Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

John records the account of the "Passover Seder" that took place the evening before Christ would be crucified the next afternoon. The "Passover Seder" was an annual event, a Jewish feast day, that the Lord gave to the Jewish people.

In fact, it was the first of the seven Jewish feast days as recorded in Leviticus 23. The Passover was to be celebrated on an annual basis from the time of the very first Passover that took place the night of the "Exodus".

Exodus 12 records the first Passover and in that chapter the Lord tells, commands, the Jews to rehearse the story of the "Exodus" and to have the "Passover Seder" meal with the family every year, Exodus 12:14.

In this account of the "Passover Seder" the writer, John the Apostle, records the Lord washing the feet of the disciples. The Lord came to the Apostle Peter to wash His feet and Peter objected, verses 6-8.

There is a very interesting phrase used by Peter, verse 8. Peter tells the Lord that He, "shall never wash his feet". In essence Peter was saying, "not so Lord" which Peter would do three times in his life, Matthew 16:22, in this passage and when told to go to the Gentiles with the gospel message, Acts 10:14.

Peter said to the Lord three times, "Not so Lord". You know it is impossible to use that phrase, "Not so Lord". If indeed Jesus Christ is "Lord", you cannot say, "Not so". If you say, "Not so", then Jesus is not Lord.

Jesus was demonstrating to His disciples, who He had been training for three years, how to be humble and to lead, as a "servant". The best kind of leader in the world and in the church is one who leads by serving.

This passage describes a very special evening that would remind those Jewish disciples at the table of the time of the Passover, that very first Passover almost 1,500 years before the meal Jesus had with His disciples that night.

The lamb that they ate at the meal represented the "Passover lamb" whose blood had been used to paint the "doorpost" of the homes in Egypt on the night of the first "Passover".

The next afternoon, about eighteen hours later, Jesus would become our "Passover lamb" when He would be sacrificed to provide for our salvation.

Please note one more item in this passage, verse 19. The Lord Jesus Christ tells His very worried disciples that He was telling them what was going to happen before it happened, so that when it did come to pass they would know, and believe, that He was who He said He was and would, and could do what He said He would do, as well.

This is the "essence of prophecy", we can rest assured that He is the Messiah because He has given us prophetic truth, and in fact, laid out a scenario of what will happen in the future. In current events we can see the "stage being set" for these prophecies to be fulfilled.

That's what Bible prophecy does, it gives us the evidence that He is the One who does what He says He can do, and will do, according to His prophetic Word. That also gives us assurance, a blessed assurance, of the reality of an all mighty, powerful, prophecy-fulfilling holy God.

Therefore, we should everyday be looking for Him to call us up into the heavenlies to be with Him forever more at the Rapture, which could happen today. Keep looking up.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for being who You said You are and doing what You said You would do. And we look forward to the future and Your promises to be fulfilled, as well.