Who Does He Think He Is?

One of the most complicated aspects of living out a life of Christian faith is the not knowing. Not knowing what’s next. Not knowing why. Not knowing when. Not knowing how. Knowing that what is going on does not make any sense, and you have no clue about the bigger picture - and being expected to be perfectly fine with that reality.

C’mon. Let’s be honest with each other here. Any of us who say we haven’t chafed against the reality of not knowing is, simply, either lying to or kidding themselves. Who doesn’t want to have some inkling of what’s next and how it all fits into the bigger picture known as our lives?

I think it would be most helpful to all of us if we but allowed ourselves to realize that we are not the first ones to wrestle with these ideas. In fact, those who were with Jesus during his earthly ministry were vexed by the same concepts that vex the faithful today.

So, relax. You’re in good company. Here are a few verses from John’s gospel, chapter 13, verses 6-8a (what is known as “The Last Supper”) :

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”.

Let’s handle the obvious part of this immediately - Jesus was, of course, playing a much bigger game than Peter or any of the others could have possibly imagined. That’s the easy part of this portion of the narrative.

There are two specific things about this narrative, though, that I think we sometimes miss because we leave them buried in what we know is the story of the Last Supper. Two specific things that, I believe, have a great deal to teach us for how we should approach life in and faithful to Christ.

Simon Peter first gets into the business of trying to jump ahead and figure out Jesus’ next move. Peter has all the answers, and is like the eager student who wants to not only anticipate but figure out what the teacher is likely to do next. How often are we guilty of the same sort of thinking? How often do we try to get out ahead of Jesus for whatever reason, rather than simply allowing ourselves to go with Jesus into what is next over the horizon?

After Jesus explains to Peter that he won’t know now what Jesus is up to, but it will make sense down the line, Peter is bold enough to tell Jesus what Jesus won’t do this night. Peter is putting himself in position to be the one who will determine what Jesus will and will not do here. How often do we try to put limits on what Jesus will or will not do? How often do we think there are things there is no way Jesus could possibly engage?

Friends, let’s be transparent here. Jesus’ calling for his followers to live a life of faith is no more obvious than in this poignant moment where Peter cannot see Jesus’ bigger picture. Peter compounds this by trying to be the one in the know - not only knowing what Jesus is up to next but also in what. Jesus will not do next. In a moment of open and honest self-reflection, there’s a bit of all of us represented in Peter - and that’s completely understandable.

Our challenge on this Wednesday is very simple - Are we going to live a life of faith where we have made peace with the fact we worship a savior who sees a much bigger picture than we do, and will we trust this savior enough to not have to know what’s coming next in order to trust he has our best interests at heart?  

There’s not a one of us who does not have enough on their plate these days. Let’s not overburden ourselves by trying to do Jesus’ work for him. It’s ok to not know. I promise.

Grace & Peace,
Lamar