Jesus Makes the First Step

Jesus came forward and identified Himself to those seeking to arrest Him. On the cross, He gave up His Spirit; death didn't take it from Him. Jesus was always initiating His love story for us.

Jesus Makes the First Step

This week's devotions are written by my son, Bryant Forshee, Lead Student Pastor for Cross Church, Springdale, AR campus.

- Pastor Danny

"Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, 'Whom do you seek?' They answered him, 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus said to them, 'I am he.' Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them."

(John 18:4-5, CSB)

For the past two days, we have been studying John 17, with headings such as, "The High Priestly Prayer," "The Prayer of Jesus," and "Jesus Prays to be Glorified". Today we are looking at a couple verses in John 18. This chapter also has some interesting heading titles: "Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus," "Jesus Faces Annas and Caiphas," "Peter Denies Jesus," "The High Priest Questions Jesus," and "Jesus Before Pilate" are just a few of them. As you can see, we have moved from the moments before Jesus is arrested to the moments of the actual arrest and wrongful trial.

In reading these passages in my quiet time with the Lord, something really stood out to me in verses four and five that I have never really noticed before. John records that Jesus "came forward and said to them..." Now, this may not seem like a revolutionary phrase, but I found it very interesting that Jesus was the one to initiate even His own capture. Earlier in verse four, John says that "Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him," still comes forward and begins the dialogue with the mob that came to arrest him. Jesus not only begins the conversation but identifies Himself as the one that they are looking to arrest. He says, "I am he," and is then taken into custody.

While looking at these two verses, my mind went to the verses about Jesus' death on the cross. John 19:30 says this: "When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." Jesus gave up His Spirit; death didn't take it from Him. In the same way, Jesus initiated and confirmed His arrest so that He could give up His spirit. Said in another way, Jesus was always initiating His love story for you and I.

Jesus came to this Earth.
Jesus lived a sinless life.
Jesus chose His disciples.
Jesus chose to give Himself up.
Jesus chose to stay on the cross.
Jesus chose to give up His life.

Jesus' life was a constant and consistent initiation of love to mankind.

Jesus always went out of His way to make sure that mankind knew that God loved them and wanted them. It is mind-boggling, humbling, and honestly just hard to compute that God loves us that much to initiate and maintain that love for all of mankind.

With Christmas season upon us, how do you need to take initiative, like Jesus, to let someone know about the love that God has for them? The Gospel message is so important that it needs to constantly and consistently be on our minds, hearts, and tongues. Will you commit to go out of your way to share Jesus, the hope of Christmas, with someone today?