judas.

so, reading the bible last night, going through the book of john and i'm at the part of the last supper.  john 13.
i notice two separate times, the divinity of Christ. not because He blatantly says He's God, but because He shows a supernatural ability to forgive, and to work peace among people that clearly despise Him.
sitting there reading:
saying to myself, "okay so they were reclining at the table, Jesus was teaching them, and then He washes their feet. i get it, its a sign of Christ's humility, service, etc..."

"wait"  i thought, "Christ had to have washed judas' feet too. judas was there too."

yup. 

"holy moley."

never thought of it that way. 

i try to picture myself in so-and-so's shoes when i read the word, expecting to learn something from their experience. this time, i placed myself in Christ's shoes, except, hey i'm not God. 

my conclusion: i wouldn't have done it. think about it long enough and you wouldn't either. 

this is the man who is going to send Christ to the cross. the God of the universe. Christ knew that judas was going to betray Him in the near future. (jn 13:26-27)

yet He still chose to wash judas' feet.

i mean, think about it. think about someone you believe who deserves to die for what they have done to your family, someone you know, you. perhaps a terrorist, perhaps a tyrant ruler, perhaps a murderer, backstabber, liar, cheater, or ___fill-in-the-blank___ with whoever you consider your enemy.

now, humble yourselves enough to render them a humiliating service, like washing their dirty grimey feet. oh yeah, and you have to have a loving, pure attitude about it.

and not only that, they're going to kill you in the future. and you know it.

whoa. 

even more. offer peace to that person, want to become his best friend. be completely fond of him. like Christ was to judas: offering bread to a guest at the table was a jewish custom of peace and friendship. (jn 13:26) go ahead and offer your enemy complete love, sacrifice, peace, friendship, forgiveness.

"nah-uh!" was my first reaction. i couldn't do it if i had the chance, i know that for sure. i have trouble forgiving those who wronged me already, and Christ accepted and loved and washed judas' feet knowing what he would do to Him? 

maybe that whole Christ is God thing is not so far off. 

i mean, this is an illustration of the divine capacity to forgive and to love. He did something that had to be super-natural to do. only a God could display that kind of love. and only Christ did. 

nat