John: Living Like We’re Willing to Die

John 13 takes us behind closed doors with Jesus and his disciples in the Upper Room in Jerusalem during the Passover feast. The hour is set, and time is ticking. The people all around Jesus are remembering and celebrating how God had miraculously delivered them from the Egyptians centuries earlier. God is about to do it again, but at the cost of Jesus’ own life. And yet, despite Jesus’ distress over what will befall him, he manages to invest himself in a deeply meaningful gathering of fellowship, encouragement, and teaching just before he goes out to be arrested, tried, and crucified. What love he had for his friends! He loved them to the end. And from his love will come important and powerful lessons about humility, service, forgiveness, and what it means to live as a true follower of Jesus.