingly been caught arguing about who was the greatest among them. But even the real meaning of that fact is missed by most of us for its true significance. These were not just arguments about who was the best or should have the highest places in the assumed coming kingdom they expected Jesus to set up; this was really more about which of them should be considered as the most loyal to Jesus. Loyalty was the real issue of contention and competition between these men more than ability or skills. All of them wanted to be seen as the most fiercely loyal to Jesus above all the others, for they were immersed in the same false belief that so many of us are caught up in – the assumption that God operates on the principles of reward and punishment. But these principles were introduced by another author of such notions, the great rebel himself who lived for a time in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

When we view these events from this perspective, it becomes easier to see why the disciples did many of the things they did that don't make a lot of sense in another context. During this time in the upper room when Jesus asked if they had a sword, two of them instantly responded in the affirmative. Why this eager response to Jesus' query? Because having a physical weapon in their mind was a sure sign of greater loyalty than those who weren't carrying concealed weapons. Likewise, when Peter reacted to the threats of the mob later in the Garden of Gethsemane by whipping out his 'sword' (more likely a fisherman's long dagger) and trying to fend off anyone viewed as a threat to His leader, he was acting that way to prove to all who might be watching that he was the most loyal disciple and had the most bravery under stress.

I could go on, but hopefully you get the point. The whole mindset of all the disciples during this time was an obsession with wanting to be seen as the most loyal to the Messiah. And why was this such an obsession for all of them? Because, based on their vested beliefs in the principle of rewards and/or punishment, they were confident that the more they could prove their loyalty to Jesus the greater would be their reward after all the fighting subsided and they would emerge as the winners.

It is vital that we take time to temporarily lay aside our context of knowing how different things looked to Jesus than what was going on in the psyche of all the disciples if we want to begin to grasp why they were so dull and acted so seemingly ignorant at times. We seem amazed how Jesus could so plainly speaking of His impending death and suffering and yet have all of it fall on deaf ears when it came to the disciples paying any attention. But our very amazement betrays a similar condition in our own hearts that we must take note of if we hope to avoid a similar reaction during our own times of testing.

So, what does this have to do with my friend's dilemma with a man who is disruptive in their small study group? And does this have anything to say to my shame aroused by the Spirit's conviction in exposing my own connection to God not so different than that of the disciples in the Upper Room?

Well, as I have listened to the Spirit while unpacking all of this, not knowing where it would take me, I am finding myself particularly encouraged by these things. Even though I am starting to see a little more clearly how shallow my own love and loyalty for God still is, I am seeing that it is God's faith about me that is what really matters, not my ability to work up either saving faith or compelling, selfless, agape love. Both of these things I have discovered are impossible for me to self-generate and the more I become frustrated with my lack of these necessary elements in my character, the more I realize my need for focusing all my hope and attention on God's faith and experiencing more intentionally God's unconditional, agape love in my own life.

But how does this apply to my friend's situation? That is not so clear to me yet, but maybe the Spirit can use this in ways I don't even know about to give her the answers she needs and the wisdom to know how to relate in the Spirit of Christ to their situation.

I do know that in this story the one disciple who continued to resist the emerging truth about the kind of kingdom Jesus was introducing had just dismissed himself by that time and was no longer present to hear all of these key insights being shared by Jesus. What compelled him to leave the presence of Jesus and disconnect from participating in what the rest of the group were now enjoying?

It was one of the most overwhelming acts of love committed by Jesus that still disturbs many Christians even today when they begin to sense the implications of His act. When Jesus humbled Himself in unconditional love for Judas by washing his dirty feet like a slave was expected to do, all the while refusing to expose Judas publicly for his calculated plans to betray Jesus; this deliberate, in-your-face intense level of kindness drove Judas right out of the presence of the greatest Lover ever to walk this earth.

True love is a polarizing force that compels people to take sides. The more intense the love the more open the polarization becomes. And while the other disciples were still ignorant of their own shallowness of loyalty to Jesus, Judas, by choosing to reject the last plea directed to his heart from the heart of His Master, destroyed the last bit of capacity within himself to even be able to respond to love ever again. It was not Jesus that condemned Judas and compelled him to commit suicide later in the story; rather it was the natural reaction of an inner self-inflicted condemnation that drove Judas to desire death more than the shame of living with an awareness of his own lost sordid character.

