The Anatomy of Betrayal (John 13:21-32)

“The company of Jesus’ friends who have accepted (even if uncomprehending) the washing of their feet by their Lord and Master have made the decisive turn. But among them there is one who remains in the service of the power of this age. There is treason in the very heart of the Church, and Jesus knows it and has known it from the beginning. His disciples must know it too, and be forewarned against the collapse of faith.”

—Leslie Newbigin, The Light Has Come

The Results and Root of Faith (John 13:1-20)

Q. What is true faith?

A. True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in Scripture; it is also a wholehearted trust, which the Holy Spirit creates in me by the gospel, that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. These are gifts of sheer grace, granted solely by Christ’s merit.

—Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 21

A Living, Breathing Love (1 John 3:19-24)

“Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, before anyone had done a stroke of work or acquired a jot of merit, he rose from the sepulchre, bringing new life to his disciples. What then began had nothing to do with last week's work or last week's sins; they all seemed centuries away. The old world for Christ's disciples had ended in calamity, had gone down into a gulf of darkness; the earth had crumbled under their feet, they had nothing to stand upon. But here was something as new as the creation of the world where no world was; new life straight from the hands of the only living God.”

—Austin Farrer

The Unbelief of the People (John 12:36-50)

God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps on the sea, And rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, The clouds you so much dread, Are big with mercy, and shall break, With blessings on your head. 

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face. 

His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour. 
The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan His work in vain; God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain.

—Written by William Cowper d.1800; last hymn written before he descended into mental illness, from which he subsequently died. 

Mary's Act of Devotion (John 12:1-11)

“The sisters were heartbroken when Lazarus died. They must have felt sure that they knew what their heart’s desires were, and they must also have felt sure that they had lost them forever. But what the story of Mary of Bethany shows is that a person can feel sure about these things and still be altogether mistaken.”

Eleonore Stump, Wandering in Darkness

Jesus's Emotional Response to Us and to Death (John 11:28-44)

“Jesus wept, and in his weeping, he joined himself forever to those who mourn. He stands now throughout all time, this weeping Jesus weeping, with his arms about the weeping ones: ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’ He stands with the mourners, for his name is God-with-us. Jesus wept.”

- Ann Weems, Psalms of Lament

“For in [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”

- Colossians 2:9

“He sanctified the body by being in it.”

- Athanasius, On the Incarnation