Words of Grace

By Rev. Mahlon Nevel

Jesus and his disciples had one final meal together before his death on the cross. When the Last Supper, as it was called, had ended, Jesus was troubled in his spirit.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you” he testified, “that one of you shall betray me” (John 13:21).

Jesus knew who would betray him. (V.11) The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas to betray him. (V.2)
Later, as Jesus and the disciples walked together in a garden, they met up with a band of officers led by Judas, the betrayer. (John 18:1-3)

When Jesus asked them who they were looking for, they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He responded by confessing to them, “I am he.”

As soon as the authorities heard those words, “I am he,” they fell backward to the ground. They had gotten a glimpse of the glory of God and they could not in the presence of the Messiah.
That’s what happened to the apostle John when he saw the Lord Jesus in all his glory. He fell at his feet as if he were dead. (Revelation 1:17)

Commenting on John’s experience, Charles Spurgeon said we all need an encounter with Jesus like that. According to Spurgeon, we are never more spiritually alive than when we are dead at the feet of Jesus.

“This is the blessing of the inner Sanctuary,” Andrew Murray writes, “that you have found your true place at God’s feet, there to wait in absolute dependence and helplessness on His working.”