What does this teach us about how to deal with those who are disruptive, who seem to challenge everything we try to teach them, who seem bent on attacking, criticizing or discounting everything we cherish as valuable?

First, I believe we must be extremely cautious as to how to respond to such people. If we had been observers of the disciples and the way they behaved while not knowing the outcome of the story the way we now know, we would have most likely come to the consensus that Judas was not the one Jesus was speaking of when He said He already knew who would betray Him. From all outward appearances, Judas was considered more loyal than most of the other disciples. He had been very adept at keeping up appearances and 'spinning the media' to manicure his reputation. He embraced the same principles of reputation management that is so pervasive around us today and that infects too much of our thinking.

But it is human to look on the outward appearance while God looks far past this into the deep recesses of the heart. And while it might have seemed obvious that it was Peter, or maybe hot-headed John, or maybe even Simon the Zealot who still possibly harbored a secret desire to kill off Matthew the tax-collector/traitor, Jesus knew that it was one who was sitting very close to Him who was still resisting the most the love with which He was drawing all His disciples. Yet even then, Jesus refused to withdraw His own love but instead did just the opposite; He turned up the intensity of love by doing everything possible one last time to elicit a positive response from Judas if at all possible.

So, was Judas of the world? Did Judas hate Jesus? Is that why he betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver to the enemies? Was it hatred of Jesus or something else that drove Judas to such a horrific crime?

Ironically, Judas actually crafted a whole scenario in his mind that if Jesus could somehow be forced into a corner emotionally that He would finally agree to resort to using His supernatural powers to save Himself and His disciples. Then the great war of liberation from the tyranny of Rome that all the Jews were expectantly awaiting could finally be launched and the aspirations of the Jews could finally be realized. Judas had repeatedly tried to get Jesus to assume the throne of Israel for several years, but each time Jesus had thwarted his plans causing Judas to take offense. Finally Judas decided that he would have to resort to something more drastic, like setting up a clever scheme to force Jesus to resort to using force Himself. Then when the dust settled and it was all over, Jesus would thank Judas for being so brilliant as to contrive a way to help get Him past His timidity and finally assert His rights as the true Messiah. That was the plan in the mind of Judas and he was confident that it would work out in his favor and for the benefit of all involved. If so he felt assured that his position as the greatest in the new kingdom would be secured.

But don't forget that all of the disciples shared in similar views to what Judas embraced. And although they weren't ready to go as far as Judas in putting together such a far-reaching and risky scheme to get Jesus into power, they were certain that the kingdom Jesus wanted to set up was very much like every other kingdom ruling on this world put into place relying on force. So when Jesus kept talking about suffering and death and humiliation and a cross, none of these things fit anywhere into the deeply held beliefs of the religious authorities or the common folk. So anything that didn't fit well into what was assumed to be Scripture-based beliefs they held to about the Messiah , they simply ignored in favor of everything that supported their aspirations for liberation from the tyranny of Rome.

So, what might be going on in the heart of a person today who reacts strongly against accepted views within a small group? When someone holds strong opinions that clash with our shared beliefs, how do we react to them? Do we see them as a threatening outsider? And is truth discovered by taking a popular vote to see what the majority believes? If Jesus had taken a vote in the Upper Room, even after Judas left He would have been out-voted 11 to 1 as to how He should set up His kingdom on earth.

What methods should we rely on to keep an atmosphere conducive to truth within a group of believers? How can we bring harmony to a group of people desiring to follow Jesus but having stridently different opinions about how to do that? Is it really our issue to settle every difference of doctrine between us to arrive at unity? Are we going to establish God's kingdom through winning the arguments about which of us is the greatest as far as sound doctrine is concerned? Or is there something much more important than simply resonating with those around us who agree with our views of truth?

I know that there have been stages in my life where I have been considered the disruptive one, the naysayer, the dissenter, the troublemaker, even the rebel. For many years I have disturbed other's peace by my incessant questioning of what were settled matters for everyone else in a discussion. But for me the pieces simply did not fit together like they seemed to for everyone else, and looking back I am now glad to some extent that I refused to settle for the placid, simplistic, conformist answers that were thrown my way. Because I kept asking troubling questions and longed to make more sense out of things than what others were willing to settle for, I now feel my pursuit of truth has led me to a place where I feel more fulfilled than ever as I find God daily sharing wonderful things with me that actually address many of my questions in ways that actually does make more sense. And although many who have insisted on maintaining the status quo answers still view me with suspicion, I feel more at peace with God than at any time before in my life.

