No April Fool

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. 

So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. 

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 

So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (John 13:1-15)

This Gospel reading from John begins: “The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.” The devil has a central role in Jesus’ life.  In this Gospel we remember (at least we should) that Jesus, unlike Judas, resisted temptation, as should we.  

And what were those temptations described in Luke and Matthew?  Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread to ease his hunger.  He had to jump off the top of the Temple to be rescued by the miraculous intervention of God.  Then he was tempted to worship Satan and then to be given rule over all earth’s kingdoms. Jesus refused all. Consequently, the “Devil left him until an appropriate time” (Luke 4:13).  What time was that?

As Bart Erdman stated in his 2003 book The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot, “…During Jesus’ public ministry Satan was at the mercy of Jesus’ Spirit-driven power, but in the end, Satan reasserts himself.  The death of Jesus was a Satanic act to lash back at the Son of God.  He used Judas as his henchman to do his dirty work.”  

Erdman continued with a reference to Luke; he said: “For Luke, however, it was not Satan and his allies who would have the last word.  God would raise Jesus from the dead (at the end of the Gospel) and empower his followers to overcome Satan (at the beginning of Acts).  As you would expect from a Christian author, Luke thinks that God ultimately triumphs over the senseless evil wreaked by the enemy, the Devil.”

This Holy Thursday we talk about and witness the washing of feet.  It was Jesus’ model for us to follow.  Less mentioned is the Devil’s temptations with Jesus being our model as well. Specifically, we: (1) must not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; (2) shall not put the Lord, our God to the test; and (3) shall worship the Lord our God and only God shall we serve – not Satan and all his many demons.  This is no April Fool.

Deacon David Pierce