Jesus' Claims: How will you respond to John 13?

I've been studying John 8-16 and noticed something...

Jesus repeatedly makes claims regarding Himself and the hearers have different responses. Simply, non-believers reject His claims whereas the disciples accept His claims. Their unique responses dictate their eternal destinations.

JESUS’ CLAIM: He gave up His place in heaven, died, and rose again (John 13:3-17).

Our first example isn’t a verbal claim made by Jesus; rather, it is a claim made by His actions. As seen through the acted parable of washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus gave up His position in heaven, came to earth, died, resurrected, and ascended into heaven. My article, “So What?”, speaks more of this event; it is one of the most widely read articles on this blog.

The response of JUDAS ISCARIOT:

Although Jesus’ sacrifice was made for all, Judas chose to reject it. He subsequently left the Passover meal (aka Last Supper) and went to the Jewish leaders in order to betray Jesus (John 13:2, 20-21, 30 et al).

The response of PETER: 

Although Peter found Jesus’ act hard to accept at first (John 13:6, 9), he eventually accepted it and went on to become one of the church’s greatest preachers. He would later write in 1 Peter 5:5, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” The cloth in Peter’s verse refers to the white scarf or apron of a slave. It would have been reminiscent of the cloth that Jesus wrapped around Himself while washing Peter’s feet.

JESUS’ CLAIM: Where I am going you cannot come (John 8:21 & 13:33).

The response of THE PHARISEES:

In John 8:21-24 Jesus told the Jewish leaders they would die in their sins because they did not believe that He was I AM. In other words, they didn’t believe that He was God in the flesh.

The response of THE DISCIPLES:

In John 13:36, after telling the disciples they could not go where Jesus was going, He promised them they would follow later. In chapter 14, He proceeds to tell them He will return and take them to be with Him forever. To this day, we still await that second appearing.

To answer the title question for myself, I chose to accept His words as truth. You can read my story of salvation here and here. 

What about you? Have you made that decision in your life? I'd love to read your response to the claims of Jesus in the comments below or answer any questions you may have.

Jesus Claims: How will you respond to John 14? - the sister article to this one - deals with similar claims by Jesus in John 14.