I have come to realize in recent times that at any point in my experience I will likely not fit very well into certain groups. But the groups I do resonate with may likely change over time, and that is not something to get distressed about. God knows where each of us are in our journey and can provide what we need for our present requirement that will likely be different than what they were for us both in the past and in our future. That means I should not judge a group because they do not fit where I am in my journey currently; nor I should feel judged by others for the same reasons.

As a result of even my own experience, I must remember to be patient with those who seem to not fit well into groups I enjoy, who challenge others with questions, who are triggered by clichés and demand better answers than what are typically offered. But even more importantly, I must seek God's Spirit to perceive much deeper beneath the rough exterior to what is really going on at the heart level. Just recalling how desperate, fearful and defensive my own heart was for so many years as well as how calloused and insensitive others were to my need to be loved and understood, I must seek to love those who seem unlovable just as Jesus loved the one most despised by people today – His betrayer Judas.

Love itself is the most powerful polarizing influence we can use to move people. It will move them either closer to true unity or to dismiss themselves from continuing to participate. This means we do not need to be the ones who push them away, and to me that is good news. This story is the example that Jesus gave us about this through the way He dealt with His disciples. Jesus washed all of their feet, not just those of Judas. But the rest of them were humbled and softened by that stunning act of humility while Judas was pushed over the edge in the opposite direction. At first his heart was amazed at the tenderness and love he witnessed in this act of compassion by Jesus toward him. Jesus had made it quite clear publicly before this moment that He knew the plans of Judas. And yet even fully knowing all this Jesus treated Judas no differently than everyone else that He also loved just as deeply.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. (John 13:3-5)

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 NRSV)

As the spirit of Satan the accuser once again infected the selfish mind of Judas during that act of great condescension on the part of Jesus, his life-long beliefs about what God was like obscured and neutralized this spectacular demonstration of what God was really like, so Judas rejected Jesus as being a valid representative of the truth about God. By hardening his heart instead of allowing himself to surrender to this extreme offer of grace, Judas separated himself and left the rest of the group to listen now with unity to the secrets of the kingdom never before shared so explicitly by the Son of God.

I believe that Jesus felt it necessary to initiate this polarizing situation before opening up His heart to His disciples. It is neither right nor safe to lay your heart open to people who are not settled about their relationship to you and God, who are not committed to you to the extent of their ability. This does not mean that the disciples would always live out their loyalty to Jesus faithfully in every situation as was clearly seen just a few hours later. But we are talking about something far deeper than political loyalties here. We are speaking the language of the heart. And although we don't even know our own hearts very well, we do know from the words of Jesus as especially relayed to us by John, that love has to be the central identifying, defining core of all our relationships with each other as well as with God.

Judas rejected the kind of love that Jesus showed to him and excused himself from His presence to pursue his own agenda. Jesus even covered for him on the way out and to the end refused to expose him even after Judas had spurned His last offer. The other disciples had chosen a different response and so Jesus was then free to open up to them far deeper realities than had ever been heard before. Yes, they were still ignorant of their own shallowness and weaknesses. But at the more important level of their hearts, they had chosen to move in His direction instead of away from Him and that was the defining factor that allowed Jesus to entrust them with future leadership in His emerging kingdom on earth.

If we find someone being triggered repeatedly by some aspect of this emerging kingdom, we must not jump to conclusions too readily. I know from my own experience that emotional triggers are linked to deeply embedded lies that must be flushed into the open, exposed and dealt with effectively before those triggers can be resolved. Other people's triggers that produce reactive triggers in ourselves produce symptoms indicating that very likely etter disrupts our apparent unity with disturbing questions, it is vital for us to immediately turn to the Spirit of God to guide us and fill us with the same disposition that Jesus exhibited toward Judas. It may well become evident later on that we are not really dealing with a Judas at all but actually with a loud-mouth, disruptive Peter who is often very out of control. Remember too that Peter denied Jesus more publicly than did Judas, but the long-term outcome for Peter's usefulness in the kingdom was very different from the tragic ending of Judas' career as a disciple of Jesus.