Jesus knew that... he was returning to God;
John 13:3 NIVUK
My dad used to work on the railway. One day he was asked to sell tickets at a station in the town where we used to live. A man came up to him and asked for a return (round trip) ticket. "Where to?" my Dad asked him. "Well, back here, of course." the man replied. It sounds amusing, but where we are headed makes a huge difference to our lives. Judas clearly believed that he was on the path to financial enrichment. John highlights that he was the guy in charge of the money, and he was embezzling it (John 12:4-6). Their reasons for following Jesus may have been pure from the start, but the Bible shows the disciples as people who often jostled for positions of privilege and seniority (Matthew 20:20-27; Mark 9:33-35, 10:35-45; Luke 9:46, 22:24-27). Jesus sees right through this and on every occasion reminds them that His Kingdom is different. Even He is different. He is not there to Lord it over everyone, but to serve (John 13:12-17). Often we think of people who know where they are going as driven, arrogant, cold people who are solely focused on their goal and nothing else. That is incorrect. People behave like this when they know where they want to go but have no assurance that they will actually arrive.
Jesus isn't like that. They are people who are so focused on gaining and maintaining their own position to get where they need to be that they ignore the needs of the people around them - like the priest and the Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus isn't like that. There are people who are so focused on getting where they want be that they use anyone they can to get them there. Jesus isn't like that. He actually preached against it (Luke 14:12-14) But Jesus was driven. Highly driven (Luke 9:51). How else could He have endured the cross? At the same time, though, He was able to take the lowest place and serve His disciples. Why? Because Jesus not only knew where He was going, He also knew that He would get there. And that's what enabled Him to be so humble. There are many who perform admirable acts towards the poor. However, their actions are not as altruistic as it might seem. They do it to tip the balance of judgement in their favour, to shorten their time in purgatory, to twist God's arm into letting them into Heaven, to be reincarnated as a higher being. They have an ulterior motive. They are not doing these things out of love. They are doing them to gain for themselves.
Jesus isn't like that. True humble service, a true humble mind, serves with nothing to gain at all because, like Jesus, it comes from a heart that overflows with love (John 13:1). If we are truly assured that our place in Heaven is secured through Jesus Christ, then no amount of service will improve on that position. So why do we serve other people? Are we truly secure in where you are headed? Are we still trying to bribe God to get there? Or are we able to serve Him and His people at all?
Good blog.