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John 13:18-20
Joh 13:18 “It is not about all of you that I am saying this; I know those whom I have chosen. But it is so the Scripture can be fulfilled: The one who gnaws my bread has raised his heel against me.
Joh 13:19 I am telling you just now before it happens, so that you will believe when it does happen that I am he.
Joh 13:20 I honestly tell you, whoever takes anyone I send takes me, and the one who takes me takes him who sent me.”
Identifying with Jesus — good or bad
Don’t confuse John 13:20 with Matthew 10:40. They sound similar in most translations, but Jesus is talking about two different things. In Matthew, the context is Jesus sending out the twelve apostles for evangelistic work, and he promises that everyone who welcomes them (δέχομαι) welcomes him. But here in John, the context is Jesus’ soon arrest. He is warning his disciples that they too will be taken (λαμβάνω) I.e., arrested for following him.
We do not know how the world around us is going to respond to our message. They may welcome Christ and his Sender by welcoming us, or they may arrest us and put us away as they did him.
Lord, help us to faithfully represent you and your gospel, no matter how our audience reacts.
